Because the City of Lloydminster predates the Dominion Land Survey, the Alberta/Saskatchewan border runs through the middle of the city. This required it to be chartered in both provinces, thus making it the only municipality in North America to be chartered in two jurisdictions.

The Lloydminster Border Marker celebrates this unique circumstance by creating a strong and memorable symbol for the city — a destination which tells the story of Lloydminster’s founding, the border survey, and its impact.

Four progressively spaced steel obelisks 30 meters high are sited from the North Trans Canada Highway to the downtown, marking the border.

From far away they landmark the border; close-up they each sit in a niche connected by a broad tree lined walk. The open slot which runs the entire height of each tower allows the visitor to sight along the columns, defining the border in much the same way as the Dominion surveyors did with their theodolytes.

Mounted in the base of each column are highly coloured ceramic bas-reliefs of local historic, interpretive, and civic images. The presence of the artist’s hand is evident in these works as a counterpoint to the monochromatic, industrial nature of the steel shafts.

This project was awarded the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects’ Honour, Prairie Region.

This was a Doug Carlyle, Carlyle and Associates project. My involvement was to collaborate on the concept and design of the sculptural components of the steel spires and ceramic plaques.

Lloydminster, Alberta/Saskatchewan

Size:  30m (100 ft) hgt

Date: 1994