Video: Driving through Halifax in 1989

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Drybrain

Ah, yes, I was just looking for the pics, didn't read the whole post--yes, Atlantic Trust at the corner, Crowe on the right-hand side.

I also could've sworn the block was knocked down in 89, but could easily be wrong. I don't go back that far, myself.

I think the early '80s reference is wrong, at least for the other buildings. I clearly remember buying a book at the store in between the Trust building and Birks - what was that called? - in the summer of 1990 or '91, I'm pretty sure. That book seller moved shortly thereafter to a space in the Lord Nelson Arcade that was quite nice when it first opened in the early '90s, though I don't think it lasted very long.

What I do know is that the Trust building was gone by 1995. The G7 Summit here that year resulted in a temporary restaurant being placed there for the duration of the event and it was jam-packed every time I went past. Then it was gone.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

While Gottingen overall seems about as slummy then as now, it was interesting to see that Glubes and New York Dress were still operating there in one section of the film, and that the Casino Theater, although apparently closed, still looked respectable, while the old Vogue/Eve Theater looked like it was ready to fall down. Today, the Casino has been replaced by Theater Lofts while the Vogue building has found new life as Global TV's studios.

It's interesting to note that the low point for Gottingen was more like 1998-2005. It looks noticeably better in the video and noticeably better today than it did at its worst. It's unfortunate that there wasn't a little more overlap between the era when these old businesses were still holding on and recent gentrification. Maybe more of the old stuff would have survived. Unfortunately this is a drawback of NIMBYism/red tape and bungled projects like St. Pat's-A.

I think one day people will look back at pictures from Halifax in the mid-late 90's and early last decade as a kind of low point for the inner city.

[Luisito]

Originally Posted by someone123

It's interesting to note that the low point for Gottingen was more like 1998-2005. It looks noticeably better in the video and noticeably better today than it did at its worst. It's unfortunate that there wasn't a little more overlap between the era when these old businesses were still holding on and recent gentrification. Maybe more of the old stuff would have survived. Unfortunately this is a drawback of NIMBYism/red tape and bungled projects like St. Pat's-A.

I think one day people will look back at pictures from Halifax in the mid-late 90's and early last decade as a kind of low point for the inner city.

The low point fot Gottingen was way before 98. That area looked worse in the 80s and early part of the 90s. By the mid/late 90s they started fixing that area up knocking down and fixing up delapidated homes. Younger people started moving in.

Gottingen is one thing, but those back streets Creighton, Gerrish, Maynard, cornwallis etc etc were bad. I would throw Agricola in there as well. By the late 90s that area started improving.