1930s - Birthplace of Television

Passaic Brings TV to Families Nationwide

In the Late 1920s, Passaic was home to one of the first transmitted signals of television in the United States, which played an important role in the development of the television industry.

The DeForest Radio Corporation, which was located in Passaic, New Jersey, played an important role in the early development of television broadcasting. In 1928, the company's engineers successfully transmitted the first television signal from a studio in Passaic to a receiver located in nearby New York City. This experiment proved that television signals could be transmitted over a distance and received by a home audience.

In 1931, the DeForest Radio Corporation made history once again by broadcasting the first film ever to be shown on television. The film, a 20-minute excerpt from the silent movie "The Queen of Sheba," was broadcast from the company's studio in Passaic to a small number of experimental television sets located in the New York City area.

Allen B. DuMont, who was the chief engineer at the DeForest Radio Corporation, went on to found the DuMont Television Network in 1946. The network's first studio was located in Passaic, making it the first commercial television network in the world to be based in a suburban area. The DuMontnetwork was a major player in the early years of television broadcasting and produced a number of popular shows, including "The Morey Amsterdam Show" and "The Cavalcade of Stars," which featured the comedian Jackie Gleason.

The success of the DeForest Radio Corporation and the DuMont Television Network cemented Passaic's reputation as "the Birthplace of Television." Today, the city is still remembered for its important role in the development of television broadcasting, and its legacy can be seen in the many popular programs that were produced there over the years.

Photo: DeForest Radio Corporation signal out from Passaic

Photo: The first factory was located at 2 Main Avenue in Passaic 

Photo: Current location of the former Dumont Studio in Passaic