Columbia Island (New York) facts for kids
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| Geography | |
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| Location | Long Island Sound |
| Coordinates | 40°52′38″N 73°45′44″W / 40.877322°N 73.762354°W |
| Area | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
| Administration | |
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United States
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| State | New York |
| County | Westchester |
| City | New Rochelle |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 0 |
| Pop. density | 0 /km2 (0 /sq mi) |
Columbia Island, once known as Little Pea Island, is a small island in the Long Island Sound. It is part of New Rochelle, New York. You can find it near Davids' Island, right next to Pea Island. The size of the island changes with the tide. It can be about one acre or as small as 175 square feet.
Contents
History of Columbia Island
Columbia Island has an interesting history with several different owners.
Early Ownership
The Iselin family used to own Columbia Island. In 1936, they sold it to the Huguenot Yacht Club. They also sold Pea Island at the same time.
CBS Buys the Island
Just three years later, in 1939, the yacht club sold Little Pea Island to the Columbia Broadcasting System. CBS decided to rename it "Columbia Island," which was a fitting new name.
CBS bought the island for a very important reason. They needed a place to build a new radio antenna tower. This tower would help them broadcast radio signals for WCBS (which was then called WABC) to the New York City area. Experts had found that the area around New Rochelle was perfect for a radio transmitter.
Building the Radio Station
CBS spent about $500,000 to build the radio station on the island. This included a special building for the transmitter and a tall 410-foot (125 m) broadcast tower. The transmitter building was made with copper walls and was 75 square feet. It also had emergency living spaces for ten workers.
The station had a powerful 50,000-watt transmitter. There was also a smaller 5,000-watt transmitter for emergencies. Electricity came from two underwater cables connected to different power plants. This helped make sure the power would not go out. The island also had backup generators in case of a power failure. The engineers who worked at the station lived in special quarters under the main building.
The radio station worked on Columbia Island until 1963. By then, the equipment was old, and the station moved to High Island nearby.
New Owners and a Green Home
After CBS left, the island was bought by famous show-business couple Peter Lind Hayes and Mary Healy. They even broadcast a breakfast talk show from their home on the island! Later, they gave the island to the College of New Rochelle.
In 2005, the owner at that time wanted to tear down the old transmitter building. They planned to build a private home there instead.
In 2007, a doctor named Al Sutton bought Columbia Island. He wanted to make the island a great place to live. He built an "off-the-grid" green home inside the old concrete building. This means the house makes its own power, using things like solar panels.
In June 2019, Columbia Island and Pea Island were put up for sale together. The price was $13 million. According to The New York Times, Mr. Sutton called the property a "money pit" because he spent $8 million on it.
Images for kids
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View of the island from Pelham Bay Park
See also
In Spanish: Isla Columbia (Nueva York) para niños
