KCOR Microphone
Object Details
- See more items in
- Work and Industry: Electricity
- Cultures & Communities
- Communications
- Exhibition
- American Enterprise
- Exhibition Location
- National Museum of American History
- ID Number
- 2015.0002.03
- model number
- 555
- S56
- catalog number
- 2015.0002.03
- accession number
- 2015.0002
- Description
- This model 55 Shure microphone was used at the KCOR-AM radio building in San Antonio, Texas during the 1950s. First introduced in 1939, the microphone became iconic due to its adoption by radio personalities and musical acts. The microphone uses Shure’s “Unidyne” element, a pick-up element that only accepts sounds from one direction and forms a cardioid sensitivity pattern. KCOR was licensed and operated by Raoul A. Cortez (1905-1971), a pioneer of Spanish-language media in the United States. Cortez later established the KCOR-TV station in 1955, and programmed his stations to serve the Spanish-speaking community in Texas.
- Credit Line
- Gift of Univision Communications, Inc.
- maker
- Shure
- Physical Description
- metal (overall material)
- grey, black (overall color)
- Measurements
- overall: 11 1/2 in x 5 1/8 in x 7 in; 29.21 cm x 13.0175 cm x 17.78 cm
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
- Object Name
- microphone
- Metadata Usage
- CC0
- Record ID
- nmah_1591213
KCOR Microphone
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
