Michael J. Kirwan Educational Television Center
Encyclopedia
The Michael J. Kirwan Educational Television Center, also known as KVZK-TV or KVZK Building, is a historic and current educational television center in the Western District
of American Samoa
.
The National Park Service describes it as follows:
It's named for U.S. congressman Michael J. Kirwan
, from Ohio, who took an interest in the development of American Samoa.
The building was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
on October 23, 2009.
It's an unpretentious building, constructed of concrete foundation, concrete walls, and a corrugated iron roof. The listing was announced as the featured listing in the National Park Service
's weekly list of November 13, 2009.
The building is still used for educational television programming.
Western District, American Samoa
The Western District is one of the primary divisions of American Samoa. It consists of the western portion of Tutuila Island. It has a land area of 74.781 km² and contains 29 villages plus a part of Nu'uuli village. Among these is the largest village of American Samoa, Tafuna, at its eastern end...
of American Samoa
American Samoa
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
.
The National Park Service describes it as follows:
Completed in 1964, the Kirwan Center was part of a bold, post-war development program designed to modernize American Samoa's local educational system by, among other things, initiating an extensive educational television program. With the establishment of the new educational programs in the Kirwan Center facility, lesson plans could now be televised to the most remote villages in the six islands of American Samoa. The innovative television educational program housed at the Center was considered the first of its kind in the "underdeveloped world" and garnered considerable attention from educators and large and small countries that saw similar programs as potential catalysts for transformation of their own regions.
It's named for U.S. congressman Michael J. Kirwan
Michael J. Kirwan
Michael Joseph Kirwan was a United States Democrat from Ohio who served as a Representative to the United States Congress from 1937 to 1970 elected in the 19th electoral district of Ohio...
, from Ohio, who took an interest in the development of American Samoa.
The building was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on October 23, 2009.
It's an unpretentious building, constructed of concrete foundation, concrete walls, and a corrugated iron roof. The listing was announced as the featured listing in the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
's weekly list of November 13, 2009.
The building is still used for educational television programming.