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55-406: The Halifax Common was originally a lightly forested swampy area which formed the source of Freshwater Brook , which flowed into Halifax Harbour near the site of today's Pier 21 . The Common was designated by surveyors following the settling of Halifax in 1749. It was created to serve three purposes. The first was to provide pasturage for horses and livestock , both by the military garrison and

110-469: A CA$ 400 million project which attempted to remediate the area, with limited success. The Mi'kmaq First Nation, long the occupants of this territory, called the harbour Kjipuktuk in their language. It was transliterated in English as "Chebucto". It runs in a northwest–southeast direction. Based on average vessel speeds, the harbour is strategically located approximately one hour's sailing time north of

165-495: A cricket ground, several softball diamonds, a large fountain near the centre, tennis courts, a soccer field, an outdoor city-owned swimming pool , skateboarding facilities, and a smaller fountain. It is larger than the Central Common, and is much more empty and open, making it suitable for organized sporting and recreation events. A public washroom was recently built on Cunard Street. Playgrounds were recently replaced on

220-426: A large base housing Maritime Forces Atlantic along the western side of The Narrows, as well as an ammunition depot on the northeastern shore of Bedford Basin, CFAD Bedford. There are strict security regulations relating to vessels navigating near Navy facilities and anchorages. There are two large suspension bridges crossing The Narrows: After Confederation in 1867, boosters of Halifax expected federal help to make

275-423: A museum ship and Canada's naval memorial. The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia is housed in a 150-year-old building containing over 9,000 works of art. There are a number of parks within the urban setting of Downtown Halifax. The area is home to approximately 200 restaurants and bars, providing an interesting array of world cuisine. There are also over 60 sidewalk cafes that open in the summer months. The nightlife

330-529: A street approximately 1,200 m (3,900 ft) in total-length that goes in an east-west direction from Barrington Street -to- Robie Street . Barrington Street traverses approximately 1,500 m (4,900 ft) through Downtown in a north-south direction. Its total-length from Highway 111 in the North End -to-Inglis Street in the South End is approximately 7 km (4.3 mi). The streets in

385-584: Is Granville Mall , a pedestrian mall formerly part of Granville Street, made up of an array of shops and pubs in a conglomeration of rowed historic buildings built in the 1860s. It is known for the stone facades on each building. Historic Properties , a collection of 19th-century warehouses converted into shops and restaurants, is located nearby. Despite the heritage focus of these remaining blocks of heritage buildings, none are protected as heritage districts. Downtown Halifax hosts several museums, including: Pier 21 , an immigrant entry point prominent throughout

440-637: Is a bustling area that hosts many industries. Downtown Halifax is the financial centre of the urban area of Halifax , the Province of Nova Scotia , and the region of Atlantic Canada . The Bank of Canada has one of its five Canadian regional offices located within the central business district, and all Big Five Canadian banks have major operations within the area. Manulife , along with many other private financial institutions , also do business within downtown. Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation operates its headquarters at 1601 Lower Water Street. Trampoline

495-459: Is anticipated after the 2021 season. The $ 17 million project includes demolition of existing facilities (pools, playground, pavilion). It is anticipated to open for the 2023 season. The Halifax Common is centrally located on the Halifax peninsula, about a five-minute walk to and from Downtown Halifax . The square-shaped North Common is bordered by Cunard Street to the north, North Park street to

550-589: Is located within the area. Eastlink , a cable television and telecommunications company is headquartered within the vicinity. Maritime Bus operates a station within the district. Emera , the Canadian successor holding company , is headquartered in Downtown Halifax. Its Nova Scotia subsidiary, Nova Scotia Power , used to be a Provincial Crown corporation until Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia leader Donald Cameron privatized

605-486: Is located within the central-eastern portion of the Halifax Peninsula . The terrain varies from 0 m (0 ft) on the harbour's edge, to about 74 m (243 ft) atop Citadel Hill (Fort George) . Sourced from Defining Canada’s Downtown Neighbourhoods: 2016 Boundaries , Downtown Halifax covers 410 ha (1,000 acres) of landmass. The culture of Downtown Halifax is-influenced-by-and-is-similar-to

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660-423: Is made up of bars and small music venues as well as Casino Nova Scotia , a large facility built partially over the water. Pizza Corner , located at the intersection of Blowers Street and Grafton Street, is a common location for pizzerias serving Halifax-style donairs and other street food for the neighbouring bars and pubs. Downtown Halifax, being home to many small shops and vendors, is a major shopping area in

715-450: Is noted for many shipwrecks both in the inner and outer harbour. A few ships were sunk at the edge of the harbour approaches during World War II by German U-boats but the vast majority were claimed by harbour accidents. Mapping of the harbour revealed about 45 shipwrecks in the harbour. Near the mouth of the harbour, over 50 magnetic anomalies have been discovered, most of which also represent shipwrecks with many others buried underneath

770-538: Is the home of Nova Scotia 's Province House where the Nova Scotia House of Assembly meets. Government House , where the Lieutenant-Governor resides, is located on Barrington Street . The provincial government also has offices in several other downtown office buildings. Canada's federal government also maintains a significant presence in the area, working from various buildings including

825-478: Is the primary central business district of the Municipality of Halifax . Located on the central-eastern portion of the Halifax Peninsula , on Halifax Harbour . Along with Downtown Dartmouth , and other de facto central business districts within the Municipality (e.g. Cole Harbour, Lower Sackville, Spryfield), Downtown Halifax serves as the business, entertainment, and tourism hub of the region. Downtown

880-485: The Armdale Yacht Club . An adjacent residential community named itself after the cove. Although outside the defined harbour limits, Lawlor Island and Devils Island are also frequently included in descriptions of Halifax Harbour and the surrounding area. Halifax's official harbour limit for navigational purposes is delineated by a line running from Herring Cove on the west side of the main channel, to

935-528: The Bedford Basin near Bedford and Burnside . In the Northwest Arm is a small peninsula known as Deadman's Island , named for being the burial location of War of 1812 prisoners of war. Just 200 m west of Deadman's Island is the equally small Melville Island , which is connected to the mainland by road. Melville Island forms the eastern boundary of Melville Cove and is also the location of

990-547: The Canadian Hydrographic Service throughout the length of the harbour and beyond. The harbour includes the following geographic areas: The harbour is home to several small islands. The harbour limit is formed by the northern end of its largest island - McNabs Island . The largest island entirely within the harbour limits is Georges Island , a glacial drumlin similar to its dryland counterpart at Citadel Hill . Several small islands are located in

1045-607: The Dominion Public Building , the Ralston Building, and previously, the Maritime Centre. Streets within Downtown Halifax are set in a grid-pattern. Pedestrians are recommended to be cautious, to know your route, and to use good footwear. Downtown Halifax is similar to other central business districts where it has many varied crosswalks, hills, paths, and sidewalks. Spring Garden Road is

1100-591: The Great Circle Route between the Eastern Seaboard and Europe . As such, it is the first inbound and last outbound port of call in eastern North America with transcontinental rail connections. The harbour is largely formed by a drowned glacial valley which succumbed to sea level rise since glaciation . The Sackville River now empties into the upper end of the harbour in Bedford Basin ; however, its original river bed has been charted by

1155-506: The Municipality of Halifax . Notable retail areas include Park Lane , Spring Garden Road and Scotia Square . Neptune Theatre , located on Argyle Street, is Halifax's largest theatre with a 458-person capacity. Since 1 July 1963, it has performed, and performs an assortment of professionally produced plays year-round. The Shakespeare by the Sea theatre company performs at nearby Point Pleasant Park . Although not in Downtown Halifax,

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1210-630: The World Trade and Convention Centre . The Atlantic Film Festival , Atlantic Jazz Festival and the Halifax Pop Explosion also take place in some downtown venues. The Halifax Convention Centre offers more than 120,000 square feet (11,000 m ) of space for meetings and events. Statistics Canada's 2021 Census article Table 5 Population by proximity to downtown, census metropolitan areas, 2016 to 2021 recorded 25,555 people who lived within Downtown Halifax. From 2016 to 2021,

1265-468: The harbour from Casino Nova Scotia in the northern-part of Downtown-to-the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 in the southern-part of Downtown. It is a 24-hour public footpath , and at 4 km (2.5 mi) in length, it is one of the longest urban footpaths in the world. On 20 October 1803, Halifax's town clock started keeping time. Located off Brunswick Street, the clock faces

1320-475: The municipality and the urban area , has a very diverse economy. Many Crown corporations , non-governmental organizations , and private-sector organizations , have corporate headquarters and/or do business within downtown. As the most populous downtown in Atlantic Canada , that is encompassed by the most populous municipality--and--most populous urban area within Atlantic Canada , Downtown Halifax

1375-524: The pilot station off Chebucto Head. Vessels wishing to transit The Narrows between the outer harbour and Bedford Basin must travel one at a time; this rule was established after the disastrous Halifax Explosion of December 6, 1917 when a collision between the French munitions ship Mont-Blanc and the Norwegian ship Imo destroyed part of Halifax and Dartmouth . The Royal Canadian Navy maintains

1430-583: The urban area of Halifax itself. The Scotiabank Centre is one of the largest buildings in Downtown Halifax, as well as the largest arena in Atlantic Canada . It is the home of the Halifax Mooseheads hockey team, and it also plays host to most of the major sporting events and concerts that visit Halifax. The Nova Scotia International Tattoo is held here every year. It is connected to the Downtown Halifax Link , and directly to

1485-515: The 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, was opened to the public as a National Historic Site of Canada in 1999. The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is a maritime museum containing extensive galleries including a large exhibit on the Titanic , over 70 small craft and a 200-foot (61 m) steamship CSS  Acadia . In summertime the preserved World War II corvette HMCS  Sackville operates as

1540-482: The 2011 Canadian Masters Championships and the 2011 Canada Games , the oval was slated to be removed in March 2011, but due to its overwhelming popularity, it was made a permanent fixture. As of January 2014, it is going into its second winter as a permanent fixture. It is open for public and speed skating sessions and the ice surface opens for supervised skates as soon as weather conditions are sufficiently cold. During

1595-504: The Barrington Street Halifax Transit public transit terminal, with services providing connections to the rest of the city, the Halifax harbour ferry connecting with Downtown Dartmouth and Woodside, as well as the new Bus Rapid Transit service MetroLink . During these shows, concert express and shuttle buses run directly to and from Common Park from various locations and are designated to operate along with

1650-618: The Central Common, because of concerns due to toxicity levels in the soil beneath the playground. Arsenic from playground wood that had been treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA, which has since been discontinued in playground use in Halifax) had leached from the playground wood, into the soil. Across Cogswell St from the Pavilion is the Emera Oval , a 400-metre skating track. Originally constructed to host speed skating events in

1705-607: The Common. Residential development spread up Spring Garden Road, cutting the Common in half. In addition, civic institutions were established on the Common, in keeping with its use as a public space. The Common became home to the Public Gardens , Camp Hill Cemetery and Camp Hill Hospital, Dalhousie University Medical Campus , the Civic, Victoria General, IWK and Grace hospitals, Citadel High School . The North Common contains

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1760-803: The Eastern Front Theatre performs at Alderney Landing in Downtown Dartmouth which is accessible from the area via the Halifax Transit ferry service. Completed in 2017, the Nova Centre is Halifax's premier conference centre , and has over 11,000 m (120,000 sq ft) of event space. Formerly, and colloquially, known as the Halifax Metro Centre , the Scotiabank Centre

1815-598: The Halifax Intermodal Terminal (HIT) adjacent to the Richmond Terminals. In addition to HPA facilities, the following users have port facilities: Halifax Harbour has long been polluted as a result of two centuries of direct raw sewage discharge into its waters. The harbour's deep water, tidal dispersal of surface wastes and a relatively small population of the city of Halifax resulted in the harbour's presenting few health concerns until

1870-557: The ICR's own attempts to promote traffic to Halifax, most Canadian exporters sent their wares by train though Boston or Portland. Harbour promoters fought an uphill battle to finance the large-scale port facilities Halifax lacked, succeeding just before the First World War with the start of construction of the large docking facilities at Ocean Terminals in Halifax's South End . The war at last boosted Halifax's harbour into prominence on

1925-621: The North Atlantic. The Halifax Port Authority is a federally appointed agency which administers and operates various port properties on the harbour. Previously run by the National Harbours Board, the HPA is now a locally run organization. HPA facilities include: All HPA facilities are serviced by CN. It provides on-dock daily train service to Montreal , Toronto , Detroit and Chicago . The railway also operates

1980-547: The North Common, south to South Street. The Saint Mary's Campus is part of the Collins Estate as is Gorsebrook Field to its immediate north. This has both Inglis Street (Saint Francis School and Gorsebrook School. With its eastern boundary at North Park, Ahern, Bell Road, and South Park, and Robie Street in to the west. During the 1800s, the city expanded in all directions, and some of this development encroached on

2035-556: The citizens of Halifax. The second was to create a large area in which regiments stationed and in transit through Halifax could set up camps. The third and final reason was to provide clear fields of fire for the garrison of the Halifax Citadel , so that invading forces would have no cover in the event of an assault on the fort. Originally, the Halifax Common stretched from Cunard Street, the current northern boundary of

2090-535: The city's natural harbour Canada's official winter port and a gateway for trade with Europe. Halifax's advantages included its location just off the Great Circle route made it the closest to Europe of any mainland North American port. But the new Intercolonial Railway (ICR) took an indirect, southerly route for military and political reasons, and the national government made little effort to promote Halifax as Canada's winter port. Ignoring appeals to nationalism and

2145-518: The company in 1992. Downtown Halifax has an array of attractions, a plethora of events-and-festivals, and many restaurants. Many of the Halifax region's hotels are located in the downtown area, with many major hotel chains maintaining a location here. There are also a number of small hostels nearby. Hotels within Downtown There are several art galleries within the Downtown Halifax area : The Halifax Waterfront Boardwalk runs along

2200-412: The culture of Atlantic Canada, but is forever changing. With the ever-diversifying demographics of the Halifax urban area, the stereotypical idiosyncracies that are often associated with people from Atlantic Canada are slowly withering. The rapid growth of the area between 2016 -and- 2021 showed not only the diversification, importance, and resilience of Downtown Halifax, but of the Municipality and of

2255-463: The east, Cogswell street to the south, and Robie Street to the west. The Central Common is triangle shaped and is bordered by Cogswell Street to the north, Bell Road to the south-west, and Trollope Street to the south-east. The Common is now a popular outdoor concert venue for the Halifax region. With its central location, it has direct walking access (approx. five to ten minutes walking east on Cogswell Street or Rainnie Drive) to Downtown Halifax and

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2310-481: The harbour and is another example of Palladian architecture within the urban area of Halifax. Citadel Hill , a 22.6-hectare (56-acre) star-shaped fort, is another historic attraction in the downtown. Originally established with the arrival of Edward Cornwallis and the out break of Father Le Loutre's War (1749), the current fort was built in the Victorian Era as the hub of the historic defence system for

2365-617: The harbour, being one of the largest and deepest ice-free natural harbours in the world. Before Confederation it was one of the most important commercial ports on the Atlantic seaboard. In 1917, it was the site of the world's largest man-made accidental explosion, when the SS ; Mont-Blanc blew up in the Halifax Explosion on December 6. The harbour was formed by a drowned glacial valley which succumbed to sea level rise after glaciation . The Sackville River now empties into

2420-576: The harbour, which runs on the west side of McNabs Island. The west entrance point marking the beginning of the inner approach using this channel is located near Chebucto Head, approximately 12 kilometres (7 mi) south of the limit. Shallow draught vessels (less than 2.5 metres, 8.2 ft) may use the Eastern Passage, which runs on the east side of McNabs Island; however, continuous silting makes charted depths unreliable. Large vessels have compulsory pilotage, with harbour pilots boarding at

2475-427: The late 20th century when sewage build-up caused the shut-down of all harbour beaches. The Harbour Solutions project, initiated in the year 2000, was the culmination of three decades of discussion and planning regarding how the urban area would solve the expensive problem of sewage treatment and disposal. The CA$ 400 million project was expected to be completed in late 2008 when the final of three new treatment plants

2530-483: The muddy sediments. All historic shipwrecks in Halifax Harbour are protected by Nova Scotia's Special Places Act which makes it illegal to remove artifacts without a permit. Noteworthy wrecks are listed chronologically (with sinking dates): 44°37′N 63°33′W  /  44.617°N 63.550°W  / 44.617; -63.550  ( Halifax Harbour ) Downtown Halifax Downtown Halifax

2585-474: The northern end of McNabs Island, then from McNabs Island across the Eastern Passage to the actual community of Eastern Passage on the east side of the island. The harbour is marked by an extensive network of buoys and lighthouses , starting with Sambro Island Lighthouse at the harbour approaches, the oldest operating lighthouse in North America . Deep draught vessels must use the main channel into

2640-452: The population increased by 5,288 people (an increase of over 26%) from the 2016 population of 20,267 people. Furthermore, the population density of the area increased from approximately 49 people per hectare in 2016 to approximately 62 people per hectare in 2021. Between 2016 and 2021, Downtown Halifax's population fastest compared to all other Downtowns in Canada. Downtown Halifax, like

2695-446: The port. As a result, there is viewplane legislation that restricts vertical development that might block the direct line of sight from Citadel Hill to the harbour and George's Island in particular. Recent developments have challenged the viewplane limits. Finished construction in 1819, Province House is a fantastic example of Palladian architecture in North America . One of the few blocks to have retained its heritage character

2750-545: The regular service Metro Transit offers. paid attendance 11,853 44°38′57.86″N 63°35′21.39″W  /  44.6494056°N 63.5892750°W  / 44.6494056; -63.5892750 Halifax Harbour Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia , Canada , located in the Halifax Regional Municipality . Halifax largely owes its existence to

2805-527: The upper end of the harbour in Bedford Basin . The harbour also includes the Northwest Arm and The Narrows, a constricted passage to Bedford Basin Halifax Harbour has been polluted as a result of two centuries of direct raw sewage discharge into its waters. Health concerns in the 1990s caused the shut-down of all harbour beaches. The Harbour Solutions project, initiated in the year 2000, was

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2860-413: The warmer seasons it remains open for other uses. The summer of 2013 marked the beginning of inline activities offered by the city - supervised inline/ roller skating times with free rentals of inline and roller skates just as ice skates are rented out for free during public skates during the winter. Construction on a renovation of the Common's aquatic area, with pool, splash pad , and related facilities,

2915-466: The water. Lifeguards are now providing supervision during regular hours through to Labour Day weekend. However repeated breakdowns in the new system have resulted in swimming bans being regularly re-imposed and periodic resumption of raw sewage discharge. From early 2009 on swimming was no longer allowed in the harbour because the plant flooded and stopped working. On the weekend of July 4, 2010 some beaches (like Black Rock Beach) reopened. Halifax Harbour

2970-491: Was opened on 17 February 1978. It has a concert-capacity of up-to 13,000-people, and has hosted bands-and-musicians , comedians , multi-sport events and motivational speakers . Downtown Halifax is the home of the Halifax Regional Council chamber at Halifax City Hall . Offices for the mayor, city councillors, and additional staff can also be found downtown. At the provincial level, the downtown area

3025-666: Was opened. Testing of harbour waters in July 2008, with two of the three sewage treatment plants on-line, indicated that they are safe for swimming. Municipal public beaches at Black Rock Beach in Point Pleasant Park and at the Dingle Beach in Sir Sandford Fleming Park were officially re-opened on Saturday, August 2, 2008 (Natal Day weekend) after a 30-year closure due to sewage contamination in

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