Vintage Chicago Tribune: 100 years of WLS — the ‘World’s Largest Store’ — radio

April 15, 2024

The year 1924 was a memorable one in Chicago. Construction of Soldier Field was completed. Two wealthy University of Chicago students committed what they called “the perfect murder.” And a company that initially just sold watches branched out — to the ire of its competitor the Tribune-owned WGN (“World’s Greatest Newspaper”) — to find a new audience.

Sears became a broadcasting pioneer when it launched radio station WLS 100 years ago. The call letters stood for “World’s Largest Store,” a moniker Sears earned from its massive headquarters and mail-order plant in Chicago’s Homan Square neighborhood, where the radio studios were initially located.

Sears timeline: Rise, fall and restructuring of a Chicago icon over 130 years

Catering to the rural customer base of the Sears catalog, early program offerings included “National Barn Dance,” which became a long-running staple on the station and an influential force in country music. Sears sold WLS to Prairie Farmer magazine in 1928, but the legacy call letters have endured through multiple owners and formats.

Here’s a look back at major milestones for the station, which is currently owned by Atlanta-based Cumulus Media, as it begins its second century in operation.