Today was my last day at Columbia Square. I feel almost like I wasn’t able to appreciate our last week as much as everyone else on the web team, since my week starts on Tuesdays.

So I of course took some pictures to memorialize the historic building. This area may look like its merely storage, but notice that step? The area actually used to be seating for the shows they used to film here. It’s now home to discarded CBS and KNX promos, files, frames, etc.

I almost wanted to take one of these typewriters home. Talk about old school – I imagine the one on the left, which bore the name Royal, was used when the station was opened in 1938. Man! These are going to be collectors items someday – actually, they probably are already – and you may want to kick me for leaving it behind. Sadly, I’m not sure what will happen to these old typewriters, even the one with the missing keys. I believe all the left behind furniture will be donated or left to the possession of the new owners of Columbia Square.

I also love these old signs. What the heck is Hit Radio? These must be old.

Check out this old promo poster. I think the only thing on it that is still around in the same form is Jack in the Box – there’s no more The Nanny, Robinson’s May, or Plymouth Neons.

KNX moved out a long time ago – before I got to Columbia Square, but the floor we worked on was like the KNX staffers left yesterday – they literally left everything behind.

There was a lot of old stuff about the building that cracked me up. Like this old school Tampax dispenser. No Belts, No Pins, No Pads! Ouch.

The porthole windows off our staircase, one of the architectural details that made Columbia Square so unique. If you look closely, you can see the House of Blues building through the window.

And my desk before I broke it down. I was the last one on shift for the web tonight, so I got to break all my stuff down by myself. It’s been a long time since I’ve broken down a tower for moving.

And after. Awww!

I’m not sure what’s going to happen to Columbia Square. I really hope that some remnant of it will still be around 20 years from now. It is such a cool, old building – even despite the apparent asbestos problem (which I only read about on Wikipedia recently) it should be preserved. I mean, dude – wasn’t it the first radio station in Los Angeles?

Ah well. Fare thee well, Columbia Square, and good night and good luck.