PHOTO PAGE: RCA BUILDING 17 CENTENNIAL
Historical Society Fundraiser in The Victor's Pub
By Hoag Levins
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July 17, 2009
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CAMDEN, N.J. -- The Victor's Pub on the ground floor of the old RCA Building 17 was the site of a Camden County Historical Society fundraiser celebrating the centennial of the famous structure. At right (left to right), are Sam Sarin, owner of the Pub; Sandy Levins, President of the Historical Society; and Carl Dranoff, President of Dranoff Properties which converted the building to luxury apartments in 2002.
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Camden County Historical Society Executive Director Linda R. Gentry (above, left) distributes raffle tickets for the afternoon's prizes of RCA memorabilia. Above, right, Fred Barnum, author of "His Master's Voice in America," autographs copies. Barnum was the featured speaker of the event and gave a 90-minute multimedia presentation on the history of RCA.
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L-3 Communications graphic artist Jim DePietro (above, left), designed a special RCA commemorative print that was raffled off at the event. He also played songs from his extensive collection of RCA music ranging from 1904 to the 1969. The Victor's Pub and its patio of colorful umbrellas looks west toward the nearby Delaware River and Philadelphia skyline.
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L-3 Communications' Ron McHugh brought the history of the Victor Talking Machine Company to life with his display of century-old artifacts. This Victor 1 model (above, left) with a metal horn was the standard version of the spring-powered record player sold in 1905. The rich man's version is shown above, right. It's the Victor Monarch with a wooden horn that produced much richer sound. Both machines are in perfect working condition and produce surprisingly high-quality sound. |
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Another section of McHugh's exhibit spotlighted the later electronic products of RCA. Above, left, is a Radiola from the early days of radio production in 1924. It's made of what was then the high-tech material of its day: Bakelite. Camden's RCA also was the world's leading pioneer and producer of radio and TV broadcast equipment. Above, right, are two of the most famous and widely-used broadcast microphones ever made: the RCA 77-D and the RCA 44-BX with its NBC "flag" still on it.
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All Rights Reserved © 2009, Hoag Levins
HoagL@earthlink.net
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