Station History

Beginnings

In 1983, Portland Public Schools applied for a license to create an FM station that would reach a larger audience than its AM station. The dream became reality when Reed College agreed to shift its FM station slightly, freeing up the 89.9 space on the dial. KBPS-FM went on the air August 1,1983.

During the early years, programming on the new station consisted of NPR Plus (a music service much like Beethoven Satellite Network), syndicated programming (such as Pipedreams and Minnesota Orchestra) and educational programming. Unlike today, all the programming was pre-recorded.

In the mid-1980s, NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered were added in the early morning and early evening hours. At about the same time Tania Thompson, a production assistant at the station, began live announcing following Morning Edition at 8 a.m.. John Pitman, a recent Benson graduate, was initially hired as a student assistant to change the tapes on the FM. In the spring of 1986, he started live announcing during the early evening hours. A third announcer was hired to work through the night beginning in March of 1988, making 89.9FM a 24-hour classical station.

Unexpected Challenges

Over the decades, the continued growth of the two stations caused a space crisis. Station Manager Dr. Patricia Swenson and a team of community leaders, initiated a capital campaign to build a new broadcast center with private funds.

The list of community-minded benefactors on the builder’s plaque in the foyer of KBPS AM and FM is impressive to this day. Thanks to the generosity of these individuals, businesses, foundations and trusts, the dream of a new broadcast center came true on April 23,1992.

Before the successful completion of the new broadcast center, however, voters of Oregon passed a ballot measure that authorized a limitation on property tax rates in the state. Because of this measure, the Portland School District faced severe budget cuts, which in turn drastically affected funding to KBPS.

Operating cuts were necessary if KBPS was to survive. NPR membership was discontinued in 1993. The AM station was simulcast with FM on Saturdays and Sundays. Staff cuts included the overnight announcer, along with other key positions. Volunteers took on a more active role as pledge drives became the most viable option for insuring the ultimate survival of the two public radio stations. Subsequent pledge drive efforts proved that listeners appreciated the station enough to invest in it.

In January 2003 Portland Public Schools informed the KBPS Foundation they would be selling the FM license, and the Foundation signed an agreement to purchase that license for $5.5 million. This campaign will be completed in 2008, securing Portland’s classical music station for all time, preserving a heritage of the world’s best music in perpetuity.

Into the Future

Today All Classical offers high-quality stereo classical music and commentary to listeners within a 65-mile radius of Portland. We reach as far south as Salem, east to Government Camp and north to Longview, Washington. We also serve the Hood River community by broadcasting on KQHR 90.1FM, are currently on the air in The Dalles, leasing KBOO's translator, and are serving the central Oregon Coast with a repeater signal in Gleneden Beach since May 2008.

More than 142,000 people in the greater Portland-Vancouver area tune in each week to All Classical, which provides access to classical music 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All Classical thrives due to the help of hundreds of volunteers and 20 paid staff members. We have 13,752 contributing members who support this incredible resource in Portland’s art community.