FROM HAUNTED HOUSE TO TOP TV STATION
We at ABC7 are proud to be Building a Better Bay Area and to be an integral part of both the history of television and the history of the Bay Area itself. From our start as the first TV station broadcasting from the old Sutro Tower, to changing the local TV news game with community-based reporting.
ABC7 has been sharing memorable moments, focusing on our amazing Bay Area since 1949. Some of those moments have been funny, poignant or historic, and many have driven important changes that improved the lives of our viewers.
We invite you to take a journey through our past and celebrate those who made KGO-TV the station it is today. Most importantly, thank you to everyone watching us grow and change to serve you better.
Take a look below at some of the great moments in our station's history, including a three-part series about the station's early days.
PART 1:
KGO GETS ITS START: FROM SINGING COWBOYS TO A FORMER STRIPPER
BEHIND THE SCENES OF TV IN 1955
BEFORE
AFTER
By 1954, KGO-TV was running out of space at Sutro Mansion. So the station overhauled an old lodge building that had been home to the Fraternal Order of Eagles. The building was reborn as a state-of-the-art broadcast center at 277 Golden Gate Avenue.
PART 2:
LOCAL NEWS LAUNCHES IN THE '50’S,
THEN COMES OF AGE IN THE '60’S.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO BE A NEWS
PHOTOGRAPHER IN 1968?
BEHIND THE SCENES:
HOW TV NEWS WAS MADE IN 1968
RARE VIDEO OF THE BEATLES AND THEIR FANS IN S.F.
PART 3:
VAN AMBURG, THE 1970'S &
A TV NEWS REVOLUTION
WAS SUPERMAN REALLY AN ABC7 CONSUMER REPORTER?
"MOST WANTED NEWS TEAM" DEPUTIZED TO RAISE RATINGS
SAN FRANCISCO DECLARES
"ABC7 DAY"
ABC7 CELEBRATES 70 YEARS!
Today ABC7 is more than just a television station. It is a news and information leader. We not only continue to bring you the best in broadcasting, we are now everywhere you want us to be, on your television, online, on your mobile device, and your favorite streaming app.
Together we are committed to helping you Build a Better Bay Area.
In 1985 KGO-TV moved into its current home at 900 Front Street along San Francisco's Embarcadero.
ABC7 NEWS VEHICLES
HAVE ALWAYS BEEN COOL!
ABC7'S PEABODY AWARD WINNING COVERAGE OF THE 1989 EARTHQUAKE
KGO-TV's first home was in this old mansion on Mt. Sutro, in
San Francisco.
ABC7 News dug into the archives for this old footage of news photographer Al Bullock getting an exclusive at a cave-in!
ABC7 News reporter Leslie Brinkley stands at the edge of a collapsed section of the San Francisco Bay Bridge after the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989.
From the days of beat-up station wagons to our science-fiction Skymap 7, ABC7 ads have touted the vehicles that bring you great news coverage. In the 1960's, San Francisco actually cleared the streets for a promotion featuring a news wagon speeding around town.
Throughout our 70 years, ABC7'S brave consumer team has never been afraid to wear crazy costumes to make sure viewers are well protected!
Spend a day with the Channel 7 Newsbeat team to see how news stories were covered and got on the air.
When KGO-TV first went on the air, there were no local newscasts. During the 1950’s, producers tried a range of ideas to get people to watch news, but it was not until the explosive news events of the 1960’s that station managers started building a news team and the modern news era was born.
Long before reality TV series like American Idol and The Bachelor, Channel 7 launched a weekly reality show called "Success Story” that broadcast live from Bay Area businesses.
When Channel 7 first started broadcasting, there was no template for creating a TV station. The technology was brand new and the programs were a work in progress. Look back at KGO-TV’s first two decades - from live cowboy bands to “Don Sherwood’s San Francisco Tonight” to Tennessee Ernie Ford and Gypsy Rose Lee.
This 1965 video features The Beatles' arrival in San Francisco, including Beatlemania fans and a Beatles news conference with subtitles, so you do not miss any of the group's sly quips.
Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown presented a special honor to our ABC7 Mornings team and our General Manager Tom Cibrowski.
When KGO-TV needed to be rescued in the ratings, it called in a posse. Watch the infamous news ad that introduced one of the most popular news teams in Bay Area history.
Van Amburg and the Channel 7 News team road in on horseback, launching a TV revolution with crazy commercials, colored coats, and history making news coverage in the 1970's.
BEHIND THE SCENES
HOW NEWS WAS MADE IN 1988
BEHIND THE SCENES:
HOW TV NEWS WAS MADE IN 1988
Channel 7 Anchor Pete Wilson hosted this look at a day in the life of the newsroom and out in the field with news crews in 1988.
Channel 7 Anchor Pete Wilson hosted this look at a day in the life of the newsroom and out in the field with news crews in 1988.