Scott Herhold of the Mercury News says the fire that roared through the old KNTV building in San Jose on Sunday not only gutted an aging and empty structure, but it destroyed the last remnants of the early era of local television — a time that was more fun and less calculated than today’s broadcasts.

“From the weekday ‘Record Hop,’ which drew its inspiration from ‘American Bandstand,’ to a kids’ show called ‘Hocus Pocus,’ to the used-car ads late at night, the KNTV building served as host for shows that marked a generation in San Jose,” Herhold writes.

“The early days were, well, funky. At the corner of Park Avenue and Montgomery Street stood an old house, left in place by the Gillilands (former KNTV owners), that became the station’s first newsroom. Things were so crowded that one of the editors sat on a commode with a plywood board on her lap to edit the day’s film.” [MORE]