CFPL Addition Shovel - Commemorative
Date1984
Credit LineGift of Richard Costley-White, 2003
Object number2003.018.042
Label TextDignitaries used the commemorative shovel to break ground for CFPL-TV’s expansion on October 6, 1984. When it was completed a year later, London’s television station had a footprint of 50,000 square feet.
Walter J. Blackburn (1914-1983), owner of the "London Free Press" and CFPL radio, committed to establishing a private television station in London as soon as licenses became available. But he faced some opposition from those who feared a Blackburn media monopoly in the city. The CBC issued the license despite the opposition. Blackburn’s was the only solid application. Blackburn decided to build his television station from the ground up. For this reason, CFPL-TV came second after Sudbury’s CKSO, which became the first private television station in Canada when it began broadcasting in October of 1953. CFPL-TV began broadcasting on November 28, 1953.
NameCommemorative
1870-1900
McCLARY MANUFACTURING CO.
