Downtown in Nashville in Davidson County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
Berger Building ⎯⎯⎯ WDAD Radio Station “Where Dollars are Doubled”
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, October 6, 2021
1. Berger Building/WDAD Radio Station “Where Dollars are Doubled” Marker
Inscription.
Berger Building, also, WDAD Radio Station “Where Dollars are Doubled”. .
Berger Building. In 1926, Samuel W. Berger hired local architect Ozrow J. Billis to design this stylish building outfitted with colorful glazed terra cotta tiles. Berger was a Hungarian immigrant and one of the city's leading retail merchants. The Roy Warden Piano and Organ WB Co., a popular music store, operated here for over forty years. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, the building is one of Nashville's finest examples of early 20th century commercial design. ,
WDAD Radio Station "Where Dollars are Doubled". Prior to the Berger Building, Nashville's first commercial radio station WDAD operated at this site above Dad's Radio Supply Store. Launched in Sept. 1925, WDAD was Nashville's first studio to broadcast country and blues music nationwide with artists such as Humphrey Bate, Uncle Dave Macon, DeFord Bailey and Bessie Smith. WDAD's old-time fiddle contests inspired rival station WSM to create the Grand Ole Opry. Due to street widening, WDAD relocated and became WLAC in 1926.
Berger Building
In 1926, Samuel W. Berger hired local architect
Ozrow J. Billis to design this stylish building
outfitted with colorful glazed terra cotta
tiles. Berger was a Hungarian immigrant
and one of the city's leading retail merchants.
The Roy Warden Piano and Organ
WB Co., a popular music store, operated here for over
forty years. Listed in the National Register
of Historic Places in 1984, the building is
one of Nashville's finest examples of early
20th century commercial design.
WDAD Radio Station "Where Dollars are Doubled"
Prior to the Berger Building, Nashville's first
commercial radio station WDAD operated at
this site above Dad's Radio Supply Store.
Launched in Sept. 1925, WDAD was Nashville's
first studio to broadcast country and blues
music nationwide with artists such as Humphrey
Bate, Uncle Dave Macon, DeFord Bailey and
Bessie Smith. WDAD's old-time fiddle contests
inspired rival station WSM to create the
Grand Ole Opry. Due to street widening,
WDAD relocated and became WLAC in 1926.
Erected 2020 by The Historical Commission of Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County.
Location. 36° 9.646′ N, 86° 46.993′ W. Marker is in Nashville, Tennessee, in Davidson County. It is in Downtown. It is on U.S. 431 just north of Commerce Street, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 164 US-431, Nashville TN 37203, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Middle Tennessee. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Upper South. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, October 6, 2021
2. Berger Building/WDAD Radio Station “Where Dollars are Doubled” Marker
3. Berger Building/WDAD Radio Station “Where Dollars are Doubled” and Marker
The marker is to the far left in this view of the Berger Building.
Photographed by Shane Oliver, December 20, 2021
4. Berger Building National Register of Historic Places Plaque
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on October 6, 2021, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. This page has been viewed 1,214 times since then and 107 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on October 6, 2021, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. 4. submitted on December 26, 2021, by Shane Oliver of Richmond, Virginia. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.
