The battle to save Canada's grain elevators | Hacker News Reader

The battle to save Canada's grain elevators

theguardian.com

Drove out to Calgary in 1982, both for The Stampede which is truly the world's best rodeo and to see Banff and Jasper.

Driving out on Highway 1 the brightly painted grain elevators were iconic. I even bought a calendar on my trip that featured these colorful wooden elevators. Those sentinels defined the little towns they were in. Stood out versus the ones that didn't have them, guess they're afraid of their town being anonymous. Losing their towns identity.

Just like barns there isn't enough public interest to save more than a few. But I do hope they do so future generations can see a little of the Canadian history that truly made their West.

There is one at the center of my hometown. Easily the most iconic thing in town. I spoke with the owner about possible things to do with it. He explored some options, but the cost to get it up to code would take decades to recoup. He was able to pay to preserve it by leasing it out as a cell tower. Surprisingly, you really have to look for the low-profile antennas to see them.

I like that idea. I get miserable service out at my family's cabin in rural MB, but elevators are by far the highest things around.

The old joke, when driving through the prairies, is that folks would pass the time by counting grain elevators.

I'm not one to assume that just because something is old or traditional, it must be preserved at all costs. But it is true that a certain architectural and cultural character will be lost when the last wooden grain elevator is taken down on the Canadian prairies.

now imagine reverse situation - trying to put up a new grain elevator or may be a wind mill - people will rise to fight against potential obstruction/spoiling of their view. Any change is bad by default :)

>“Driving across the flat parts of Canada and being able to see these architectural elements juxtaposed against the landscape, it really is magical,”

Well, probably in 100 or 200 years the descendants of Kennedy and others powerful Cape Cod dwellers will say the same about the future wind farm off the coast of Cape Cod which they so far have successfully been able to fight against.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Wind

I am not certain why there's such a big push to save these. It sounds like a lot of communities involved in this sort of effort are barely scraping by to begin with so diverting a chunk of change into a historical prop seems a bit silly. Is there any educational value tied to the grain elevators or is it purely like Boston's Citgo sign - just a thing that's always been there?

Imagine them like the inland equivalent of light houses. Mostly useless these days, but they have been a major part of the landscape for every living person's lifetime, and they have an emotional attachment to them.

Yes but I think it's also a bit like losing a clock tower, lighthouse or battery. People who've grown up with it feel that it's part of the landscape as well as their heritage.

The worn wood in grain elevators can be truly amazing from decades of grain eroding the wood and creating beautiful smooth surfaces. It would be a shame to tear it down without reclaiming it.

This documentary (as with so many on the NFB site) is a quiet and thoughtful look at a co-op elevator in operation. https://www.nfb.ca/film/grain_elevator/

> ... built almost entirely from wood, and with fine grain clogging every crevice of most elevators, the ageing buildings are highly combustible.

A YouTube search for "grain elevator fire" shows why "Once they start burning, the local fire department can't put them out."

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=grain+elevator+...

It isn't just "can't put them out", grain dust is explosive. Grain elevators are time bombs.

Not after the dust has settled and been removed. Aerosol dust, yes nasty. But inless there is enough of it it and also aerosolized, it won’t explode.

On a similar note, shearing sheds tend to also be incredibly flammable. The oily lanolin from the sheep's wool gets embedded into the timber, basically making the building a big greasy tinderbox.

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