General Updates and News

[someone123]

Originally Posted by KMcK

Would you care to elaborate on this? I'd prefer not to be one of the uniformed to whom you refer.

Halifax was one of the largest/wealthiest cities in what is now Canada and did not have major fires that destroyed everything so it has an unusual stock of buildings running from 1750-1860 or so. It also has a Georgian aesthetic that continued through later construction (e.g. Dalhousie buildings), giving the city a unique feel.

As an example, Province House was built during the 1810's. When there is a thread about legislatures in the Canada section the most common comment is that it is "small" but people don't realize it's about a century older than many of the others. It is sort of the "Philadelphia of Canada".

A lot of nondescript buildings around the older parts of the North End and South End are from circa 1800 or even a bit earlier, which is rare in Canada. And the landmark Georgian era buildings in Halifax like the 1803 town clock are basically unique. The naval clock down by the ferry terminal is from 1767.

The other cities with more historical buildings are Montreal and Quebec, but even there people tend to overestimate how much older architecture they have (e.g. confuse buildings from 1880 with 1680). They are in the same ballpark as Halifax for the really old stuff, although they have some buildings from pre-1749 while Halifax does not.

Nova Scotia in general has way more early architectural richness and history than any part of Canada aside from Quebec. Quebec takes this seriously, but Nova Scotia does not. In Quebec the same level of modification/demolition of older buildings wouldn't be allowed and some older buildings like the naval clock would be reconstructed while Halifax has the cheapo version. A lot of old Quebec City or Montreal is basically reconstructed or was enhanced in a later historical period long after construction. Many older parts of Halifax could be enhanced with far more character tied in with authentic historical architecture and events but it would take a kind of work that doesn't seem to happen much these days, and the potential is gradually declining as architecture is lost.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Empire

No building is beyond restoration. The Charles P. Morris house is a prime example of how more effort needs to be made in save and restore historic structures in the downtown area. (don’t want to hear the…what about all the $$$/poor business case to restore it argument)

Unfortunately for your argument we live in a world where economic sense needs to be applied. Many buildings make zero economic sense to be restored. The Morris House was one of those but govts spent our money to do that even though there was no actual use for the thing once complete. The same was true for the Gardener's Cottage in the Public Gardens. The millions of tax dollars poured into them may have given us a nice looking old building (arguable in the Morris case given where it was relocated) but is that the best use of huge amounts of public finds given the other very real problems we need to solve? Does that mean you support spending $10 million or even twice that in tax dollars to save the Khyber? Where does it stop?

[Empire]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Unfortunately for your argument we live in a world where economic sense needs to be applied. Many buildings make zero economic sense to be restored. The Morris House was one of those but govts spent our money to do that even though there was no actual use for the thing once complete. The same was true for the Gardener's Cottage in the Public Gardens. The millions of tax dollars poured into them may have given us a nice looking old building (arguable in the Morris case given where it was relocated) but is that the best use of huge amounts of public finds given the other very real problems we need to solve? Does that mean you support spending $10 million or even twice that in tax dollars to save the Khyber? Where does it stop?

Better to invest in our rich architecture which will pay dividends for many years than to allow it to disappear. I guess you are saying public funds are spent wisely in HRM on every other facet of the city fabric?

[mleblanc]

Originally Posted by someone123

Halifax was one of the largest/wealthiest cities in what is now Canada and did not have major fires that destroyed everything so it has an unusual stock of buildings running from 1750-1860 or so. It also has a Georgian aesthetic that continued through later construction (e.g. Dalhousie buildings), giving the city a unique feel.

As an example, Province House was built during the 1810's. When there is a thread about legislatures in the Canada section the most common comment is that it is "small" but people don't realize it's about a century older than many of the others. It is sort of the "Philadelphia of Canada".

A lot of nondescript buildings around the older parts of the North End and South End are from circa 1800 or even a bit earlier, which is rare in Canada. And the landmark Georgian era buildings in Halifax like the 1803 town clock are basically unique. The naval clock down by the ferry terminal is from 1767.

The other cities with more historical buildings are Montreal and Quebec, but even there people tend to overestimate how much older architecture they have (e.g. confuse buildings from 1880 with 1680). They are in the same ballpark as Halifax for the really old stuff, although they have some buildings from pre-1749 while Halifax does not.

Nova Scotia in general has way more early architectural richness and history than any part of Canada aside from Quebec. Quebec takes this seriously, but Nova Scotia does not. In Quebec the same level of modification/demolition of older buildings wouldn't be allowed and some older buildings like the naval clock would be reconstructed while Halifax has the cheapo version. A lot of old Quebec City or Montreal is basically reconstructed or was enhanced in a later historical period long after construction. Many older parts of Halifax could be enhanced with far more character tied in with authentic historical architecture and events but it would take a kind of work that doesn't seem to happen much these days, and the potential is gradually declining as architecture is lost.

Interesting post, I appreciate it! I had no idea the clock by the ferry was so old. You can kind of see how badly they cheaped out when you look at it:

[AdAstra]

Originally Posted by Empire

Better to invest in our rich architecture which will pay dividends for many years than to allow it to disappear. I guess you are saying public funds are spent wisely in HRM on every other facet of the city fabric?

Having been a member of this forum for several years now I can confidently say that is the furthest thing from what Keith is arguing, or ever has argued (possibly in his life lol). And I’d have to agree with him.

[KMcK]

Originally Posted by someone123

Halifax was one of the largest/wealthiest cities in what is now Canada and did not have major fires that destroyed everything so it has an unusual stock of buildings running from 1750-1860 or so. It also has a Georgian aesthetic that continued through later construction (e.g. Dalhousie buildings), giving the city a unique feel.

Thank you. That was informative and interesting.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by someone123

Halifax was one of the largest/wealthiest cities in what is now Canada and did not have major fires that destroyed everything so it has an unusual stock of buildings running from 1750-1860 or so.

No major fires, but it did have a little explosion in the early years of the 20th century that destroyed the northern half of the city, and which in turn led to a lot of cheap, unremarkable wooden boxes being built to house the suddenly homeless (along with one notable development, the Hydrostones, that unquestionably deserves being not only kept or restored).

[someone123]

Originally Posted by mleblanc

Interesting post, I appreciate it! I had no idea the clock by the ferry was so old. You can kind of see how badly they cheaped out when you look at it

On the plus side this history creates a lot of potential, often in subtle ways. For example around Gottingen Street there's a quirky street network with a fine-grained pedestrian scale that's becoming more noticeable now that the area is filling in with buildings again.

I think Press Block might be transformative for Province House and the Grand Parade too since those places will have a better sense of defined space again. Then there's Queen's Marque which isn't historic but complements the sandstone buildings around there, or the Governor, or that project for South St and Barrington which moves the old building up to the corner and actually creates a more urban streetscape out of what was there before.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

No major fires, but it did have a little explosion in the early years of the 20th century that destroyed the northern half of the city, and which in turn led to a lot of cheap, unremarkable wooden boxes being built to house the suddenly homeless (along with one notable development, the Hydrostones, that unquestionably deserves being not only kept or restored).

It wasn't half, it was mostly north of North Street with some of those buildings surviving or being rebuilt, and as you say the Hydrostone now covers a lot of that footprint and is itself historic since the rebuild was 100 years ago.

Inner North End and downtown shot:

[Empire]

Originally Posted by someone123

It wasn't half, it was mostly north of North Street with some of those buildings surviving or being rebuilt, and as you say the Hydrostone now covers a lot of that footprint and is itself historic since the rebuild was 100 years ago.

Inner North End and downtown shot:

Fantastic shot and great density. Looks like the flatiron building in the center of the shot that would be just north of Baton Rouge. Would like to see it rebuilt.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by someone123

Inner North End and downtown shot:

That's downtown, not the North End. Good pic of that though.

[KnoxfordGuy]

So dense!

[someone123]

Don't think I posted this one yet. It is a frame of a drone video showing the Cogswell and Gottingen area. Click for the full video:


Source

I thought it was interesting in that it shows how much this area is evolving but also how far is left to go. I believe the Staples is owned by Southwest Properties and is likely to be redeveloped in the coming years.

[someone123]

A different angle:


Source

[OldDartmouthMark]

I'm sure most locals have heard this already, but for out-of-towners who may follow this forum, there has been some senseless vandalism in the Public Gardens that will most likely result in numerous trees dying:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scot...ens-reopen-30-trees-vandalized-1.6534067

The individual or group responsible for the damage to about 30 trees in the Halifax Public Gardens "knew exactly what they were doing," the city's senior urban forestry supervisor said Wednesday.

Sometime between Monday evening and Tuesday morning, strips of bark were removed around the trunk of many trees, most of which are between 50 and 200 years old, police say.

It's unclear how many trees will be lost due to the damage. The bark cutting — called girdling — is a method used to kill trees without cutting them down. If the cambium layer — the part of the tree that produces new wood — is damaged enough, the tree will die.

I'm not sure what to say, but clearly the intent was to cause major harm to an area that much of the city cherishes. It doesn't look good for the mental health of our society these days...

[terrynorthend]

Originally Posted by someone123

Don't think I posted this one yet. It is a frame of a drone video showing the Cogswell and Gottingen area. Click for the full video:


Source

I thought it was interesting in that it shows how much this area is evolving but also how far is left to go. I believe the Staples is owned by Southwest Properties and is likely to be redeveloped in the coming years.

You are correct. Staples had been looking at a move to an urban format store as part of one of the new builds downtown (ground floor commercial/upper level residential) in anticipation of Southwest's eventual redevelopment of that property.

It was all.put on hold as many things due to the pandemic and subsequent economic fallout. Not sure where it stands now.

[LikesBikes]

That would be great if that cam e to fruition. Getting rid of the surface parking there would go a long way towards making it a more inviting spot. It's amazing how suburban and pedestrian and bike-unfriendly that intersection is considering the location.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by LikesBikes

That would be great if that cam e to fruition. Getting rid of the surface parking there would go a long way towards making it a more inviting spot. It's amazing how suburban and pedestrian and bike-unfriendly that intersection is considering the location.

There is very little surface parking there, certainly not enough to discourage anyone on foot from going in. Sometimes dogmatic arguments like this just make me shake my head.

The bigger issue is how short and stubby the new building being built behind Staples are. This is a downtown core yet they are sawed-off.

[worldlyhaligonian]

Crazy views of South End here. https://youtu.be/FyARFv0UmXA?t=121

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

There is very little surface parking there, certainly not enough to discourage anyone on foot from going in. Sometimes dogmatic arguments like this just make me shake my head.

The bigger issue is how short and stubby the new building being built behind Staples are. This is a downtown core yet they are sawed-off.

Have to agree with this.

As far as bike-unfriendly goes, I can see that the Cogswell Interchange (which is in the process of being removed) would not be a good place to ride, but that will change soon. Looking at Gottingen, my first thought is that the bus-only lane looks very bike-unfriendly (dicing with buses and their blind spots is not fun).

Overall, though, I've found the newly-developed areas of Gottingen to be very walkable, so I'm not sure how (what little remains of) surface parking is affecting anything but population density (which, as mentioned, would be easily negated if taller buildings were allowed to be built). Halifax government has very strange ideas about height limits.