The House that Radio Built

“If You Want a Real Value in a Home HERE IT IS! We are now offering the WTMA Dream Castle at $2,000 Less than Actual Cost” reads the ad that ran in the Oct. 25, 1941 edition of the Charleston Evening Post. The “House that Radio Built” is a popular story that has been passed down from several original residents of Avondale about one particular home on Oakdale in the neighborhood of Avondale. The story even includes a segment that the street of Lindendale (originally Lindondale) was named for Linda and Don, the radio personalities featured in the WTMA Dream Castle program. Such a fantastic tale for the early 1940s. So, what is a “Dream Castle?” Why was WTMA building a home in Avondale? Who are Linda and Don? Why was Avondale the focus of this attention? All interesting questions with potential answers found in newspaper ads, articles, and the archives of WTMA.
John Quincy interviewed Franz Witte, an announcer, program director and salesman for WTMA from 1940-1948. In this interview, Witte discussed the difficulty in recruiting national network programs for WTMA during this time and it was his responsibility to develop local programs. He wrote a show about building a home in “Avondale on the Ashley.” He created the young couple “Linda and Don” to build their first home — a “Dream Castle”. (He even threw in a mother-in-law for drama according to the interview).
In the Sept. 4, 1940 ad for “Linda-Don Dream Castle” the public learned how “ a young couple will embark upon the most thrilling adventure of a lifetime. These young people are planning to realize a dream … to actually make their “Dream Castle” a reality …They will spend this weekend looking for a suitable site for their “Dream Castle” and next Sunday you will hear all about it.”
According to everything that was reported in the Charleston Evening Post WTMA constructed the home and used the program to detail the progress. It’s not clear exactly the financial source for this project, but advertising might be a good bet. The show would sometimes air from the home and in December of 1940 an open house was held where over 2000 people visited and inspected the “Dream Castle.”
On Dec. 28, 1940 a W. M. Means ad announced the “privilege of offering” for sale the “Dream Castle” — which was “built under such special conditions … for the expressed purpose of having the interested public watch every nail and witness every selected piece of lumber as it was being put in place.” It’s unclear if the house sold during this time. However, was the reduction in price advertised in the Oct. 1941 ad mentioned above due to the war and the slow housing market?
One last twist to the story … according to the Oct. 13, 1940 ad in The News and Courier, Linda and Dan had selected a lot on Live Oak Avenue in the beautiful new development of Avondale on the Ashley for their Dream Castle. Just one problem, there’s not a street by that name in Avondale.
In November of 1940, WTMA ran a contest with $20 in prizes to name the street running parallel to Avondale Avenue in Avondale on the Ashley. Four winners were named. The winning suggestion of Lindondale was submitted by Miss Mary Eileen Leonard. The second prize was awarded to the submission suggested “Ashale” (is this a misprint and meant to be Ashdale?). The third prize suggestion was Rosedale. The fourth prize of $5 went to Herman B. Speissegger, Jr. of Wappoo Heights who suggested that all the street names in Avondale end in “dale.” So maybe Live Oak became Oakdale because indeed Lindendale parallels Avondale and there are streets named Rosedale and Ashdale in Avondale today.
Know any interesting stories from your neighborhood? Share them with Donna at westashleybook@gmail.com.