Quote:
Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark
One more of the area from 1928:
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Thank you for more wonderful images, Mark.
That last one is significant. I thought it was worth pointing out that what we are looking at is Pier 2, which was the main immigration pier until Pier 21 was built in 1928. The immigration shed in the photo opened in 1915, replacing one damaged by fire, just in time to serve as the main point of departure (and return) for thousands of sailors and soldiers bound for the war in Europe. And of course it was heavily damaged in the 1917 Explosion, though returned to service after that. Historian Craig Dodge estimates 2.7 million people immigrated to Canada through Pier 2. It's interesting to see in the photo a passenger train apparently departing the pier.
Here is a photo of Pier 2 taken in the 60s. (The archives caption dates it as circa 1960, but the vacant lands in the redevelopment area and the CN "wet noodle" logo visible on a box car suggest it's closer to 1965). The rail sidings were still in use, as you can see, and terminated at the foot of Cornwallis Street. I am old enough to remember the tracks beneath the Macdonald Bridge still full of rail cars as late as, I think, the early 1970s, perhaps as late as the mid-to late 70s when I was travelling daily from Dartmouth to Dal. Unfortunately, I can't really recall when they were finally pulled up. But I always thought it was a shame to lose a potential commuter rail corridor to the north edge of downtown.
Source:
Nova Scotia Archives
I've only been able to locate the
Craig Dodge essay about Pier 2 in French.