Old Halifax

[IanWatson]

Originally Posted by Dmajackson

^Here you go thanks to the Fairview Historical Society

TLDR is that house was demolished in the 50's to make way for the Old Halifax West High School. The property was known as the Deal/Keeler Farm. The site is now Boss Plaza. The small white house still standing on the north side of the plaza was built by the Deal family as a replacement.

And that little white house is still occupied by a Mrs. Deal!

[someone123]

NS archives recently posted a bunch of "then and now" aerial photos. Here are a few from Halifax but there are a bunch more from around NS at the link below.

The north side of downtown


A modern view that extends south an extra block or two


South End ocean terminals area. Probably Queen Mary?




Far North End, showing the area that was devastated by the Halifax Explosion


A much wider shot


There are many more aerials here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nsarchives/

[K-Man]

I always enjoy these "then & now" photo comparisons. Nice post someone123. The north end is near unrecognizable, eh? I was wondering if someone may know what this building below is? It's from the far upper left hand corner of the North End aerial shot. I've seen it a few times before but can't seem to place it. It's kind of an interesting building.


Source: - NS Archives - https://www.flickr.com/photos/nsarchives/

I was inspired by this post and remembered that I had a few photos of the quarry pond at Point Pleasant from over the years. Thought this might be a fitting time to post them. It's kind of amazing how little it's changed over the years. Although there's a lot of plant growth the rock that the man in 1875 is standing on can still be seen in 2019. The first photo from 1875 has an interesting story with it on the Archives site.

1875

Source: NS Archives - https://novascotia.ca/archives/Royal...ives.asp?ID=54

1900

Source: NS Archives - https://novascotia.ca/archives/Irvin...ives.asp?ID=47

1905

Source: NS Archives - Taken with the camera of the image on their monitor

1910

Source: NS Archives - Taken with the camera of the image on their monitor

Undated (most likely early 1900's)

Source: NS Archives - Taken with the camera of the image on their monitor

2019

Source: My own images

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by K-Man

I always enjoy these "then & now" photo comparisons. Nice post someone123. The north end is near unrecognizable, eh? I was wondering if someone may know what this building below is? It's from the far upper left hand corner of the North End aerial shot. I've seen it a few times before but can't seem to place it. It's kind of an interesting building.


Source: - NS Archives - https://www.flickr.com/photos/nsarchives/

That's a tough one. Trying to orient it, it would be well north of Young St, and possibly in the area near the northern part of Windsor St, so in the Windsor Park/Willow Park area roughly. I think I am seeing a line of rail boxcars just in front of it? But maybe not, hard to tell.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

That's a tough one. Trying to orient it, it would be well north of Young St, and possibly in the area near the northern part of Windsor St, so in the Windsor Park/Willow Park area roughly. I think I am seeing a line of rail boxcars just in front of it? But maybe not, hard to tell.

Looking at its proximity in relation to the water reservoir on Robie, I'm thinking it's in the Kempt Road/Robie Street area, but not sure.



By the way, those photos are from the Richard McCully Aerial Photograph collection, from 1931: https://novascotia.ca/archives/mccully/

The ship in the photo is the Olympic, a sister ship to the Titanic.

[Keith P.]

Well, given the location of the reservoir, it wouldn't be on Robie as it appears well west of that. Kempt Rd or Windsor are pretty close to each other so somewhere around there seems a safe bet. Given that there used to be rail lines along Kempt, maybe near there. But no idea what it was. It looks almost like a hangar building but I can't imagine that was the use.

[Summerville]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Well, given the location of the reservoir, it wouldn't be on Robie as it appears well west of that. Kempt Rd or Windsor are pretty close to each other so somewhere around there seems a safe bet. Given that there used to be rail lines along Kempt, maybe near there. But no idea what it was. It looks almost like a hangar building but I can't imagine that was the use.

I think that it was one of the buildings at Willow Park that was part of the rail spur that used to service the base. The last remnants were ripped out when DND built its new armoury.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Well, given the location of the reservoir, it wouldn't be on Robie as it appears well west of that.

I meant the Robie/Kempt general area as the reservoir is on the southwest side of Robie Street.

Summerville's suggestion sounds very plausible.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by K-Man

Hey everyone!

I've really been enjoying the photos in this thread. There's some gems on here, eh? On page 5 there was some discussion about the indoor skating rink that used to be in the Public Gardens. I'm not sure if these have been posted or not but I didn't see them. I thought I'd put this up as it offers another view of the rink (well, a cropped one) with an accompanying note that I thought was pretty cool.

The note reads:
"South Park Street from Sackville St. looking south with the building housing the tearoom and washroom facilities in the Public Gardens on the right of the picture: and the first house on the left looking south was formerly 187 South Park St. and was the house in which John Delaney was found consealing (sic) himself in a cupboard following the murder of his wife in 191 or thereabouts. The YMCA and the Nova Scotia Teachers' Union Offices are now located where granite wall and iron fence is shown in the picture." The photo was probably taken from just south of Sackville Street.

HRM Archives does make a correction to the note though:
"The Public Gardens building on the right is actually the indoor skating rink that was demolished in 1889."


Source: HRM Archives - https://gencat1.eloquent-systems.com...es=KEY_5016529

Fenwick16 had originally posted this image below on page 5 but to give some perspective and save clicking back I'll repost. That's the roof of the indoor rink on South Park St. and in the far background you can see the Exhibition Building. I bet that was a pretty cool site to see in it's day.


Source: NS Archives - https://novascotia.ca/archives/Notma...ves.asp?ID=406

**There seems to be an odd "timeout issue" with the source link as it keeps expiring with a "Session ID Invalid" error.

**If you try to link to a Municipal Archives specific item, it will timeout like that. Best thing to do is link to the main search page and post the record information as part of the link, so an interested party can just copy/paste the search information.

Public Gardens rink: I'm sure I've seen interior photos of that rink posted somewhere, but can't find them at the moment. It is a fascinating facility - makes you think that Halifax was somewhat ahead of its time in the late 1800s - in some respects anyhow.

Also of note in the NS archives photo are the old Royal Exhibition Building on Tower Road, and I believe the Poor House that burnt down in 1882 (I recall posting about it elsewhere on this forum), of which I have never seen a good pre-fire photo. Steven Laffoley wrote a chilling account of the fire, and of 'poor houses' in general - it's a good read. https://www.amazon.ca/Halifax-Poor-H.../dp/1897426852

Royal Exhibition Building:



https://novascotia.ca/archives/Notma...ves.asp?ID=680

Poor House:



https://novascotia.ca/archives/Halif...ives.asp?ID=45

There are also a number of photos on the NS archives of the Poor House demolition by the Royal Engineers:


https://novascotia.ca/archives/Royal...ves.asp?ID=234


https://novascotia.ca/archives/Royal...ves.asp?ID=236

[K-Man]

Originally Posted by Summerville

I think that it was one of the buildings at Willow Park that was part of the rail spur that used to service the base. The last remnants were ripped out when DND built its new armoury.

Hey all!

I may be on the wrong path here but I though that I would post these anyway. After reading everyone's posts I got looking at some aerial photographs that I had of the area. If the building in the photos that I have are the same building we're looking at then I think Summerville was correct in suspecting that it was a Willow Park DND building. I believe the photos I have were taken sometime in the 1930's. You'll have to forgive the crudeness of my doodles but the building that the arrows are pointing to match the shape of the building in question pretty closely. And if you zoom in there is a small smoke stack or tower that matches pretty close as well. For reference you can see the water tower in the background of the last photograph.

On a side note, that semi-circular building is pretty cool too, eh?


Source of background image: NS Archives - https://www.flickr.com/photos/nsarchives/
Source of foreground image - NS Archives - Taken with the camera on my phone of the image on their monitor


Source of background image: NS Archives - https://www.flickr.com/photos/nsarchives/
Source of foreground image - NS Archives - Taken with the camera on my phone of the image on their monitor


Source of background image: NS Archives - https://www.flickr.com/photos/nsarchives/
Source of foreground image - NS Archives - Taken with the camera on my phone of the image on their monitor

[K-Man]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

**If you try to link to a Municipal Archives specific item, it will timeout like that. Best thing to do is link to the main search page and post the record information as part of the link, so an interested party can just copy/paste the search information.

Public Gardens rink: I'm sure I've seen interior photos of that rink posted somewhere, but can't find them at the moment. It is a fascinating facility - makes you think that Halifax was somewhat ahead of its time in the late 1800s - in some respects anyhow.

Yeah, I started to notice that with the HRM links. Thanks for the tip, I'll have to keep that in mind. If you ever do end up coming across the interior photos of the rink throw them up as I'd love to see them. I had seen a few drawings but no actual photographs. That's a great photo of the Royal Exhibition Building you posted. There's a few good photos of the inside of that building floating around too. It's probably one of my favorite "old time" buildings. Did that building change it's color over the years though? It may just be the lighting but I have this image here and it's a lot lighter in color.


Source: NS Archives - Image taken with the camera on my phone of the image on their monitor

[K-Man]

Well, as a quick last minute post I completely forgot that I had posted this photo in another thread about the "mystery gates" at the Forum, haha. This here image seals the deal for me that the building is a DND building from Willow Park. Good eye, Summerville.


Source: HipPostcard - https://www.hippostcard.com/listing/...rd-d8/16465224

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by K-Man

Yeah, it was a pretty neat little find.

When I come across older images like this I actually find myself preferring the look of the fort in earlier days when there were cannon's lined up and footpaths everywhere - more authentic. I find it too "gussied up" these days. Don't get me wrong, I realize with the state of disrepair it was in and it's importance for tourism that it was absolutely necessary but I find that over the years it's lost some of it original "fort-ness".

Parks Canada has a pretty good 10 min. video on Youtube titled "The Restoration of the Halifax Citadel" that documents some of the repair work. Some of the shots show just how necessary the repairs/restoration was. What a cool project to have been part of, eh?

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FERU-Q--14k

Actually, that brings a question to mind. Does anyone know if it's possible to volunteer for restoration projects? Is it possible to go in just as a grunt to help with tear down/moving debris/bringing new material onsite/etc??

Here's a pic from the 1940s of what the part of the hill at the top of Duke St. looked like (pre "gussied up"). Just thought you would find it interesting.



View of Citadel Hill from Duke St
Retrieval code: 102-16N-0016.75
[193-?]

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by K-Man

Yeah, I started to notice that with the HRM links. Thanks for the tip, I'll have to keep that in mind. If you ever do end up coming across the interior photos of the rink throw them up as I'd love to see them. I had seen a few drawings but no actual photographs. That's a great photo of the Royal Exhibition Building you posted. There's a few good photos of the inside of that building floating around too. It's probably one of my favorite "old time" buildings. Did that building change it's color over the years though? It may just be the lighting but I have this image here and it's a lot lighter in color.


Source: NS Archives - Image taken with the camera on my phone of the image on their monitor

Quite possibly a colour change because you can see the differences in contrast between the windows, trim, and the little sign on the front face. Am not aware of any details, though.

I may or may not have additional pics of that rink. I'm starting to wonder if I'm confusing them with something else... sometimes the memory is not as crisp as other times...

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by K-Man

Hey all!

I may be on the wrong path here but I though that I would post these anyway. After reading everyone's posts I got looking at some aerial photographs that I had of the area. If the building in the photos that I have are the same building we're looking at then I think Summerville was correct in suspecting that it was a Willow Park DND building. I believe the photos I have were taken sometime in the 1930's. You'll have to forgive the crudeness of my doodles but the building that the arrows are pointing to match the shape of the building in question pretty closely. And if you zoom in there is a small smoke stack or tower that matches pretty close as well. For reference you can see the water tower in the background of the last photograph.

On a side note, that semi-circular building is pretty cool too, eh?


Source of background image: NS Archives - https://www.flickr.com/photos/nsarchives/
Source of foreground image - NS Archives - Taken with the camera on my phone of the image on their monitor


Source of background image: NS Archives - https://www.flickr.com/photos/nsarchives/
Source of foreground image - NS Archives - Taken with the camera on my phone of the image on their monitor


Source of background image: NS Archives - https://www.flickr.com/photos/nsarchives/
Source of foreground image - NS Archives - Taken with the camera on my phone of the image on their monitor

The semi-circular building looks like a roundhouse for locomotives. There was one in Fairview, in behind the Joseph Howe Superstore, but now only the turntable remains.

https://goo.gl/maps/AzpgNZZ4yhPPrWGPA

I wasn't aware of there being one in the Windsor Park area, but now the building makes sense, as it seems to look like some sort of railroad shed.

Here's a view of the Fairview roundhouse from around the late 1940s, apparently:



Fairview Roundhouse [aerial photograph]
Retrieval code: 102-39-1-409
[between 1946 and 1950?]

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by K-Man

Well, as a quick last minute post I completely forgot that I had posted this photo in another thread about the "mystery gates" at the Forum, haha. This here image seals the deal for me that the building is a DND building from Willow Park. Good eye, Summerville.


Source: HipPostcard - https://www.hippostcard.com/listing/...rd-d8/16465224

Interesting photo! It appears that the roundhouse has been colourized green, so it now appears to be part of the foliage!

[K-Man]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

Here's a pic from the 1940s of what the part of the hill at the top of Duke St. looked like (pre "gussied up"). Just thought you would find it interesting.

Oh, nice. I haven't seen this photo before. Interesting that Rainnie Dr. is basically just a wagon trail. I thought it was always part of the early road system. Would anyone know when they paved it/fully integrated it (for lack of a better word) in with Brunswick St? Would that have been part of the Cogswell/Scotia Square project in the 60's? That shot also offers a neat little view of the City Market Building and how it sits in behind Brunswick, eh?

[K-Man]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

The semi-circular building looks like a roundhouse for locomotives. There was one in Fairview, in behind the Joseph Howe Superstore, but now only the turntable remains.

I wasn't aware of there being one in the Windsor Park area, but now the building makes sense, as it seems to look like some sort of railroad shed.

Nice post man! By the looks of that roundhouse in the 1940's Fairview shot I'd say it's pretty much a give-in that's what the semi-circular building at Willow Park is, eh? That'd be a pretty cool building if it was still around....the old Willow Park was definitely more interesting.

.....and all the times I've shopped at that Superstore and I had no idea that was there, haha.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by K-Man

Nice post man! By the looks of that roundhouse in the 1940's Fairview shot I'd say it's pretty much a give-in that's what the semi-circular building at Willow Park is, eh? That'd be a pretty cool building if it was still around....the old Willow Park was definitely more interesting.

.....and all the times I've shopped at that Superstore and I had no idea that was there, haha.

I'm hoping ns_kid can chime in here as he is quite knowledgable on local rail history. I've never known about the Willow Park facility until you posted about it.

Interestingly enough, when you look on Google maps, that area of Willow Park is labeled Engineer Yard... a reference to its rail history perhaps?

https://www.google.com/maps/place/En...!4d-63.6070378

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by K-Man

Well, as a quick last minute post I completely forgot that I had posted this photo in another thread about the "mystery gates" at the Forum, haha. This here image seals the deal for me that the building is a DND building from Willow Park. Good eye, Summerville.


Source: HipPostcard - https://www.hippostcard.com/listing/...rd-d8/16465224

The attention you've brought to the Forum, and by association, the track, reminded me of something I had read about years ago, but didn't save the link to the information.

I'm not sure if many are aware, but the horse track next to the Forum site (now occupied by the Canada Post facility) also has some automotive racing history. I did a quick search this morning, and found a new (to me) bit of info that I hadn't been aware of: the Hubley Bluenose Special race car from 1938.

Info from the Maritime Motorsports Hall Of Fame site:

http://www.maritimemotorsporthalloff.../archives/2508

ONE-OF-A-KIND PRE-WAR RACE CAR ON DISPLAY AT MMHF

MAY 3, 2018 NEWS
Visitors to the Maritime Motorsports Hall of Fame (MMHF) over the next few months will have the opportunity to view the Hubley Bluenose Special race car, a 1938 custom-built open cockpit marvel which beat the best race cars from all over North America.

The car, believed to be the only mobile Canadian pre-war race car in existence, is named for its builders, Reginald “Reg” Hubley and his brother “Oz” with the body fabricated by their father, Milton, all of Halifax (NS). Reg raced the car at the Halifax Exhibition Grounds at speeds up to 100 mph among a field of racers from Canada and the United States.

In 1938, 100 mph was incredible, especially considering it was attained in a car that was built on a bet. Reg’s skills as a mechanic were challenged by friends who suggested he build a race car that could compete with the professionally built racers that made their way to Halifax each year for the annual car race held at the end of each season on the 1/2-mile horse track at the Exhibition Grounds.

Reg took the bet and designed the car, building it with parts from five different vehicles; its frame is iron reinforced full length by cedar 2×4’s, and the engine was a 490 Chevrolet block which was ground down and modified. The car has only one forward gear and included mechanical innovations such as a pressure feed fuel system which allowed the driver to hand-pump air pressure in the gasoline tank which kept a steady flow of gasoline into the carburetor.