{"nrhp_refnum":"06001081","name":"Voice of America Bethany Relay Station","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"8070 Tylersville Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"West Chester","county":"Butler County","state":"OH","lat":39.35504502950005,"lon":-84.35653553996134,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2006-11-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Communications","Engineering","Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A former international shortwave radio relay station at 8070 Tylersville Road, West Chester Township, Butler County, Ohio, built in 1943-1944. It centers on a concrete-block transmitter building with modest Art Deco influence and sits on a 21-acre parcel.","why_significant":"The station was part of the Voice of America network, which broadcast U.S. programming abroad, and it operated for about 50 years until 1994. The nomination treats 1944 to 1963 as its period of significance, when the original buildings and site features were in place. Its transmitter building, switching station, radio shed, cooling units, fence and landscaped entry drive retain integrity.","narrative":"Built in 1943-1944 on the rural edge of West Chester Township in Butler County, Ohio, this former Voice of America relay station sent shortwave radio programming overseas for about fifty years. Its centerpiece is a concrete-block transmitter building with a two-story central block, a four-story tower and flanking wings. The design is utilitarian, with modest Art Deco influence seen in vertical window groupings and contrasting painted trim. Carl E. Sinnige was architect of record, and engineer Robert James Rockwell shaped the layout and original broadcasting equipment. Surviving original or early features include a switching station, a radio shed, water-fed cooling units, a security fence and a landscaped turning circle on the entry drive. Equipment was upgraded in 1963, 1968 and 1989, and the station closed in 1994. The remaining 21-acre parcel is now township property used as a museum and park. Its significance rests on the 1944 to 1963 period, when the station played a role in the broadcasting network.","period_of_significance":"1944-1963","architect_builder":"Carl E. Sinnige, registered engineer (architect of record); Robert James Rockwell, electrical engineer (facility layout and original broadcasting equipment design)","architectural_style":"Modern Movement/Art Deco; Other/Utilitarian","criteria":[],"status_note":"Decommissioned in 1994; the property is now owned by West Chester Township and used as a museum, municipal building and city park, with a gift shop and meeting room in the transmitter building.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:07.591567-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/06001081.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06001081/f1af820795-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06001081/f1af820795-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Jack Dominic","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:National_VOA_Museum_of_Broadcasting.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jack Dominic</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:National_VOA_Museum_of_Broadcasting.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71986989","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voice_of_America_Bethany_Relay_Station","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7939530"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/butler-county/voice-of-america-bethany-relay-station-06001081/"}