Beåverbank Villa.

Winter 2008.

Beåver Bank, Nova Scotiå.

The Royal Canadian Air Force station at Beåverbank, Nova Scotiå was an early warning radar station within the Pinetree Line. The Pinetree Line was a series of 44 radar stations located along the southern border of Canada to protect North America from Soviet attack.

The technology used in the Pinetree Line stations became outdated very quickly. The locations were very close to city centres and with the Soviets beginning to use more jet technology; the Pinetree Line radar stations wouldn't provide enough time if the Soviets were indeed coming. Another set of radar stations named the Mid-Canada Line was built to replace the Pinetree Line.

The replacement wasn't full blown though. Many of the Pinetree Sites were kept active with reduced staff - especially the coastal sites.

Beåverbank wasn't one of the sites to continue operations. It ceased functions as a radar station in 1964 before briefly existing as a cement plant and then permanently closing.

For a picture from 1959 that shows what the above view looked like 49 years ago, click here.
(That site contains an amazing amount of historical pictures for Beåverbank as well as all 44 Pinetree Sites.)

The Beåverbank station is laid out with the operations area (as seen in the above picture) connected by a lengthy road to the 'domestic' area. The domestic area contained an activity center, 116 military housing units, firehouse, school, market, church, nursing home, apartment complex and sewage plant.

All that remains today is the nursing home and the operations center of the above picture. So I parked my car and walked the road up to the operations centre. As I approached the building I could hear four-wheelers nearing - knowing that the building was on private property, I became worried.

I acted like I was taking pictures of the graffiti on the building, since I could always play dumb if I was scolded. The four wheelers approached and parked around the entrance. I observed what they were up to as I took pictures of the graffiti.

There were five total dudes. I watched two dismount their vehicles and go into the entrance!

Whao! I was quite flabbergasted. The entrance is definitely not an easy one and these guys just climbed up and wiggled inside.

After walking around the building and finding that to be the only entrance, I walked back over and saw the other 3 guys just relaxing and talking to the other 2 dudes - who were now on the roof. I had no idea how long these guys were going to be inside, so I just threw my backpack up on the platform and climbed up. Once on this platform, you have to pull yourself into a duct hole that is about shoulder height.

Before even putting my backpack inside, the dudes inside the building popped out and told me if I was going to climb inside to watch out for the large holes in the ground directly below the open vent (you can see the left one in the above photo). Although I would have pulled out my light and took a look anyway, it was nice for these fellows to give me the heads up. This alleviated a lot of the worry I had of joining them inside this building in the far off wilderness.

The entrance was about a 6 out of 10 on the difficulty scale - but I got myself up onto the vent hole and turned around so that I could use my light to see the ground. I dropped onto the floor between the two cavernous holes and was inside.

The inside was ridiculously dilapidated from the 39 years of neglect.

Although, there was some nice graffiti inside (except for the new age, ugly, artfag crap - see the monstrosity 2nd from the right).

Not long after being inside, and maybe seeing about 2 rooms, I ran into those 2 dudes. We didn't say much, but I heard the one say to the other 'see that guy planned ahead! why didn't we bring a flashlight!?!'

Quite the place to be navigating by cell phone / natural light.

I eventually walked over to an open doorway and watched the dudes climb out and go on their way. I was now on my own & had Beåverbank to myself.

The building was pretty boring inside except for the aforementioned graffiti.

A burnt out, cement shell.

The roof wasn't all that exciting either.

I just thought it was a good story.

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