Berliner Gramaphone Company/RCA Victor building
The building now known as the RCA Victor building on Lenoir Street was originally built by the Berliner Gramaphone Company between 1908 and 1921 for the production of
gramaphone equipment. Emile Berliner was born in Germany, moved to Washington, and finally settled in Montreal. He invented the
telephone microphone, the gramophone and the flat record.
When construction was completed in 1921, Berliner Gramophone
possessed one of the most modern factories in Montreal. The 50,000 sq. ft. plant made both players and records.
 |
 |
This was home of Berliner Gramophone Company |
The original Berliner buildings were torn down in 1943 and replaced with more modern buildings. Apparently only the massive chimney and power plant remains from the original construction |
View from the Lenoir side of the complex. |
View of the power plant and base of the huge chimney. |
The Gramaphone Company bought the now-famous painting of Nipper the Dog from the English painter Francis Barraud in 1896. Barraud had first offered the painting to representatives of the Edison-Bell Company who turned him down telling him that "dogs don't listen to phonographs". This trademark first appeared in 1900 in Montréal on the back of record # 402 - "Hello My Baby", by Frank Banta. This classic logo has adorned millions of Gramaphone, RCA, and RCA Victor recordings over the last 100 years.
In 1924, Berliner Gramophone was bought by the Victor Talking Machine Company which, in turn, merged with RCA in 1929 to form the RCA Victor Corporation. RCA had been created 10 years earlier in a merger of General Electric and ITT radio assets. In 1986 RCA Victor was sold back to GE who now owns the nipper logo
These buildings were used to make records and gramaphone equipment. Later RCA built satellites in these buildings.
Today the building is rented out to artists, textile and furniture manufactures. The Emile Berliner museum located on Lacasse
Street is a informative reminder of the history of this building.
