CBC Television building in Halifax broadcasts for last time
CBC to broadcast from new home on Chebucto Road on Monday
Most of my colleagues can tell you exactly when they walked through the doors at 1840 Bell Rd. for the first time.
I can't. I've been coming to this building since before I can remember.
My dad, Ralph, was a producer and director in the bustling Variety department, when Variety — think singing, fiddling contests, symphony specials — was a major force in this building.
In the early 1970s, children of staff members were invited for the annual CBC Children's Christmas Party. So my first, earliest memory of the place I now know as Studio 2 involved Santa Claus and candy. Clearly, this was a magical place.
Over time, I understood a little more about the magic of Studio 2. If you've ever been part of a studio audience, maybe you've felt it, too.
It's a big space, with black walls and a lighting grid up high. The CBC's design team can transform the room entirely. Add a set, plug in the sound system, fire up the cameras — and you're in an intimate, world-class studio.
It's the same place that introduced Canadians to Singalong Jubilee, Don Messer and Frank's Bandstand. Anne Murray, Bill Langstroth, Catherine McKinnon, Natalie MacMaster, Gary and Dave, Edith Butler. They all played here. Wonderfully original Maritime music.
If these walls could talk, they'd sing.
Let's be clear: 1840 Bell Rd. is not a beautiful building. It's nothing like the white art deco masterpiece we all know as the CBC Radio building down the street. The wonder of this place has never been about the building itself. It's always been about the people. The most creative professionals you'll ever meet.
On Friday, the lights will go dark for the last time in Studio 2. Over the weekend, we will all move with our colleagues from Sackville Street to a new home on Chebucto Road.
For the first time, everyone in CBC Halifax will work together, from the same building.
There's a lot to be excited about.
But for a moment Friday, I know I'll feel a little wistful about this moment in time.
I don't remember the first time I walked through the doors at Bell Road. But I will remember the last.