The station first signed on with a test pattern on May 3, 1953, with regular operations beginning on May 5. It was owned by the city of St. Petersburg, along with WSUN radio (620 AM, now WTWD at 910 AM). It was one of the first UHF television stations in the country. WSUN-TV's studios were located on the first floor of the St. Petersburg Pier, overlooking Tampa Bay. The facility was relatively small – measuring only 35 feet long and 46 feet wide – and had once been a trolley turnaround. This made the production of local programs rather difficult.