Today in history - Jackson Heights garden apartments advertised on the radio in 1922

We first picked up on this from a NY1 story, wherein they stated that this day – August 28 – in 1922, “The first radio commercial airs on radio station WEAF, now WFAN. The spot is ten minutes long and plugs the Garden Apartments in Jackson Heights.”

Image source: Hawthorne Court Co-ops

Mr. Blackwell of the Queensboro Corporation (this company paid $100 to AT&T as the first “toll broadcasting” client – the company/advertiser produced programming instead of the station itself, and paid for said programming – this was significant in the world of advertising at the time) spoke that commercial (transcript), promoting the spacious living in Jackson Heights. He spoke of garden apartments that were and are part of the Hawthorne Court co-op, named after Nathaniel Hawthorne, “the greatest of American fictionists” and someone who appreciated fresh air and the outdoors.

His message was that city life in Manhattan was just awful, “congested,” terrible for children, and that people should move out to Jackson Heights (essentially the country) where they could have a comfortable, real life in an “apartment-house” that was even better than a conventional house.

He also emphasized that the Manhattan business section was just a short subway ride away – only 20 minutes.

Today, residents of Jackson Heights still consider their gardens to be an oasis in the big city, in part because they are only accessible by the people that live in the co-ops. That said, there is one day in the year when outsiders can visit the gardens. Keep an eye on the calendar for the Jackson Heights Beautification Group for the announcement of the day. It’s big deal in historic Jackson Heights.

Image source: Hawthorne Court Co-ops

August 28th in NYC History [NY1]
First WEAF Commercial [Early Radio History]
From Hawthorne to Hard Sell – Radio Advertising and How it Got That Way [otrr.org]