The simple and elegant grain elevator is one of the best-loved symbols of Alberta and the prairie west. Grain elevators are not simply a feature of our physical landscape but, with the names of our home towns proudly emblazoned on the sides, they are also a part of our local and personal identities, giving us truly "a sense of place". Sadly, Alberta's elevators are disappearing at an alarming rate, and being replaced with large, centralized, concrete and steel structures. This photograph of the Brownvale elevators, [ca. 1983], is just one of 3763 photographs of the grain elevators of 310 towns, which are preserved at Glenbow in the Alberta Wheat Pool fonds.

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