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Subjects (65)
Architecture (17)

Canada's Architectural Past (3)

  • The Buildings Already Begun
    The Buildings Already Begun
    William Pettigrew 1967 17 min
    Not everyone agreed that the buildings already begun were worth finishing, but, in spite of opposition, Canada built its imposing Houses of Parliament in Ottawa on the hill above the river. From a rich archive of pictures of the federal Parliament buildings as they developed over the past hundred years, this film creates a vivid sense of being there.
  • Death of a Skyline
    Death of a Skyline
    Bryan Smith 2003 41 min
    A bulldozer tears into the side of a wooden grain elevator. The magnificent prairie landmark crumples to the ground. Once, more than 5,000 Alberta grain elevators graced the skyline. Today they're being razed to make way for modern concrete structures. Are these "prairie cathedrals" being destroyed due to obsolescence or corporate profit? In this film, a lively cast of characters reveals the story of these disappearing landmarks. The citizens of Mayerthorpe, Alberta fight to save their elevator as demolition day approaches. A Montana couple, Bruce and Barbara Selyem, race to photograph elevators across the continent before they are ripped down. Pete Kirk salvages grain-worn wood from demolition sites to build furniture and recycle a piece of prairie history. With archival film clips, interviews and dramatic footage of tumbling grain elevators, Death of a Skyline explores the history and significance of these familiar prairie structures. Wooden grain elevators have been at the heart of North America's economic, cultural and physical landscape for more than a century. As they continue to fall, will all that remains be memories of a vanishing way of life?
  • Louisbourg
    Louisbourg
    Albert Kish 1972 20 min
    The Fortress of Louisbourg, a historic landmark on the Atlantic shore of Cape Breton Island, was originally built by King Louis XV to protect French possessions in the New World during the French colonial era. Its restoration is considered to be the biggest archaeological dig in North America. This film gives a detailed account of what was involved in the reconstruction and refurbishing.

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