Redwood City in San Mateo County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
Ampex Years
1954-2005
— Stanford | Redwood City —
Alexander M. Poniatoff (1892-1980), a Russian immigrant to the United States, and his colleagues saw enormous commercial potential in the German recording technology they encountered during World War II. In 1944, he founded Ampex – Poniatoff’s initials AMP, plus “Excellence” – in San Carlos to build on these technical advances. Ampex moved in 1954 to this location in Redwood City, where it eventually became the city’s largest employer with 13,000 workers in 22 buildings. In 2005, Ampex moved its headquarters to Hayward.
Ampex breakthroughs included the first U.S.-built audiotape recording system and the first commercially successful videorecording system, which transformed the entertainment and broadcast industries. Among many other innovations in data recording, handling and storage, Ampex launched the first instant replay videodisc recorder for sports programs on commercial television. It also developed Videofile, used by Scotland Yard to electronically store and retrieve fingerprints.
In 2019 – the year the Stanford Redwood City Campus opened – three Ampex video tapes of the first lunar landing were sold at auction for $1.8 million. The tapes are the only surviving first-generation recordings of the historic 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing. The tapes had been purchased by a NASA intern in a 1976 government surplus auction for $217.
(There is a small panel in braille below the main text)
Images:
(Top Left) The Ampex sign was a prominent feature on the Highway 101 for many years.
(Top Right) The Ampex VR-3000, first truly mobile video recorder, hits the streets of San Francisco March 17, 1967, before its launch the next month at the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Chicago.
(Bottom) The Ampex VR-303, wheeled on a cart, was a mobile video trainer in the mid-1960s. A turnkey system cost $6,000, with the tape recorder alone $3,950.
Erected by Stanford University.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Air & Space • Entertainment • Industry & Commerce • Science & Medicine. A significant historical year for this entry is 1944.
Location. 37° 29.104′ N, 122° 12.191′ W. Marker is in Redwood City, California, in San Mateo County. Marker is on Broadway near Warrington Avenue, on the right when traveling east. The resin marker, one of eight, is mounted to a metal stand in the courtyard west of Discovery Hall. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 455 Broadway, Redwood City CA 94063, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Native Americans (a few steps from this marker); Historic Connection (a few steps from this marker); Pleistocene Period (a few steps from this marker); Airfield (a few steps from this marker); Alta California (a few steps from this marker); Horticultural Heritage (a few steps from this marker); Mezesville (a few steps from this marker); Stage Station (approx. 1.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Redwood City.
Also see . . .
1. Ampex: An Extensive & Noteworthy History.
"The company’s initial, national success came when Bing Crosby grew tired of his radio show interrupting his golf game. Crosby inked a deal with Ampex to record the show on an Ampex Model 200 reel-to-reel tape machine so it could be broadcast via tape delay. This served as the catalyst for Ampex’s unrivaled success in the Hollywood and entertainment recording industries for the next several decades. Notable milestones included an unknown truck driver named Elvis Presley recording his historic first single, “That’s All Right” using an Ampex 521 reel to reel in 1954..."(Submitted on September 22, 2022, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California.)
2. SRWC Campus Timeline.
"Learn about Stanford's growth in Redwood City."(Submitted on September 22, 2022, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California.)
Credits. This page was last revised on September 28, 2022. It was originally submitted on September 22, 2022, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California. This page has been viewed 214 times since then and 45 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on September 22, 2022, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California.