Have you read about the Boston molasses plant explosion/disaster?

In recent discussions about a potential third harbour crossing, it occurs to me that most people probably think of the Macdonald Bridge as the first harbour crossing.

In actuality, this was the first:
https://archives.novascotia.ca/image.../201741218.jpg
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Yikes! Less than six years of lifespan

I think it was a wooden pontoon bridge (with the base not going to the harbour floor) built with Victorian technology so not really surprising.

https://blog.halifaxshippingnews.ca/...0of%20Halifax.

Ah so it wasn't floating, but maybe that's even worse if you're trying to go 75 feet down.

It was fine for 5+ years, but I suppose stone-filled cribs weren't up to the job of hurricane-force winds and storm surge. Or maybe it was the splicing. We'll probably never know exactly.

I would say you were on point with Victorian technology built to an apparently low budget (the Brooklyn Bridge opened in 1883 and is still standing, so perhaps if a lot of money was spent using the latest technology for the time, it would have been okay).

Maybe the issue was the technician, and not the technology? :shrug:

It was fine until it got hit by a hurricane type storm, and they come around every 5-10 years or so.

The bridge may not really have been such a tragedy if it was planned as an affordable semi-permanent structure. A bridge like the Brooklyn Bridge would have been a national level megaproject back then, and let's be honest about the chances of 19th century Canada paying for something like that in NS... ;)

Maybe, but I can't help feeling that in modern times, supports for such structures are anchored into the seabed for some reason. :yes:

In history, it is often the failures that lead to improved standards moving forward, so keeping it in perspective, perhaps this failure led to improvements in future designs, or simply waiting for the technology to improve for future bridges to be built better, and affordably?

Or maybe there was nothing wrong with the first two bridge designs, but their fate was sealed by the Mi'kmaq curse that was said to be placed upon them. :shrug: Perhaps nobody will ever know...

https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/story-be...dges-1.5875458

Kelowna has had floating bridges for a long time including the latest one, I would guess anchored, and the bridge crosses a (non-tidal) lake in an area not prone to hurricane-like storms.

Halifax was still fairly prominent in Canada in the 19th century (though things were changing...), but yeah, the Brooklyn Bridge was not happening in Halifax at the time. :)

Given that east coast Canada is the only part of the country exposed to hurricanes, and a bridge had never been built across Halifax Harbour previously, one would surmise that the expertise involved with the design and building of the structure would have predicted normal forces (currents, ice, degradation, etc.), but perhaps didn't have enough experience with cyclical wind-driven waves and storm surge to understand what needed to be done to anchor the bridge in extreme conditions.

https://blog.halifaxshippingnews.ca/...0of%20Halifax.

The linked article (by forum member Ziobrop - who hasn't posted here since 2019) stated that this hurricane also caused damage to "wharves and shipping", so one would surmise that it was a significant storm, as wharves would typically be built as permanent structures.

The second structure disappeared in quiet conditions. Details are in the quote below from the same article.

These two failures and the subsequent line to Windsor Junction are probably why a rail bridge over the harbour was never attempted again. In fact it took over 30 years before any major discussions about a harbour crossing happened again:

It's a fascinating article.

I always felt like Halifax was just a bit too small for its geography back in the pre-WW2 era. If it were 2x the size it would have gotten some nice classic looking bridges, including one over the Arm, and there probably would have been more of a mini Central Park feel with historic apartments around the Public Gardens and Commons. Fairview and Armdale would have been solidly prewar housing. It's possible that an underground streetcar would have been built as well, and maybe the streetcar system would have been kept.

Halifax is pretty rare in North America as a semi-major Georgian and Victorian town which stagnated in the late 19th and early 20th century but boomed later on. It is a bit like if Charleston or New Orleans were boomtowns today.

Found this photo in an unrelated search. Looks to be about mid 1950s by the parked cars.

https://i.imgur.com/s19wb63.png
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^^^ That photo was taken apparently in the mid-1950s. Does anyone know what those buildings were used for then? The wood structure on the right was quite the massive house, if that is indeed what it was.

That's a good question. The Infirmary article doesn't mention what became of the two buildings in the pic after the new hospital opened on Queen Street in 1933. The pic I posted shows curtains in the window, so perhaps it was used to house people for awhile (it would probably still be owned by the Sisters of Charity - so maybe it was for people in need?).

It does mention that the building in questiion was the Waverley Hotel when they acquired it in 1886.

Before that, I gather that it was indeed the house of Judge Blowers until his death in 1842. It is huge for a house, but then he was quite a prominent judge:
https://www.hfxfirehistory.ca/histor...s-fire-company

From the link above he was also on the roster of the Governor's Fire Company in 1794. Blowers Street was named after him, and I read that apparently Salter Street was taken from his middle name.

I'll see if I can find out more. Interesting that I started looking for info on Dundonald Street, and now I'm looking into Judge Blowers house... history is full of rabbit holes.

Interesting historical tidbit: in his time, his surname was pronounced to rhyme with "flowers".

I wonder how long it took for Nova Scotians to corrupt that into its present pronunciation.

Along with Berwick, Wickwire, and Framboise. I wonder what other names we've corrupted!

That is interesting! From now, I will start to pronounce the street name properly, and nobody will know what I'm talking about! Maybe I can make it catch on... :)

Yeah, I never knew better for many years. But over time I heard of people with that name who pronounced it “BLAU-ers”.

Gottingen springs immediately to mind.

It's also very common to hear Isleville pronounced "eyes-ville", especially among folks who were raised in that neighborhood.

Also Port Mouton and L'Ardoise, but of course they're not in Halifax.

I've tried that. I was immediately ridiculed for my ignorance of the "proper" local pronunciation.

Ha... this is where the fun would begin! ;)

I did find another image of the house on NS Archives - it's referred to as "Blower's House" on the archive page. No further info as to its use after the Infirmary moved, though I did read a comment on a facebook page referring to a convent, which would make sense given its affiliation to the church.

I'm guessing late 1940s timeline?

https://archives.novascotia.ca/image...vice/06947.jpg
https://archives.novascotia.ca/infor...chives/?ID=501

Another one:
https://archives.novascotia.ca/image.../201744592.jpg
https://archives.novascotia.ca/photo...hives/?ID=6702

Here's a blow-up of the notes at the bottom (with some brightness/contrast adjustment). Note that this was torn down in August 1960 (and was a vacant lot for some three decades after that, IIRC). The date given for the photo is a mistake, as photography was in the process of being invented in 1828, and the building next to it was built in 1903 (plus... electric wires, etc.) - so perhaps the actual date of the photo is 1928?

https://i.imgur.com/up65Lpx.png

In recent reading, I came across a reference to the Morris Street School, but had never seen it (it was torn down before I was born), nor was I aware of its location, other than being on Morris Street (of course).

I found this photo on the NS Archives site:
https://archives.novascotia.ca/image.../200715680.jpg

I've always been a little in awe at how nice the old stone/masonry school buildings used to look in comparison to what was being built in the 1970s and later.

As for location, I read somewhere that it was near the intersection of Birmingham and Morris, and upon looking at Google streetside, was surprised to see that much of the granite blocking that was placed at the edge of the sidewalk and defined the entrance to school grounds was still in existence...

https://i.imgur.com/zvYH5qB.png

Apparently replaced with a 1960s school called St. Mary's Elementary just west of that location. School building construction, being low-bid government contracts, is interesting. Back in the late 19th/early 20th century the relatively low cost of using stonemasons and the general level of engineering/design at the time made schools like the Morris St building possible - plus it gave the school facility a look of gravitas that was apparently desired. Then as we got into the 20th century such stonework became too expensive for govts so they went with brick. In more recent times we have tilt-up precast walls. One can only speculate what future ones will look like.

Keith, that's an interesting perspective. I had always chalked it up to a requirement for public buildings to appear impressive, and almost intimidating (like old churches as well), but you're right in that there was a time frame where we had a number of stone masons who had come from Europe to work on the Shubenacadie Canal. I have read where stone buildings were more doable back then because of the excess labour force who had those skills (especially after the canal project failed), plus materials were still readily available (and probably helped to keep the quarries in business). That said, I don't believe that similar stone buildings were unique to Halifax, though.

The architecture is quite impressive, especially for a small school, IMHO. Hate to say it, but to my eye most newer public buildings look like crap in comparison (highly opinionated as it is)... ;)

Also on the NS archives site is what appears to be the same photo with notes on it:
https://archives.novascotia.ca/image.../201745106.jpg
Source

The notes at the bottom say it was replaced by a new building in 1951 and demolished in 1955.

Also of interest are the separate entrances for girls and boys. I never really understood this, and thought of it as an extension of the Catholic school model, but my elementary school (Greenvale) carried on this practice right into the 1970s. Girls and boys entered through opposite sides of the school, and recess and lunch breaks were spent outside on separate sides of the school. If you tried to go to the other side, the on-duty teacher would stop you from doing so. Oddly enough, once you got back inside, boys and girls mixed as usual. I never really understood this practice, and thankfully it disappeared shortly afterwards.

Bank of Montreal, 184 Hollis Street, year 1905:

https://archives.novascotia.ca/image.../200714147.jpg
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Caption below reads:
Building first known as Doull & Miller Building and later Eastern Trust Company Building

Trying to figure out the location of 184 Hollis Street, since it was renumbered at some point (in the 1960s?), I referred to the 1878 Hopkins' City Atlas, and determined that it was at the corner of Hollis and Prince (labelled as "Doull & Miller").

https://archives.novascotia.ca/image.../201111232.jpg

Current numbering is 1690 Hollis, the site now occupied by the somewhat featureless Joseph Howe Building: https://maps.app.goo.gl/CVuRQ2px25ffd2Zq5

https://i.imgur.com/CvXW9fv.png

It's a shame that most of that corner block is just a dead zone to pedestrians now, with little visual interest. Just a place to walk by while you're going somewhere else.

Cook's building, 47-49 Upper Water Street at head or entrance to Black's Wharf, Date: 1910

https://archives.novascotia.ca/image.../200714152.jpg
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From the 1878 Hopkins' City Atlas, the location was right across the street from Waterside Centre, at the entrance to the Historic Properties mall.

https://i.imgur.com/cXUPOcT.png

Seeing what used to occupy that lot brings about some disappointment when you look at what is there now: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Azt7FsQSdFd3hKyH6

https://i.imgur.com/a641STB.png

I wonder if it would ever be possible to replicate the building again, or at least the facade, to restore some missing character to Historic Properties.

At some point the B of M relocated up the street to whatever older building was on the corner of Hollis and Granville, before it was demolished to build their namesake tower that has been on that site since the late '60s/early '70s. I believe they are no longer occupying any of it and I don't remember if it has been renamed.

As for the Historic Properties, what is there now is what you get when a developer in the late '60s decides to build a Disney-like recreation of what might have been there, but misses the mark badly.

The old BMO tower still exists on the corner of Hollis and George, but the BMO branding has beem removed. I think the last I heard was that there was a plan to convert it to residential, but that could have changed as it was a while ago.

In the late 1800s, that corner was occupied by the W & C Silver Building:
https://archives.novascotia.ca/image.../200714187.jpg


The best thing that came out of the Historic Properties deal was that a few of the old style stone warehouses were saved. Many more were demolished and nobody would have a clue of what used to be there had these ones not survived. The worst of the project were the faux-re-creations of buildings that never existed, as you described, that were probably built on a frugal budget... but at least they allowed Historic Properties to function.

If you want to use your imagination, you could look at those buildings as placeholders that could be replaced in the future with authentic facades based on old photos, such as the one I posted. Halifax is becoming a bigger city, and expectations for the quality of our historic neighbourhoods should be higher IMHO. Bringing back a few accurate replicas of some of our historic buildings would greatly improve the appearance and feel of the area, that would fit in nicely with a re-imagined Cogswell block.

The W. & C. Silver Building is interesting mostly for its top floor. I don't recall ever seeing a building of that era with so many windows on its top floor, if indeed that was a separate floor.The columns barely look substantial enough to support the roof. Interesting.

I have been a BMO customer forever and while I never had the DT branch as my regular one, when I worked up the street I would often go into their former main branch there to do business. It was always enjoyable because of the expansive space inside and tall ceilings. I also liked how the building itself had at-grade access from the Hollis St side with no need to climb stairs. Since I now avoid DT as much as possible I have no idea what their current location in the Convention Center is like.

The oldest section of Queen Elizabeth High School (opened 1942) had separate boys' and girls' entrances too.

Before my time, but I was told by an older relative that St. Pat’s High used to have stripes on the floors of the halls designating girls to walk on one side, boys on the other.

I find the top of the building to be a curiosity as well. Here's another photo of it that's also undated, so it was changed at some point. The question in my mind is whether the tops of the buildings are both just ornamentation, or is the one in the post above the result of adding on a floor, in which case the window arrangement would be quite unusual for its time, and perhaps ahead of its time somewhat. It doesn't seem to have enough height to be an actual storey, though, so I'm guessing it's just ornamentation. They are both Notman Studio photos, which would be between 1869 and 1920, according to NS Archives, but that doesn't help to discern which came first.

Also, that building was replaced by another one, which was then replaced by the tower. I don't have timelines but I recall photos with a different building there.

https://archives.novascotia.ca/image.../200714869.jpg
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You're talking about the tower, presumably. I don't think I was ever inside that one.

I have been in the old B of NS building on Hollis and the old bank building on George and Granville, when it was Elephant and Castle, briefly. I was impressed with the business level in those banks for their ornate, high ceilings and attention to detail. A huge contrast to the very plain, functional bank interiors that are common now.

Pizza Corner, 1888.

https://archives.novascotia.ca/image.../200714632.jpg
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