Pavek Museum of Broadcasting
Established | 29 October 1988 (1988-10-29) |
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Location | St. Louis Park, Minnesota |
Coordinates | 44°56′21″N 93°20′37″W / 44.93917°N 93.34361°W / 44.93917; -93.34361 |
Type | Telecommunications museum |
Founder | Joe Pavek, Earl Bakken, Paul Hedberg |
Website | www |
The Pavek Museum is a museum in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, that has one of the world's most significant collections of vintage radio and television equipment. It originated in the collection of Joe Pavek, who began collecting unique radios while he was an instructor at the Dunwoody Institute in 1946. Students then were given old radios to disassemble, and Pavek was concerned about what might be destroyed in the process.
History
Pavek's collection expanded through the 1970s, when he looked for someone to take over for him. He had difficulty finding anyone and was about to auction off the collection in 1984 when Earl Bakken stepped in. Bakken, the founder of Medtronic and the inventor of the first wearable pacemaker, had also spent many years fixing old radios and TVs, and shared Pavek's passion for vintage hardware. The two joined Paul Hedberg of the Minnesota Broadcasters Association in creating a nonprofit organization that would be the new museum's parent. The Pavek Museum opened on October 29, 1988, a day that was honored with a proclamation by Governor Rudy Perpich as "Joe Pavek Day."
Pavek died a year later, and Bakken assumed leadership of the organization. In 1990 the collection was greatly expanded with the addition of the collection of John T. "Jack" Mullin, an Army Signal Corps veteran of World War II who had brought some AEG Magnetophon tape recorders back from Germany. Mullin used them to record Bing Crosby's radio programs, the first use of magnetic tape in American broadcasting. Over the years, he acquired other recording devices and eventually amassed a world-renowned collection.
The museum has offered educational courses since its founding, both for children and adults.
Related collections
- Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago, Illinois
- Museum of Broadcast Technology[1] in Woonsocket, Rhode Island
Notes
- ^ Museum of Broadcast Technology, [1] Retrieved 1 Dec 2012
References
- Audio Society of Minnesota
- Pavek Museum of Broadcasting
- Retro Thing
- St. Louis Park Historical Society
- Radio World Newspaper
- FedSpending
External links
- Pavek Museum of Broadcasting
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metropolitan area
- American Museum of Asmat Art
- American Swedish Institute
- The Bakken
- Bell Museum of Natural History
- Historic Fort Snelling
- Goldstein Museum of Design
- Hennepin History Museum
- James J. Hill House
- Oliver Kelley Farm
- Mill City Museum
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
- Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
- Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Gallery
- Minnesota Center for Book Arts
- Minnesota Children's Museum
- Minnesota History Center
- Minnesota Museum of American Art
- Minnesota Streetcar Museum
- Minnesota Transportation Museum
- Museum of Lake Minnetonka
- The Museum of Russian Art
- Pavek Museum of Broadcasting
- Science Museum of Minnesota
- Somali Museum of Minnesota
- Twin City Model Railroad Museum
- Walker Art Center
- Weisman Art Museum
- 3M Museum (Two Harbors)
- Cross River Heritage Center (Schroeder)
- Greyhound Bus Museum (Hibbing)
- Hjemkomst Center (Moorhead)
- Mille Lacs Indian Museum (Onamia)
- Minnesota Marine Art Museum (Winona)
- Minnesota Military Museum (Fort Ripley)
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- North Shore Commercial Fishing Museum (Tofte)
- Rourke Art Museum (Moorhead)
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- Two Harbors Light (Two Harbors)
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