Found Photos

[K-Man]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

A treasure trove of photos was posted today on FB in the group Vintage Postcards/Photos of Halifax & Nova Scotia by user Tara Smith, which were taken by her husband's grandfather in 1969 or thereabouts.

Hahaha, I have to second OldDartmouthMark by saying I'm a little late to the game on discovering these but this was a fantastic post! It was refreshing to see this project in color instead of the usual b&w photos. It's funny how color seems to remove the "distance in time" that b&w white photos always seem to create. Nice string of posts man.

**If anyone is trying to find these they're back on pg. 24

[K-Man]

Originally Posted by alps

East side, right! I would love to see a better photo of that. This upper walkway must've been a continuation of what still runs along the Duke St. side? Here's an enlargement, as well as another poor quality old photo. I thought prior to the WTCC there was a chocolate factory on the site, but it must have been a vacant lot for a few years?

Hey everyone!

So, this is an older post I know but I found this image today while browsing some photos on the Chronicle Herald's Archive page. The image is from 1983 and shows the construction of the WTCC and the subsequent covering up of the east facade. I remembered seeing this post a while ago so I thought I'd throw this image up to go with it.

KeithP and Fenwick16 had a couple interesting posts about the Metro Centre being built in a way to allow for more seating at a later time if needed - I didn't know that about it's construction. Those posts can be found on page 12 (#233 and #234).


Source: Chronicle Herald Facebook Page

[alps]

Thanks for posting! Would still love to see a better photo of the Metro Centre's former east facade.

Anyone know if the WTCC redevelopment is progressing?

[pblaauw]

Originally Posted by alps

Thanks for posting! Would still love to see a better photo of the Metro Centre's former east facade.

Anyone know if the WTCC redevelopment is progressing?

I went through that corner entrance (via the Scotia Square tunnel) on Monday, and Service Canada is already set up in the basement. There's a new ramp down to it from that entrance and the old passageway is temporarily walled off. I'll be back through that way in two months when I go to the next accessibility committee meeting at city hall.

[K-Man]

Originally Posted by alps

Thanks for posting! Would still love to see a better photo of the Metro Centre's former east facade.

This has peaked my interest. I've searched everything from aerial images to postcards and YouTube videos but I can't find anything either. It's odd that a photo of that side of the building is so hard to find. The image you originally posted seems to be a bit of a 'diamond in the rough'. Besides the usual construction images from the Scotia Square project I did find this 1978 image on another thread posted by user Aya Akai (page 1, post #19). It's not the elusive east facade but I thought I'd throw it up just for interest. I have a feeling this is one of those things that will show up in the background of another photo or video when you're not even looking for it, lol.


Source: the original thread and image can be found here: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=208377

I'm not sure how much effort you want to put into this but I did find this archival information on Dalhousie's site. You can see it's dated Feb. 1978 and contains 17 interior/exterior images of the MC. None of them seem to be posted online though so a person would have to go to the archives to view them.


Source: https://findingaids.library.dal.ca/informationobject/browse?topLod=0&query=Metro+centre&repos=

HRM has this available in their archives as well but as with Dal looks like they're not online and available only on site.


Source:HRM Archives - https://gencat1.eloquent-systems.com/web...essID=6000_3363(0)&KeyValues=KEY_5009763

Hmmmm, now here's an afterthought.....
Say there Halifax youth, might we have any Dalhousie students reading this right now who'd like to give up a Saturday of beer drinking and bar hoping to grab the archive images from the post above and post them here.....??

I don't think I'm going to hold my breath for a response on that one 'alps', how about you?

[OldDartmouthMark]

No time to physically visit the archives, but here are some construction photos that were posted on twitter:

https://twitter.com/ScotiabankCtr/status/1006540783036522496

[K-Man]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

No time to physically visit the archives, but here are some construction photos that were posted on twitter...

Oh, right on...I haven't seen those before. It's interesting to see the seating uncovered eh? That's a neat perspective looking out from inside at the buildings. It may be the angle of the photo but in the third image the construction looks to be right down to Argyle? The image was taken from Grand Parade, right?

[K-Man]

EVERY GIRL'S CRAZY 'BOUT A SHARP DRESSED MAN

Hey all!

I thought I'd share this link as it might prove to be a useful resource for someone at some point...
I recently stumbled upon a lengthy titled .pdf document called the "Barrington Street Heritage Conservation District Revitalization Plan" put together by City Council in June of 2009. The document discusses the architectural styles, heritage value, and character-defining elements of all the historic buildings that are on Barrington St. Each page is dedicated to one building and gives a short description of it's history including the build date, the style, the architect, the current owner, etc. Here's a little sample of what I mean for the Brander Morris & Farquhar buildings:


Source for both images: https://www.halifax.ca/sites/default/fil...rrStHrtgCnsrvDist_RevitalizationPlan.pdf

One building that caught my attention though was the former Tip Top Tailors site at 1592 Barrington which, after also being a CD Plus, was demolished to make way for the current day Aveda/Life Spa/Chiropractor businesses. But, it wasn't the building itself so much that caught my attention but a few lines from the document that read:

"There have been a number of other commercial tenants since then, but the name “Tip Top Tailors” is still set in the sidewalk in front of the building in colored ceramic tile".


Source: https://www.halifax.ca/sites/default/fil...rrStHrtgCnsrvDist_RevitalizationPlan.pdf

As soon as I read that it sparked a vague memory that I had seen that before so I went "internet spelunking" to see if I could drum up an image of the old sidewalk. And, with surprising difficulty, I was able to find it buried in this Lydon Lynch Site Plan Approval Application dated Jan. 2012. Accompanying the image was with this interesting caption:

"The one redeeming quality of the building are the bronze cast letters inlayed in terrazzo, spelling “TIP TOP TAILORS”, situated adjacent to the sidewalk and immediately in front of the building. Although this too, is in disrepair, efforts will be made to salvage it during demolition and re-use it in the form of artwork within the ground floor lobby area."


Source: Lydon Lynch Site Plan Approval Application (last paragraph on page 7) -
http://legacycontent.halifax.ca/boardsco...SITEPLANAPPROVAL-SUPPORTINGDOCUMENTS.pdf

So, does anyone know if they actually did save the lettering and incorporate it into the new site or did it end up getting demolished with the rest of the old building? And as mentioned above here is the link for the Revitalization Plan - the buildings start at pg. 30.
https://www.halifax.ca/sites/default/fil...rrStHrtgCnsrvDist_RevitalizationPlan.pdf


Source: AGBANS - http://agbans.ca/2016/10/02/gone-the-tip-top-tailor-building/
Source: Lydon Lynch Site Plan Approval Application -
http://legacycontent.halifax.ca/boardsco...SITEPLANAPPROVAL-SUPPORTINGDOCUMENTS.pdf
Source: Starfish Properties - https://www.starfishproperties.ca/properties?lightbox=dataItem-ipzh8sf5

[K-Man]

THE PEOPLES STORE - 61 & 63 GOTTINGEN

Never heard of this store before so I though I’d throw it up....doesn’t seem to be much info available besides the date on the front of the building of 1870. Looks like it was at 61 & 63 Gottingen St. I’ve noticed in older photographs that sometimes people/objects look to be hand drawn on the image. If you look at the flags and the man in the lower left hand corner of the photo they look drawn in. Was this a common practice?


Source: JohnWood1946 Blog - https://johnwood1946.files.wordpress.com/2019/06/pelples-store-gottingen-st.jpg


Source: Old North End Blog - https://oldnorthend.wordpress.com/2014/08/05/the-northern-light-and-the-north-pole-halifax/

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by K-Man

EVERY GIRL'S CRAZY 'BOUT A SHARP DRESSED MAN

Hey all!

I thought I'd share this link as it might prove to be a useful resource for someone at some point...
I recently stumbled upon a lengthy titled .pdf document called the "Barrington Street Heritage Conservation District Revitalization Plan" put together by City Council in June of 2009. The document discusses the architectural styles, heritage value, and character-defining elements of all the historic buildings that are on Barrington St. Each page is dedicated to one building and gives a short description of it's history including the build date, the style, the architect, the current owner, etc. Here's a little sample of what I mean for the Brander Morris & Farquhar buildings:


Source for both images: https://www.halifax.ca/sites/default/fil...rrStHrtgCnsrvDist_RevitalizationPlan.pdf

One building that caught my attention though was the former Tip Top Tailors site at 1592 Barrington which, after also being a CD Plus, was demolished to make way for the current day Aveda/Life Spa/Chiropractor businesses. But, it wasn't the building itself so much that caught my attention but a few lines from the document that read:

"There have been a number of other commercial tenants since then, but the name “Tip Top Tailors” is still set in the sidewalk in front of the building in colored ceramic tile".


Source: https://www.halifax.ca/sites/default/fil...rrStHrtgCnsrvDist_RevitalizationPlan.pdf

As soon as I read that it sparked a vague memory that I had seen that before so I went "internet spelunking" to see if I could drum up an image of the old sidewalk. And, with surprising difficulty, I was able to find it buried in this Lydon Lynch Site Plan Approval Application dated Jan. 2012. Accompanying the image was with this interesting caption:

"The one redeeming quality of the building are the bronze cast letters inlayed in terrazzo, spelling “TIP TOP TAILORS”, situated adjacent to the sidewalk and immediately in front of the building. Although this too, is in disrepair, efforts will be made to salvage it during demolition and re-use it in the form of artwork within the ground floor lobby area."


Source: Lydon Lynch Site Plan Approval Application (last paragraph on page 7) -
http://legacycontent.halifax.ca/boardsco...SITEPLANAPPROVAL-SUPPORTINGDOCUMENTS.pdf

So, does anyone know if they actually did save the lettering and incorporate it into the new site or did it end up getting demolished with the rest of the old building? And as mentioned above here is the link for the Revitalization Plan - the buildings start at pg. 30.
https://www.halifax.ca/sites/default/fil...rrStHrtgCnsrvDist_RevitalizationPlan.pdf


Source: AGBANS - http://agbans.ca/2016/10/02/gone-the-tip-top-tailor-building/
Source: Lydon Lynch Site Plan Approval Application -
http://legacycontent.halifax.ca/boardsco...SITEPLANAPPROVAL-SUPPORTINGDOCUMENTS.pdf
Source: Starfish Properties - https://www.starfishproperties.ca/properties?lightbox=dataItem-ipzh8sf5

I've probably walked by that site a thousand times, and I don't recall ever noticing the terrazzo at the sidewalk level. I must make a point of doing so the next time I'm there. Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Very interesting.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by K-Man

THE PEOPLES STORE - 61 & 63 GOTTINGEN

Never heard of this store before so I though I’d throw it up....doesn’t seem to be much info available besides the date on the front of the building of 1870. Looks like it was at 61 & 63 Gottingen St. I’ve noticed in older photographs that sometimes people/objects look to be hand drawn on the image. If you look at the flags and the man in the lower left hand corner of the photo they look drawn in. Was this a common practice?


Source: JohnWood1946 Blog - https://johnwood1946.files.wordpress.com/2019/06/pelples-store-gottingen-st.jpg


Source: Old North End Blog - https://oldnorthend.wordpress.com/2014/08/05/the-northern-light-and-the-north-pole-halifax/

I can't recall seeing many hand drawn features in old photographs like that, but can recall having seen some. This would likely occur only in advertising a business or perhaps in some tourist information in an attempt to make it more attractive to customers or visitors.

Again, interesting.

[ns_kid]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

I've probably walked by that site a thousand times, and I don't recall ever noticing the terrazzo at the sidewalk level. I must make a point of doing so the next time I'm there. Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Very interesting.

That conservation district document is an interesting one, and very useful. I’ve found details of historic buildings there I haven’t found anywhere else.

I do remember the embedded letters in the sidewalk in front of the old Tip Top building but had no idea there was a plan to save them. I haven’t been in the new building so can’t say if they were preserved there: I’d love to know that answer. (I always thought that building was an interesting mid-century modern structure and was sad to lose it.)

There were (are) a few other buildings along Barrington with similar sidewalk detail. One is the former Carsand Mosher building at the northeast corner of the Blowers Street intersection. In front of the main entrance are the embedded letters PCJ, for original tenant Peoples Credit Jewellers (now just Peoples Jewellers, apparently 100 years old this year). At least that’s my recollection but I’m not downtown today to confirm.

[ns_kid]

A quick search found the photo evidence...


Source: Halifax Bloggers

[OldDartmouthMark]

Cool!

[K-Man]

Originally Posted by ns_kid

That conservation district document is an interesting one, and very useful. I’ve found details of historic buildings there I haven’t found anywhere else.

I do remember the embedded letters in the sidewalk in front of the old Tip Top building but had no idea there was a plan to save them. I haven’t been in the new building so can’t say if they were preserved there: I’d love to know that answer.

I'm about half way through reading that myself and finding the same thing as you are that there's some pretty good info there. As far as the Tip Top letters go I've been very intrigued as well so I emailed Lydon Lynch tonight to find out if they were able to save them and re-use them in the new building or not. Judging by the looks of the last few letters I have a feeling they were probably scrapped with the rest of the building but I'm looking forward to what they have to say. I'll be sure to update this post when I hear back from them.

[Keith P.]

The coolest thing about the old Tip Top building was the outside sign with the rotating globe in the middle variously spelling "Tip" and "Top" depending upon its rotation. That sadly has been long gone.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

The coolest thing about the old Tip Top building was the outside sign with the rotating globe in the middle variously spelling "Tip" and "Top" depending upon its rotation. That sadly has been long gone.

I've seen that sign in action in an old film I've seen online in the past year or so... I'll see if I can find it again.

[K-Man]

Originally Posted by K-Man

Judging by the looks of the last few letters I have a feeling they were probably scrapped with the rest of the building but I'm looking forward to what they have to say. I'll be sure to update this post when I hear back from them.

Looks like our letters are sitting in a landfill somewhere fellas. Lydon Lynch said that they were too damaged to salvage for reuse so they went down with the rest of the building. Too bad. Done properly that would have been an interesting conversation piece.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by K-Man

Looks like our letters are sitting in a landfill somewhere fellas. Lydon Lynch said that they were too damaged to salvage for reuse so they went down with the rest of the building. Too bad. Done properly that would have been an interesting conversation piece.

Thanks! You saved me a trip to Barrington...

Too bad they didn't attempt to restore it, but in the grand scheme of things I guess it's relatively small since I don't even recall noticing it in my many walks past the site.

Speaking of the sign, here's an illustration of it from ziobrop's excellent blog. You can see how the middle letter would be able to rotate, thus alternately displaying "TIP" and "TOP"...



https://halifaxbloggers.ca/builthalifax/2013/10/the-tip-top-building/

[OldDartmouthMark]

Found video of the sign movement. You can see it starting at 6:18 on this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNAKpGV78R4