Iowa City in Johnson County, Iowa — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Site of World's First Educational Television Station

Site of World's First Educational TV Station Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 26, 2021

1. Site of World's First Educational TV Station Marker

Inscription.
From 1932 to 1939 a regular schedule of 389 educational television programs was broadcast from the building once located on this site. The Electrical Engineering Department built and operated the station under the direction of Dr. E. B. Kurtz.

The W9XK equipment used is now in the Smithsonian Institution.

Erected 1976 by University of Iowa.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Communications • Education. A significant historical year for this entry is 1932.

Location. 41° 39.704′ N, 91° 31.975′ W. Marker is in Iowa City, Iowa, in Johnson County. It is on North Dubuque Street just north of Iowa Avenue, on the right when traveling north. Marker is mounted on a boulder beside the sidewalk on the west side of the University of Iowa Biology Building. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 30 North Dubuque Street, Iowa City IA 52242, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Eastern Iowa. It is also in the American Midwest

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

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Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: St. Mary's Church (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Schaeffer Hall (about 800 feet away); In Memoriam (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Old Capitol (approx. 0.2 miles away); Old Dental Building (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Old Stone Capitol (approx. 0.2 miles away); Old Brick (approx. 0.2 miles away); The First State University to Admit Women on an Equal Basis with Men (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Iowa City.

Also see . . .
1. Iowa PBS History.

The electrical engineering department at the University of Iowa demonstrated television with an exhibit at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines on August 28, 1931. At the conclusion of the Iowa State Fair, the television experiment was set up in the communications laboratory of the electrical engineering building at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. By 1933, the University of Iowa received an FCC license for experimental
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 26, 2021

2. Site of World's First Educational TV Station Marker
TV station W9XK, later W9XUI, providing twice a week video programming, with WSUI AM providing the audio channel.

(Submitted on March 24, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

2. A Historical Timeline of the Evolution of the Television. Thought Co. website entry:

1933: Iowa State University (W9XK) starts broadcasting twice-weekly television programs in cooperation with radio station WSUI.

(Submitted on March 23, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

3. TV pioneer Edwin Kurtz inducted into UI Legacy of Engineering. Iowa Now website entry (Submitted on January 26, 2026, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 26, 2021

3. Site of World's First Educational TV Station Marker

(looking east across North Dubuque Street • University of Iowa Biology Building in background)

Credits. This page was last revised on April 14, 2026. It was originally submitted on March 23, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 867 times since then and 40 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on March 23, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.