I thought this might make for a worthwhile photo post. Halifax unfortunately was not a boom town in the 1910's and 20's like most Canadian cities, but it did get a few nice masonry buildings and highrises during this period. Some of them are a bit out of the way or are hard to photograph because they are wedged in next to other buildings. The Google 3D views make it possible to get clearer views of these buildings.
Here's the Dominion Building. The shorter building in front is the Bank of Nova Scotia building. They are both great Art Deco designs, but the Dominion Building is not well-positioned to show off its architectural features and none of these buildings stand out in skyline photos. It would have looked great at the end of a street. Oh well.
Nova Scotian Hotel and Pier 21. These ones aren't hard to photograph, but they're nice. They were built as a large complex in the 1920's and 30's. The pier structures replaced the finger wharves of the 18th and 19th century and allowed for much larger ships to dock. They in turn became obsolete with the advent of containerized shipping in the 1960's. Today, they've been converted or are used for cruise ships.
Bethune Building. Pretty obscure, but it's one of the larger pre-war buildings in the city.
The Lord Nelson. The Nova Scotian was the CN hotel and the Lord Nelson was the CP hotel. There was another major hotel, the Halifax Hotel, which was originally built in the 1830's to serve steamship passengers and was expanded over the years, but it was torn down sometime during the 20th century. The Lord Nelson doesn't stand out much in an aerial photo like this but it's got a prominent corner location and has views of the Public Gardens. It still has its grand old lobby and other interior spaces.
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