The history of Silicon Valley is short relatively speaking, but for those of us who have participated in it, it is fascinating. I was at the Stanford Med center in Redwood City last Friday for the first time and enjoyed a close view of the Ampex sign from the passenger drop-off. I have viewed it from 101 for 30 years, but this was my first time standing on the other side. I gave a close friend who is in her 20's a brief history of why Ampex is at the very heart of Silicon Valley history. Then, out of the blue, today's Daily Post ran a front page article about Ampex turning 60 this year. As the Post notes "Videotape revolution began here":
Though mostly obsolete, the videotape machine turns 60 this year and a relic of the industry can be seen along Highway 101 in Redwood City. The Ampex sign at 500 Broadway marked where the first videotape recorder was manufactured in 1956. Starting on Nov. 30, 1956, CBS began using it for the West Coast playback of the network's evening news three hours after airing live to East Coast viewers. By fall 1957, Ampex was swamped with a backlog of 100 orders for its red-hot VR-100.
The company was started in San Carlos by Alexander M. Poniatoff (AMPEXcellence). It was one of many San Carlos tech firms in the real heart of Silicon Valley when orchards were the predominant thing in Santa Clara County. Companies like Varian, Dalmo-Victor, Farinon and the one that brought me to the Bay Area, Lenkurt, were part of the analog genesis of the Valley.
Here is the best part of the article: "As part of a clause of the sale agreement (to Stanford), the sign must be preserved for 75 years." Heck, in 2087 it may be the only thing left that reminds one of the roots of the Valley. I wish the Post would put bylines on these articles so we can give credit where credit is due. Here is my photo of the sign from the Stanford parking lot on Friday.
There's a vintage Ampex video machine on display at Stanford's Green Library -- mighty impressive!
KQED did an interesting piece this fall on how Ampex and Bing Crosby revolutionized radio and TV entertainment:
https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/2016/10/19/how-bing-crosby-and-silicon-valley-revolutionized-radio-and-tv/
Posted by: HMB | December 23, 2016 at 02:55 PM
Dad and Mom used Ampex audio tape at Garrison Recording in Long Beach during the 60's-70's. On a few occasions they would work all night in the editing room piecing together the confetti resulting from a high-speed rewind snap of the tape.
Posted by: Pete Garrison | December 23, 2016 at 08:42 PM
PS- You can see some of the tape boxes and more Ampex equipment at the San Mateo County History Museum in Redwood City.
Posted by: Pete Garrison | December 23, 2016 at 08:43 PM
So, who maintains the sign? Some of the lights need replacement. Also, the comment above implies that the 75-year period started in 2012 - is that accurate?
Posted by: Brian A. Berg | November 29, 2017 at 09:21 AM
I'm pretty sure the historic date is always established when the structure was first built. If it was moved, the period of the move starts another cycle (often in a new context). But in this case, the sign was not moved, or?
Posted by: Jennifer | November 29, 2017 at 09:37 AM
I had an Uncle that was/is a founding owner since the 1950's.
He was there at AMPEX when AMPEX encouraged engineers the use of LSD.
Prior to that, he drove Generals/Politian's throughout New Mexico/NV to photograph events.
My Uncle declared that "There was no benefit to be gained by AMPEX Volunteers" regarding the LSD test.
Posted by: hollyroller | November 29, 2017 at 07:18 PM
Zach aka Hollyroller, I always imagined you as an elderly woman, but it turns out that you're a 27 year old man, correct?
You live in Richland, WA, but what's your connection to Burlingame? You grew up here, perhaps?
Posted by: who are you? | November 30, 2017 at 04:43 PM
You caught me...
Posted by: hollyroller | November 30, 2017 at 04:49 PM
27 going on 87?
Posted by: resident | December 01, 2017 at 08:20 PM