1983Needham, MassachusettsCommercial

Metromedia Television national headquarters / WCVB-TV $4 million studio expansion

A strong 1983 candidate: Metromedia was building a new television headquarters outside Boston that year.

From Rita’s list

No building photograph is currently assigned.

01The story

Why this project matters

Project identity: Verified
Kelly connection: Family source
Masonry scope: Probable

Rita’s list

Rita Bartscherer’s handwritten entry: Metromedia Inc. — 1983

Transcription: Metromedia Inc. — 1983

Recorded by Rita Bartscherer · Bartscherer family record

Entry

KM-165

Sheet

2 of two

As written

“Metromedia Inc. — 1983”

UPI reported a $4 million WCVB studio expansion and headquarters move in March 1983.

Why it matters

The project could extend the map well beyond New York and connect Joseph's list to another major broadcasting client.

Verification notes

v3.5.80 identity upgrade Very strong → Verified. March 1, 1983 UPI reporting states that Metromedia Television would move its national headquarters to WCVB's Needham site and complete a $4M studio expansion within six to nine months, including permanent Metromedia offices. The 1983 Broadcasting Yearbook lists WCVB-TV at 5 TV Place with Metromedia Inc. as licensee. This resolves the prior WTTG-vs-Needham ambiguity in favor of Needham. | v3.6.12 photo selected and staged: KM-165_WCVB_5TVPlace_current.jpg

02What Kelly did

What Kelly did here

Kelly connection

Family source

Scope confidence

Probable

Likely: most likely interior CMU/block shafts, service cores, fire-rated partitions and masonry backup; exterior brickwork is likely only if the project-specific facade was brick rather than stone, precast, metal or glass.

This scope is recorded as probable, not documented. It is a disciplined reading of the building and the trade practice of the period, not a contract-level record of Kelly’s work.

03Who built it