For those too young to remember the original Bandstand television show from the 1950s, let me explain. No self-respecting teenager could have gotten through puberty without it. It taught us how to rock, bop, and slow dance, even if our only partner was a kitchen chair.
From Bandstand’s start in 1952, high school children lined up every weekday afternoon at WFIL-TV studio at 4548 Market Street. Many came directly from nearby West Catholic High in parochial uniforms. Television was in its infancy, and appearing on American Bandstand was as exciting as a moon shot.
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WFIL was built by Walter Annenberg’s Triangle Publications and was the first TV studio in the nation constructed for the purpose of television broadcasting, as opposed to adapting a preexisting structure. It was built in two stages. The original building, designed by Abraham Levy and completed in 1948, has a Streamline Modern facade. The western part, added in 1952, included the 3,100-square-foot Studio B where Bandstand was produced. Adjacent to the east wall of the TV studio was the Philadelphia Arena, the city’s premiere sports stadium, built in 1920 and purchased by Walter Annenberg in 1947. The media mogul ingeniously snaked television cables from the Philadelphia Arena straight into the WFIL studio so sporting events could be televised.
Source: Broadcasting Landmark in West Philly Keeps Rocking Around the Clock
