For more than a century, WBT-AM 1110 has been woven into the story of Charlotte, North Carolina, and the Carolinas.

Since first signing on in 1922, generations of listeners have turned to WBT for breaking news, severe weather, election coverage, sports, music, entertainment, and reassurance during times of crisis. Its legendary 50,000-watt signal reached across North Carolina, South Carolina, and much of the eastern United States, earning its reputation as one of America's great clear-channel radio stations.

Today, WBT continues to serve listeners on 107.9 FM. This effort is not about bringing back the past or challenging that transition. It is about preserving the place where that history was made.

It is about preserving the place where nearly a century of Carolina history was broadcast.

The historic WBT transmitter site on Nations Ford Road is where countless voices informed, entertained, comforted, and connected generations of listeners. It is where major news stories were carried across the Carolinas. It is where emergency information reached families during hurricanes, winter storms, and other disasters. It is where one of America's oldest and most influential radio stations built its legacy.

Today, the future of that historic property is uncertain.

The transmitter site has been placed on the market for redevelopment. While no public decision has been announced regarding its future, one thing is certain: once historic places disappear, they cannot be rebuilt.

This petition is not an effort to stop the sale of the property or prevent future development. It does not seek to interfere with the rights of the current owner or any future owner.

Instead, we respectfully ask Urban One, any future owner of the property, Mecklenburg County, preservation organizations, elected officials, and community leaders to work together to identify meaningful ways to preserve, honor, or permanently commemorate the site's most historically significant features before irreversible changes are made.

Possible solutions include:

• Preserving the historic 1932 transmitter building.
• Evaluating the property for local historic landmark designation where appropriate.
• Preserving one or more of the iconic Blaw-Knox towers if feasible.
• Incorporating historic elements into any future redevelopment.
• Installing permanent historical markers or interpretive displays telling the story of WBT and Charlotte broadcasting.
• Creating a public exhibit recognizing the site's importance to North Carolina broadcasting history.
• Thoroughly documenting the property through photographs, engineering records, oral histories, and archival materials before significant changes occur.

Preservation should not simply remember the past.

It should also inspire the future.

The transmitter building could one day serve as a place where broadcasting history is preserved, where students discover the history of communications, where stories are collected and shared, and where future generations learn how radio helped shape the communities they call home. Rather than placing history behind glass, the site could continue its legacy by educating, inspiring, and connecting people for generations to come.

This effort has already earned public support from respected broadcasters and media professionals including John Hancock, Sheri Lynch, Arroe Collins, Jack Anthony, Rollye James, Joe Greene, and many others who believe this place deserves recognition before it is lost.

Charlotte has lost too many historic places without preserving what made them meaningful.

The WBT transmitter site is not simply a collection of towers, transmitters, and brick walls.

It is the place where nearly a century of Carolina history was broadcast.

The towers matter because they carried those broadcasts.

The transmitter building matters because that's where those broadcasts originated.

The Cold War fallout shelter matters because it was built to protect the station's ability to continue serving the public during a national emergency.

Most importantly, the people who worked there created the voices, stories, memories, and moments that became part of everyday life for generations of Carolinians.

Even if every part of the property cannot be saved, future generations deserve the opportunity to understand what stood here, why it mattered, and the role it played in the history of Charlotte, the Carolinas, and American broadcasting.

By signing this petition, you are not opposing progress.

You are simply asking that progress leave room for history.

Please sign, share, and help preserve the place where nearly a century of Carolina history was broadcast—before that place exists only in photographs and memories.

Note: Change.org may ask for a contribution after you sign. This is completely optional and goes to Change.org—not to me or this preservation effort. Your signature counts whether you contribute or not.