The original ARRL station was licensed with the callsign of W1MK and located in a
National Guard building at Brainard Field in
Hartford, Connecticut. After eight years of operation this flood plain location was destroyed by the waters of the
Connecticut River in a 1936 flood. During this same year
Hiram Percy Maxim, president and co-founder of the ARRL, died after serving 22 years as the organization's president. It was decided by the ARRL board of directors that a new station would be built as a memorial to their recently lost president and that the new station would assume his callsign of
W1AW. On September 2, 1938 the new station was dedicated with the ceremonies being broadcast nationally over the radio. The
Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station building appears much as it did when first built in 1938 and is now located next to the ARRL headquarters which was built in 1963. The station was constructed on what was then rural in
Newington, Connecticut, purchased for $2,200 from Ms. Elsie Starr (the only nearby resident and namesake of today's HQ framing Starr Avenue). The station's dedication on September 2, 1938 was of such significance in its day that it was carried live nationally on the CBS radio network; this was accomplished with the aid of Connecticut powerhouses WTIC and WDRC. The station was staffed by Hal Bubb, W1JTD, and George Hart, W1NJM. The station was soon affected by a hurricane, losing power and proving the wisdom of installing emergency generators. It would be years before they were used once installed. The night of December 7, 1941, saw Hart and Bubb alerting the nation's amateurs that the FCC had closed down amateur stations, following the attack on Pearl Harbor. This continued for several months until W1AW itself was ordered off the air by the FCC. This condition would exist until October 31, 1945, following Japan's surrender. On that day, W1AW returned to the air to announce the methodical reopening of amateur radio activity. In 1964, an addition and other renovations were made to the station following the closure of the La Salle Road offices in favor of the newly constructed offices used today by the ARRL. By 1988, under the tutelage of Chuck Bender, W1WPR, the Maxim station was renovated again, adding such amenities as a new
kitchenette, toilet, workshop and a meeting room (on the station's second floor). Further improvements included glass walled operating studios, new operating tables, and modern rack mounted equipment placed within climate controlled spaces. ==Role in modern amateur radio==