[Radio Station Index]
[CCF General Directory] [CCF Main Page]1925 Radio
CNRV Vancouver, B. C. changed to CRCV in 1933 then CBR in 1937 then CBU
Owned by the Canadian National Railways, CNVR came on the air in 1925, broadcasting from two rooms at the north end of the CNR station in Vancouver. It was part of CNR's "network" of stations designed to bring entertainment to passengers in the parlour cars on the trains as they came near to major centers across Canada. Vancouver residents benefited from these broadcasts as well.
CNRV attracted a host of local talent because it had the best equipment and largest studios in Vancouver. All programs were live and included music, drama and news. Well known musician John Avison started out playing piano, accompanying singers and soloist musicians, and over the years put together the Vancouver Chamber orchestra of which he was conductor for more than forty-eight years, retiring in 1982. The orchestra, established in the last years of CNRV, carried on through all the changes of the station from CNR to CRBC to CBC, as the house band for these stations. The CNR "network" was closed down in 1933, and CNRV was purchased by the new Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission, who carried on the live music and drama schedule started by the CNR. In 1937, the new Canadian Broadcasting Corporation took over the station, built new "state of the art" studios in the brand new Hotel Vancouver and changed the call sign to CBR. Music and drama flourished under these conditions, and Vancouver vied with Toronto for top production centre. Many famous Canadian writers, actors and directors developed their skills at CBC Vancouver. Andrew Allen, Lister Sinclair, John Drainee, Bernard Braden and wife Barbara Kelly, Fletcher Markle, Alan Young, and management by Jack Radford, succeeded by Ira Dilworth, gave Vancouver a great boost in the Arts field. Perhaps the forerunner of the soap opera could be found in programs such as "The Carsons", on daily following the noon news, a 15 minute drama about farm life, or the series "Mr. and Mrs.", a domestic comedy staring Esther and Allan Roughton. Both these programs ran for several years in the '30s and '40s. While CBR had a high powered station (50,000 watts) the mountainous terrain of B. C. made radio reception difficult or impossible in many parts of the Province. In 1942, CBC started installing LPRT's (low powered rebroadcasting transmitters) to carry CBR's signal throughout the area.
CBR became CBU when the C BC established a new station in Calgary which resulted in a call sign shuffle, with the new station in Calgary becoming CBR and the Vancouver outlet becoming CBU. British Columbia's first FM station came on the air in 1947, when CBU-FM started. CBC Television came to Vancouver when CBUT came on the air on December 16th, 1953.
Source: Book - "Imagine Please" by Dennis J. Duffy - B. C. Archives - see Bibligraphy
updated to March, 1996