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Mainland South photothread
I was bored today and it was nice out so I took some pictures around the neighbourhood where I grew up. Mainland South is comprised of Armdale, Spryfield, Herring Cove, Purcell's Cove, and the Sambro Loop. The region is almost exclusively residential aside from some light commercial activity along Herring Cove Road as well as fishing and seafood processing along the coast closer to Sambro. Major parks include Fleming Park (the Dingle), Long Lake Provincial Park, and York Redoubt National Historic Site, which incidentally is in pretty rough shape.
I'll try to get some more pictures in the future, possibly with a better camera (these were all taken with my iPhone). William's Lake Road. This street has developed quite slowly over the decades and does not fall neatly into any particular neighbourhood. Although Spryfield is (perhaps rightly) associated with bland, cookie-cutter subdivisions, some areas, such as this one, feature interesting modernist residential. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7015/6...93d877e0_b.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7031/6...b303662d_b.jpg A new subdivision off William's Lake Rd. called Ravenscraig. Largely built on the site of an abandoned quarry and semi-integrated into Fleming Park. Although it's pure suburbia the houses are very energy-efficient and a lot of effort was put into preserving trees and other natural features. The sign kinda reminds me of the community of Agrestic - major props if you get that reference! http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7012/6...fec89464_b.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7003/6...5e237b0a_b.jpg Though today's Spryfield is basically as suburban as it gets, some of the older houses have features that hint at the areas rural/agricultural past. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7158/6...54a0cf15_b.jpg Saint Michael's Catholic Church, an interesting fusion of modernist and gothic approaches. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7026/6...d09d2f80_b.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7154/6...3369a51013.jpg South Centre, one of the saddest malls in HRM. To be honest I'm surprised it's outlived Penhorn. It seems to be undergoing a bit of a renaissance and filling the retail gaps with services lately, much like what's happened with the old West End and Bayer's Road malls. This also acts as a transit hub for 5 bus routes - the 14, 19, 20, 32, and Sambro Community Transit. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7012/6...e24a288d_b.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7153/6...dcb8352b_b.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7158/6...23e6edf6_b.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7014/6...9614e78d_b.jpg The Captian William Spry Community Centre, which features a large branch library, a gym, meeting rooms, office space, and of course the Wavepool. The pedestrian bridge is relatively new - built sometime within the past 2 years. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7141/6...e7e74acb_b.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7002/6...0edfdac9_b.jpg This nifty little skatepark was quietly opened a year or two after the main one on the Commons. It's tucked in behind the Spry Centre and surrounded by forest - there was obviously a deliberate effort to integrate it into the landscape. It's about half the size of the main section of the Commons Skatepark, but it is of the same quality and arguably a nicer design. I wanted to get some more pictures but there were actually a lot of kids using it this afternoon and I didn't want to get in their way. This is just one small corner of it: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7147/6...b345ae27_b.jpg One of the grittier parts of Herring Cove Road: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7019/6...3cc4eb2a_b.jpg The South End as seen from Spryfield: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7146/6...bb544e06_b.jpg An interesting little monument at the entrance to a small cemetary. Although Spryfield was primarily an agricultural community, quarrying and stonecutting played a major role in its early development as well. Much of the granite and ironstone used in older buildings on the Peninsula originated in Spryfield. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7173/6...07ae53f070.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7173/6...7f2dd162_z.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7163/6...890d900a_z.jpg Another cool modernist house with Dalhousie off in the distance: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7150/6...4894a676_b.jpg Entrance gates to Fleming Park.. the odd thing is that there are several residential streets surrounding the park that are inside of these gates. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7152/6...5d6dfc95_z.jpg One of three small beaches in Fleming Park. I'll try to get some photos another time when it's not so dark out (aka before 5 pm) http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7161/6...ddaf442d_z.jpg The head of the arm - an anatomical paradox but a nice view. The iPhone doesn't really do it justice, a telephoto lens might: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7145/6...550f9c70_z.jpg Swag house http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7152/6...cbda07f5_z.jpg |
Great tour! The new bridge at the community centre looks quite nice. That Oakland Road house in the last photo is really over-the-top.
I went hiking at Colpitt Lake last month and was really disappointed to see some bland new subdivision under construction there. The trail, which I used to follow around the lake, now stops abruptly at the pad for a new home. |
The new subdivision by Colpitt is hands-down, one of the ugliest I've seen in HRM. 100% pale vinyl. Even the new bridge in the subdivision (where an elderly man was recently shot to death) has 0% of the appeal of the pedestrian bridge by Spry Centre (which was built around the same time) - you know those concrete barriers that have been plunked down on the railway bridges in the South End? It has those built in as a permenant feature. The whole development has a weird bourgeois-utilitarian vibe where I can see each individual homeowner being ok with the appearance of their house, but will probably be dismayed when they realize that everyone else's house looks like that too. Seems like a great place for a grow-op.
Something I meant to mention about Ravenscraig is that all of the power lines are buried. It's one of the few neighbourhoods in HRM to be built like this - the last one was probably Cowie Hill. |
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Thanks for the photos. I used to live near Jollimore village and randomly discovered it one day. It's a cool spot and this part of the city has a great natural setting.
Unfortunately the area also feels like it's stuck in low gear. It's theoretically well located but it has terrible road access and lots of low-end housing. I think some tunnels/bridges would do wonders but sadly that's probably way too ambitious. |
Oh, and apparently the Dingle is undergoing restoration right now. I hope it turns out well (and I hope it's done by the time I visit).
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It was almost done last time I saw it.
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