HERITAGE ISSUES
P. Martin Liquors Building
1870 Upper Water Street
The Armour Group applied for a demolition permit for this building on February 12, 2007. Armour Group has asserted that the building was registered as a heritage property in error. HRM's position is that the building was registered intentionally. The report to the Heritage Advisory Committee provides more details. Further information on the building itself can be found here.
Photo above taken February 3, 2008
Photo above taken February 3, 2008
Coburg Cottage
An application has been made to demolish the heritage property at 6454 Coburg Road. According to the Heritage Advisory Committee Report of July 19, 2006...
History of Property:
Coburg Cottage was constructed in 1816 by William Pryor, a successful merchant in the West Indies trade. Following Pryor's death about 1880, the property was acquired by Sir Sandford Flemming who lived in nearby Blenheim Lodge. From 1884 to 1907 the property was owned by Thomas Kenny, who lived on the nearby Thornvale Estate, and used Coburg Cottage as a staff residence. In 1955 Kings College was bequeathed the property from the estate of George Nicholas, and in 1971 Dalhousie purchased the property from Kings College.Architecture:
Coburg Cottage is a two and one half storey, wood framed, gable roof building. There are single storey additions on each side, and a large two storey addition at the rear. The front elevation is covered with clapboards, and the other elevations are clad with shingles. In style, the building can be characterized as New England Colonial with influences from the Classical Revival, Italianate, arid Gothic Revival styles. The building stands on a 1/2 acre parcel of land, is set back from the street, and has well established gardens in the rear
Photo above taken September 10, 2006
The Heritage Advisory Committee has recommended to Regional Council that the application for a demolition permit be refused. To read the report of the Heritage Advisory Committee, click here.
Demolishing Halifax West, Decommissioning Queen Elizabeth High, and St. Pat's High
TIMELINE:
August 2000 Halifax West Closed due to environmental problems.
August 28/2000
In this Press Release, Mayor Walter Fitzgerald suggests that it might be more cost-effective for the Regional School Board to build two new metro high schools, rather than spend more than $40 million repairing and renovating three existing ones in Halifax.
January 19, 2001 In this press release , the proposed future of Halifax West, QEH and St. Pats is outlined.
January 10, 2002 In this press release, Councillor Dawn Sloane addresses the issue of feeder school closures and the issue of merging QEH and St. Pats due to dwindling enrollments.
January 18/2002 In this press release, Councillor Dawn Sloane calls for further discussions regarding the merger of the peninsula's two schools into one consolidated school
March 31, 2005 The Halifax Regional School Board officially names the new high school Citadel High. Some of the other names that were suggested included:
Vincent Coleman Memorial High School, Robert Stanfield High School, Halifax
Central High School, Anna Leonowens High School, Patrician Elizabethan High
School, Robert McCall Memorial High School. May 4, 2005
Department of Education announces that Citadel High will open in
September 2007. It was originally scheduled to open in September 2006. June 17-19th, 2005 A reunion for all former St. Pat's students was held. For more info, click here and here.
June 1, 2007 QEH Memorabilia Silent Auction & Dance
June 2, 2007 Irish Wake and Silent Auction at St. Pat's
July 27 – 29, 2007 QEH "Last Chance Reunion"
August 2007 St. Pat's to be renamed "Quinpool Education Centre" and to be used a as "multi-use" building
Behind the fence, construction of Citadel High is well underway as QEH and Saint Pat's students go back for the final year for those schools (Photo taken September 2006)
RELATED LINKS
Unidentified Victims of Halifax Explosion
"For some inexplicable reason, or for no reason but the hurry and turmoil of the time, the last of these [unidentified victims] . . . were buried in the potter's field of Halifax on Bayers Road, where a single granite monument marks their common grave." -- Thomas Raddall in Warden of the NorthLike most people, I drove by this site (on Bayers Road just before Bayers Road Shopping Centre) many times unaware that what appears from the road to be an open field is actually the final resting place of 124 unidentified victims of the Halifax Explosion. When I first started researching Halifax history about 7 years ago, I was amazed that so few people knew about this tiny "cemetery". I was also surprised that there wasn't a more significant sign marking the spot. More recently, I was very pleased to see the blue sign that now lets locals and visitors alike know what lies behind the inconspicuous fence. On Monday, July 22nd 2002, the Chronicle-Herald ran a front page article on this very subject. Historian Jim Simpson has suggested that a more descriptive marker would be appropriate for the site.
The Cogswell Interchange
The Cogswell Interchange was built in the early 70's as the initial stage of what was referred to as "Harbour Drive", a freeway that was supposed to run the length of the harbourfront and be a major traffic artery in the city. Citizen pressure eventually scuttled the project, which would have seen a significant loss of heritage structures. Despite this, the Cogswell Interchange remains today a massive concrete reminder of "Harbour Drive's" demise. Many are now proposing that the interchange be demolished, that the roads be brought back down to terra firma and the land lost to this massive concrete barrier be reclaimed for a more practical use, although debate remains as what this might be. For more information on this issue, check out this link:
- Deja Vous all over again? - The Late Kate Carmichael's thoughts on the subject (From the Downtown Halifax Business Commission's Website).
Halifax Infirmary
Midtown Tavern
1684 Grafton Street(64 Grafton Street prior to number conversion)
This long standing Halifax institution (since 1949) looked for a time like it might disappear from the downtown landscape. The tavern's owner had submitted a proposal to build a hotel with 17 stories on the site with a tavern at the base of the building. Initially approved by Peninsula Community Council, the project was rejected by the Utility and Review Board and this was upheld by the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal.
Did You Know? Before it was the Midtown Tavern, this structure housed "Dauphinee's Grocery Store", owned by Mr. Guy Dauphinee.
July 2004 - Peninsula Community Council approves Midtown development proposal.
PENINSULA COMMUNITY COUNCIL
MINUTES 25 July 12, 2004
MOVED by Councillor Blumenthal, seconded by Councillor Fougere that Peninsula Community Council:
1. Approve the application for a development agreement, generally as found in the June 1, 2004 staff report, permitting a 17 storey hotel/commercial building at 1684 Grafton Street and as set out in the revised plans which incorporate the windows on the south wall.
2. Require that the development agreement be signed within 120 days, or any extension thereof granted by Community Council on request of the applicant, from the date of final approval by Community Council and any other bodies as necessary, whichever is later; otherwise this approval will be void and obligations arising hereunder shall be at an end.
MOTION PUT AND PASSED with Councillor Sloane voting against the motion.
October 2005 - Utility and Review Board rejected the Midtown Tavern's proposal for a 17-storey hotel at the corner of Prince and Grafton streets.
Photos taken October 25, 2003
October 2006 - Nova Scotia Court of Appeal upholds the decision made by the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board, rejecting the proposed development.
