Lionized now as "prairie icons", "prairie cathedrals" or "prairie sentinels" the grain elevator was considered at first to be "nothing to inspire delight". Designed to receive, store and ship grain in bulk, the elevator was strictly a utilitarian building. Yet, as early as 1922, French architect Le Corbusier hailed the elevator’s stark simplicity and unadorned geometric shape as the ultimate example in architecture of form following function. As the elevator complex developed to include annexes and outbuildings, the spatial relationship of each was a result of the functions each performed.

Although there was considerable variation in shape and storage capacity among the earliest elevators in Alberta, the standard, or traditional, 30,000 - 40,000 bushel elevator with a gabled roof and a gable-roofed cupola became the norm in the 1920s. It was the leg - an endless belt with cups or scoops attached that elevated the grain for distribution to the storage bins - that gave the name and shape to this industrial building. Even so, there was considerable variation in profile and storage capacity among the earliest elevators in Alberta. Some companies like Brackman-Ker, who built the first elevator in Alberta in 1896 in Strathcona, favoured an elevator with a pyramidal roof and a pyramidal-roofed cupola. Others opted for a gable roof. All were built of wood crib construction using either 2 x 6s or 2 x 8s for the lower walls and 2 x 4s for the upper section of the elevator.

How Does An Elevator Work?

1. The farmer dumps his load of grain through a grate in the floor of the driveway. Grain trucks are driven into the driveway and onto a receiving scale where the agent weighs the truck. After the truck is emptied it is weighed again. The difference is the net weight of the grain.

2. The grain flows into the pit, or boot.In standard elevators the pit is a triangular- shaped steel pan with a capacity of about 100 bushels.

3. From the pit, the grain is elevated to the top of the elevator by the leg. The elevator agent stores the grain in either an empty bin or one containing similar grain. Once he selects a bin, the agent starts the motor that powers the leg.

4. At the top of the elevator the grain flows into a pre-selected bin for storage. As the grain is carried over the head of the leg it is dumped into the distributor or gerber. The agent directs the gerber to the appropriate bin spout that sends the grain into the pre-selected bin.

5. To ship grain the agent re-elevates the grain to the gerber that directs the grain to the loading spout and into the grain car. The agent opens a bin so the grain runs into the back pit. The grain is then re-elevated and deposited into an overhead bin. From there it is dumped into the garner and then into the hopper scale where it is weighed. The grain is then lowered into the back pit from where it is re-elevated and dropped into the loading spout and from there into the rail car.

Upgrading The Elevator

To the casual observer it may appear that, once built, elevators remained unchanged. The elevators, though, were constantly upgraded as new technologies were introduced. By the end of the 20^th century visible changes ranged from the addition of loxstave annexes to new distribution systems external to the elevator.

The term "elevator" is commonly used to describe the entire complex which, by the 1920s, included the elevator and driveway, ramps and approaches, an office with its walkway, an annex or two, an outhouse/fuel storage shed, and coal and flour sheds. Over the years, the grain companies replaced the original gasoline engine with electrical equipment, improved truck dumping mechanisms; installed larger scales and larger and longer moveable loading spouts to facilitate the loading of hopper cars; replaced wooden legs with metal ones; and built new driveways and offices.

Built by R. B. McClean Grain in 1928, this elevator was sold to Pioneer Grain in 1929. Over the years. Pioneer removed the cupola on the elevator to accomodate a new elevating leg, added two steel bin annexes with an overhead drag auger, and a cyclone dust extractor. Despite these upgrades, this elevator was demolished in March 2002.