Halifax History-Issues

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

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

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

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)

Like 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 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: