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53-440: The Halifax Court House is a historic building in downtown Halifax , Nova Scotia . Its main section was completed in 1863, with the east wing, built in 1930, being the newest portion. The Italian Renaissance style building was designed by William Thomas , a Toronto architect who created prominent structures across Canada, and built by George Lang . The building was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1969. It

106-525: A ghost, and vowing never to return to the room again (a promise he reportedly kept). To this day, staff are hesitant to go to the attic alone where court records are stored. 44°38′36.7″N 63°34′24.7″W  /  44.643528°N 63.573528°W  / 44.643528; -63.573528 Downtown Halifax Downtown is located within the central-eastern portion of the Halifax Peninsula . The terrain varies from 0 m (0 ft) on

159-874: A great influence on local, national or international history and folklore. These houses are usually preserved in their original state (when the people in question still lived in them), preserving their furniture, belongings, decorative elements and work tools. Some examples are the Salvador Dalí House Museum in Portlligat, Spain , the Freud museum houses in various European cities, or the Ben-Yehuda House in Jerusalem, Israel . According to Joaquin Saúl García, Professor of Geography at

212-568: A map with a description of the place for visitor orientation. A World Heritage Site is a historic site with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). As of June 2023, a total of 1,157 World Heritage Sites (900 cultural, 218 natural, and 39 mixed properties) exist across 167 countries . World Heritage Sites often attract large amounts of visitors. The most visited sites are

265-423: 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

318-529: 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

371-584: 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

424-637: 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

477-589: 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

530-423: 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

583-542: Is of local, regional, national, or global significance. Usually this also means the site must be at least 50 years or older. The conservation of historical heritage depends on the legislation of local governing bodies. In some, a national authority is responsible for the management of all classified sites, while in others regional entities are in charge. According to civil law expert Estefanía Hernández Torres, whose doctoral thesis deals with historical heritage and property registration, "the protection of historical heritage

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636-473: Is one of the main concerns of civilized societies. The assets that make up the cultural legacy are deserving of protection as they constitute a way of accessing culture".  However, according to Hernández, protection can be complicated, especially in the case of property purchase or transfer since its protected status is sometimes unknown to its new owners. The registries prepared by the different governments and international organizations (such as UNESCO or

689-538: 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

742-607: 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

795-483: The European Union ) are usually developed within the framework of very detailed legislation, which contemplates the relations between public authorities, conservation entities (institutional or private), the owners of the properties (in the cases of private property) and citizen collaboration. Beyond the historical and factual data, there are also observations on the historical, cultural or artistic significance of

848-751: The Forbidden City , China , with 14 million annual visitors, Gulangyu , China, with 12.4 million annual visitors, and the Great Smoky Mountains , United States , with 11 million annual visitors. In the United States , the National Register of Historic Places keeps track of over 90,000 sites of significance. Roughly three percent, or about 2,600, are formally recognized as National Historic Landmarks (NHLs) , with New York , Massachusetts , and Pennsylvania featuring

901-471: 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,

954-566: 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,

1007-536: The University of Castilla-La Mancha in Spain , "in recent years, cultural heritage has become the foundation of a tourist trend — cultural tourism — that, despite its long history documented in the well-known travel books from the 18th and 19th centuries, it wasn't until the end of the 20th century that it appeared as a way of traveling where the objective is knowledge of culture and diversity ...". García affirms that

1060-468: 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

1113-475: 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

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1166-515: 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

1219-589: The Courthouse remain today and ongoing renovations and upgrades are designed ensure that they honour the original architecture design while at the same time providing efficient modern-day court functions. The Courthouse has been designated as an historic site of national significance by the Historic Sites and Monument Board. A collision occurred on December 6, 1917 in Halifax Harbour between

1272-803: 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

1325-402: The attic of the courthouse where pieces of wood from the old public gallows are stored. It is said that the wood is stored in a dark, eerie room in the upper story of the building are pieces of the old Halifax gallows, on which many of the city's more infamous criminals met their end long ago. Many years ago one of the building's janitors ran terrified and shaken from the room, swearing he had seen

1378-555: The back in the 1881–82 added additional courts. Matching wings were erected on either end of the building in 1908 (west wing designed by Herbert E. Gates, architect) and 1930 (east wing) to offer additional courtrooms and office space that are now occupied by the Provincial Crown and Judges' Chambers. Today the court houses six courtrooms, judges chambers, court administration offices, the Provincial Crown and cells that can jail up to 50 prisoners. The historic character of

1431-461: The building include use of vermiculation and the carving of, replete with carvings of the faces of snarling lions and stern, bearded men in each key stone of the original building's central arches. Interior architectural features to be noted are the pressed metal ceilings, the elaborate arched doorways, the wood paneling and plaster details in the courtrooms and the entry foyer and staircase. In 1863 gas heat replaced 14 fireplaces that inadequately heated

1484-485: The building were completed in 1985. By the 1850s a decision was made to consolidate all the Halifax courts under one roof. After fires razed many downtown buildings during that decade (three major fires destroyed many of the city’s wooden buildings between 1857 and 1861, officials abandoned plans for a wooden structure in favour of a more fireproof option made of stone, to protect the legal records it would house. Following

1537-475: The building. The 14 fireplaces remain today though there are none located in the courtrooms. When originally constructed the Courthouse had two courtrooms, judicial robing and jury rooms, a law library and offices for the prothonotary and registrar of chancery. One of the first occupants was the Sheriff and the office of the Sheriff has remained in the court since. Due to the demand for court space, an addition to

1590-644: The business parts of the city" and it remained unpopular. Halifax carpenter Henry Hill designed the building and Toronto-based architect William Thomas and Sons were retained and created a palatial structure in sandstone. The building was built by contractor George Lang who also built The Halifax Club and the Welsford-Parker Monument at the Front gate of St Paul's Cemetery. Made from brown stone from Mary's Point New Brunswick and Wallace sandstone from Cumberland County. The Wallace quarry sandstone

1643-518: 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

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1696-687: The corresponding conservation entity. In other cases, when it comes to private property in the possession of an individual prior to its classification, the conservation and rehabilitation tasks, or at least their financing, fall to public authorities and conservation entities. In almost all cases, reform and renovation works on the property (both internal and external) that are not part of the rehabilitation and recovery of historical elements are strictly prohibited. Historical heritage has important social significance and function. House museums are common, being former homes of famous people (artists, pioneers, soldiers, politicians, businessmen, etc.) who have exerted

1749-534: The court room itself had sustained some damage and the blown out windows were boarded up. Purportedly, oil lamps were used because the power was out. A judicial inquiry known as the Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry was formed to investigate the causes of the collision. Proceedings began at the courthouse on 13 December 1917, presided over by Justice Arthur Drysdale. The inquiry's report of 4 February 1918 blamed Mont-Blanc ' s captain , Aimé Le Médec,

1802-405: The disaster. Courtroom #2 featured an elevator that could ferry prisoners directly into the courtroom from the cells below, but it was removed in the 1930s after it malfunctioned and left a prisoner trapped between floors. It has been noted that "...a prisoner was being sent up to the courtroom to face the judge. Everything was ready for the processes of the law to run along smoothly - but one thing

1855-677: The downtown area are set in a grid pattern like the rest of the Halifax Peninsula , the way the town officials originally planned in the 18th century. Halifax Transit provides public transit routes from several points throughout Downtown Halifax via different modes of transport. Historic site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been recognized with official historic status. A historic site may be any building, landscape, site or structure that

1908-537: The fires, almost all major buildings were constructed of brick and stone. Built on the grounds of what was then the Governor's Garden, location of the court was as contentious back in the 1850s as location of public buildings it is today. Even when the Spring Garden Courthouse was opened the location remained contentious and lawyers, reported to have "complained that the building is too far away from

1961-481: 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

2014-422: 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 the culture of Atlantic Canada, but is forever changing. With the ever-diversifying demographics of the Halifax urban area,

2067-615: 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 the World Trade and Convention Centre . The Atlantic Film Festival , Atlantic Jazz Festival and

2120-618: The most NHLs. The U.S. National Park Service runs historic site preservation under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 . Each state government has a State Historic Preservation Office to oversee NHL upkeep and review applications for new ones. In addition, all sites must first be approved by the National Park Service and its special advisory board, as well as the Secretary of

2173-736: The owners of the two ships sought damages from each other. His decision (27 April 1918) found Mont-Blanc entirely at fault. Subsequent appeals to the Supreme Court of Canada (19 May 1919), and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London (22 March 1920), determined Mont-Blanc and Imo were equally to blame for navigational errors that led to the collision. No party was ever convicted for any crime or otherwise successfully prosecuted for any actions that precipitated

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2226-452: 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

2279-508: 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

2332-402: The relationship between heritage and tourism is currently very close, which contributes a great extent to the conservation of historical sites through revenue and in sustainable development. Historic sites and heritage sites are often maintained for members of the public to be able to visit, with some offering tours or running visitors' centers. Historic buildings and spaces also often include

2385-582: The ship's pilot , Francis Mackey, and Commander F. Evan Wyatt, the Royal Canadian Navy's chief examining officer in charge of the harbour, gates and anti-submarine defences, for causing the collision. All three men were charged with manslaughter and criminal negligence at a preliminary hearing heard by Stipendiary Magistrate Richard A. McLeod, and bound over for trial. However, a Nova Scotia Supreme Court justice, Benjamin Russell found there

2438-404: The site, in addition to the cost for its use and preservation. Many historical sites can still be used by their owners (ex: homes, hotels, museums), even with the conditions from the site's overseeing body. Many times, these conditions are part of the purchase or rental contract, and their fulfillment is essential to be able to keep the property. One such condition may be periodic control visits by

2491-414: 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 the urban area of Halifax itself. The Scotiabank Centre is one of the largest buildings in Downtown Halifax, as well as

2544-495: The vessels, SS Mont-Blanc and SS Imo and resulted in a blast that decimated the district known as Richmond, in the North End of the city. The courthouse suffered $ 19,000 in damage even though it was farther to the south. At the time, Nova Scotia Supreme Court cases were heard in court room #2 on the second floor, east side of the stairwell. Courtroom #1 (now #4) was used for everything else including Admiralty Court. The walls of

2597-614: Was also listed as a Provincially Registered Property under Nova Scotia's Heritage Property Act in 1983. Nova Scotia Supreme Court sat for the first time in the newly built Halifax County courthouse on Spring Garden Road in October 1860 and continued using it until 1960 when the building temporarily became the Provincial Library and then the home of the Provincial Court in 1971. The most recent renovations to

2650-653: Was also used at Nova Scotia's Province House , Province House in Charlottetown and some Parliament Buildings in Ottawa. It was proclaimed in the 1860 Halifax city directory that the "court house would do honour to any city in Europe, and cannot be surpassed for architectural beauty by any city of the same size on the continent of America." The building's architectural exterior is classic with palladian style that represents stability and strength. Decorative features of

2703-446: Was missing - a prisoner. The ... accused was trapped between floors. And, before the trial could go ahead, they had a difficult time to get the elevator released and the prisoner freed from his unpleasant situation. The last hanging in Halifax occurred on March 7, 1935. Daniel Sampson was hanged for the murder of two boys. He was hanged in back of the courthouse where the parking lot now exists. To this day ghosts of those executed haunt

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2756-430: Was no evidence to support these charges. Mackey was discharged on a writ of habeas corpus and the charges dropped. As the captain and pilot had been arrested on the same warrant, the charges against Le Médec were also dismissed. This left only Wyatt to face a grand jury hearing. On 17 April 1918, a jury acquitted him in a trial that lasted less than a day. Drysdale also oversaw the first civil litigation trial, in which

2809-491: 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

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