During a time when milk was 34 cents a gallon, the average cost of a home was $1,250 and 1% of American households had televisions, the ABC station WENR-TV/Channel 7 made its television debut in Chicago onIn 1968, the station changed its call letters to WLS-TV, an acronym for the "World's Largest Store," after its sister radio station's previous owner, Sears, RoebuckAccording to John Idler, ABC 7 president and general manager, "Throughout our history, we have led the way...
The site of ABC 7's State Street Studio stands in what was originally a vaudeville house built in 1919 by famous Chicago architects C.W. Rapp and George L. Rapp. It was called the State-Lake Theater and featured live stage acts and movies. By the early 1940s, stage shows disappeared from the State-Lake Theater and it just served as a movie palace until it closed on June 28, 1984.
After 75 years, ABC 7 continues to be the most-watched television station in Chicago. The station has also been the top choice for news in Chicago, boasting No. 1 ratings year after year for decades. ABC 7's 10 p.m. news has captured the No. 1 spot for more than two decades and the station's 4, 5, and 6 p.m. newscasts have retained their No. 1 ranking for an extraordinary 30-plus years.- 1984 - Oprah Winfrey debuts as host of the station's AM CHICAGO.