[Drybrain]

I think Portland benefitted from a preservation point of view because Boston is New England's commercial hub. As a regionally less important city than Halifax, Portland didn't get the kind of development pressures we have. (Plus, American cities tend to be a bit more on the grand side than ours, anyway.)

I wish that Halifax hadn't razed quite so many of its old buildings. Hollis Street in particular seems to have been particularly brutalized. But I also like that we're a commercial and cultural hub, not just a tourist town, and that brings with it some urban eclecticism—it's not always pretty, but it is interesting.

I also agree that new construction is getting better. I anticipate the Roy tower will be a real looker, and I like the Vic as well. Agree with Hali87 that the 1920 Brunswick tower isn't turning out quite as well as I thought it would—the cladding facing west looks cheap and unfinished (maybe it is?).

I also think Halifax's historic feel stands a chance at being bolstered in the future by renovations that bring back some of the lost grandeur to some of out building that currently sort of fade into the background. (Green Lantern restoration, please and thanks?)