National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting

06/17/2026

From the birth of "America's Voice" sending news & information to war torn Europe, to popular cultural programs that showcase American jazz, or teach English as a second language, Bethany Station transmitted a variety of informative news and cultural programs. Our interactive exhibits allow you, via touch screen, to listen and experience that wide variety of news and cultural programming through the decades.

06/15/2026

06/10/2026

Fast Facts: Using 24 rhombic antennas and two large curtain antennas, Bethany Station's tremendous shortwave power cannot be overstated. Innovative engineering at the time, broadcasts into Europe also reached relays in the Mediterranean that boosted the signal into the Soviet Union. Eventually, all of the federally operated shortwave stations in the U.S. closed as satellite and cell technology developed. The last station in Greenville, N.C. closed in 2025. Photo courtesy of the Center for Land Use Interpretation

06/05/2026

Summertime fun ahead! Don't forget to plan a trip to the Museum - tons of cool exhibits, history and hands-on activities.
Museum Open Friday, Saturday & Sunday
12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Guided tours available or browse on your own.

06/03/2026

From the archives: A skilled researcher’s curiosity about some vague replies to questions about her Grandfather Octavio Bermudez, and her parents’ careers, led to her discovery of the Museum’s WLWO radio spy exhibit. It documents Crosley Corp. involvement in U.S. South American undercover operations in 1940. 86 years later, the exhibit led her to confirmation her Grandfather played a major role in that operation, and her parents led double lives as intelligence aides, too. Their contributions still classified, her quest is just one example of how Museum resources and exhibits connect history lovers to new revelations and discoveries.

06/01/2026

An American in Paris? Not exactly. In 1934, after Crosley Corp. erected its gigantic 831 foot vertical antenna to transmit its 500,000 watt signal for WLW radio station, it stood 273 feet higher than the Washington Monument, and 153 feet short of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Yet, eventually this then state of the art transmitting equipment broadcast to the famous City of Light, as well as across Europe.