The 1930 Dedication was a huge Big Deal in Arizona. As a result, "The Arizona Republican" newspaper leadership decided to use their flagship radio station KTAR to broadcast the event live throughout the State of Arizona. It was a technological feat that deserves attention in its own right.
A newsreel film of the Dedication was converted to video here:
Above, "Silent Cal" speaks into the KTAR microphone on a bunting-draped podium atop Coolidge Dam. Coolidge's speech was a boring dud and he as much as told people he really didn't want to be there. The radio remote, however, covered the entire event so Coolidge's unimpressive speech was a mere footnote during the almost four hours of air time.
You can read a transcript of Coolidge's speech here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UuXlZShZ2ULKm27AulGJQHsYLc08bpaI/view?usp=sharing
Luckily, "The Arizona Republican" chose to brag about the radio remote and the above article provided all of the intimate details people like me would like to know 92 years later.
Radio heads I've talked with feel certain the audio feed was carried by copper wire telephone lines from the dam site to Phoenix. Consequently, the broadcast had to go through at least the main Phoenix switchboard. We'd guess the remote was such a Big Deal that telephone and radio managers worked together to get a clean, dedicated patch for the audio feed from the dam site. Even though this photo of a metro switchboard dates earlier than 1930, it conveys what such a situation might have looked like.
Transmitter photo source: https://www.radioheritage.com/radio-station-studios-in-the-1920s/
The above photo shows what a typical 1000 watt transmitter looked like in the 20's. It's laughably crude compared with today's high tech arrays but it got the job done...and done well.
Photo Source: http://uv201.com/Photo%20Pages/radio_shop_1929.htm
Photo Source: https://prism.lib.asu.edu/items/34563
Details of Heard Bldg.: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Heard_Building
Above are the twin broadcast antenna towers that beamed the Dedication event statewide. Back then 1000 watts was considered high power. However, it's a wonder that such low power could push the signal all over the state. Talk about a 1920's techno feat! WOW!
Radio took over America in the 1920's. There were even radio stores where people went specifically to shop for a home radio set. The photo above shows what such a store would have looked like. We can imagine the smooth upselling techniques of the salesman. "But, Sir, this one with TEN tubes would have so much more clarity than the five tube radio!"
Photo source: https://www.loc.gov/resource/cph.3b02306/
This is a reasonable fascimile of what it might have looked like when people tuned in to listen to the Coolidge Dam radio broadcast. Sitting around the gi-normous home radio in the living room was THE thing to do back then.
Below is a link to read about KTAR's history:
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