The WWJ transmitter building at 12700 West Eight Mile Road: A hidden Detroit art deco masterpiece
12700 West Eight Mile, photographed in February 2025
Located at 12700 West Eight Mile Road in Oak Park, Michigan, the WWJ transmitter building is an Art Deco structure designed by Clarence E. Day and completed in 1935.
It originally served as a radio transmitter facility for WWJ until its closure in 1995. Since then, the building has remained vacant, and in 2014, it experienced flooding in the basement due to a power outage.
The interior lobby of the transmitter building. From a post on The Radio Historian.
WWJ recognizes August 20, 1920, as its founding date, when the Detroit News began daily broadcasts under the amateur call sign 8MK. These broadcasts, referred to as the “Detroit News Radiophone,” were initiated by the newspaper’s vice-president and managing director, William E. Scripps. Thomas E. Clark, a radio pioneer, provided technical guidance during the station’s planning. This collaboration advanced the station’s broadcast capabilities and contributed to the broader development of radio technology in the region.
The WWJ transmitter building on Eight Mile Road reflects the station’s mid-20th-century broadcasting infrastructure. Although it no longer serves its original purpose, the structure represents a period in Detroit’s history when radio served as a primary medium for news and information. Its design and historical context continue to draw attention from those interested in architectural and broadcast heritage.
