Tuesday, July 6, 2010

The CBK Transmitter: An Art Deco Jewel on the Prairies





Browsing the internet the other day, I discovered a building that I hadn't thought about in years, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's transmitter at Watrous, Saskatchewan. I further found that there is a battle brewing to have this incredible piece of Art Deco architecture and an equally vital piece of Canadian broadcasting history designated as a historic structure.

I can't understand who would be opposed to such a thing.

I will be writing an expanded article here discussing both the architectural significance of this building, as well as the role it played in Canadian history, but for now I want to simply post some images for your consideration.

It's really quite a remarkable and beautiful structure.

As you view these images (scale models created by Orrin Mackintosh of Watrous, and a former CBK employee), I will leave you with this excerpt from The Saskatchewan Encyclopedia.

"During the 1930s, Modernist architecture arrived in the province through modest buildings like the Mainline Ford auto dealership in INDIAN HEAD (1937) and the CBK radio transmitter building (1939) in WATROUS. This was the start of a trend still current, where projects are designed elsewhere as prototypical buildings that could fit on any site".

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