WDAE put Florida on commercial radio

Tampa’s first-radio story starts in a newspaper building, not a glass studio.

WDAE received Florida’s first commercial radio license on May 15, 1922. The license went to The Tampa Daily Times, and the first programs came from the Florida Citrus Exchange Building. A downtown historical marker keeps the story tied to a real place.

The neat detail is how new it all felt. Mayor Charles H. Brown called radio “The Wonder of the Age” at the opening. That sounds big now, but in 1922 it was honest excitement. A voice could leave Tampa and reach people who were not in the room.

It also shows how much early radio leaned on local papers, local buildings, and local boosters. The station was not a faraway media company at the start. It was part of downtown Tampa life.

If you are downtown, check current marker information and nearby access before making a special stop. The building names and uses have changed, but the WDAE marker gives Tampa a clean starting point for Florida broadcast history.