Dear heritage people of Halifax,
Do us all a favor and please FUCK OFF with your concerns about the view from Citadel Hill when voting on the height of the new convention center. Thanks to you, Barrington St. is a disaster. I’m so glad all those facades are taking up prime space in our downtown killing the business that we have left or are currently missing out on. Can’t wait until the day Spring Garden rd. looks like Gottingen st.
—Hali needs growth
This article appears in Apr 30 – May 6, 2009.
How about we just jack up Citadel Hill?
…or put a lot of the new convention centre underground? …and start a subway!
I think preserving the historic look and feel of our downtown core and the views from Citadel Hill is important. Tourism brings big money in to the city and tourists don’t want to look at the same ugly glass, concrete and steel boxes they can see everywhere else. We are lucky to live in a beautiful city with lots of character, it would be a shame to see it all erased in favour of bland cookie cutter architecture.
Maybe we should build an apartment/hotel tower ON citadel hill so Haligonians that care can live there and enjoy the view from the hill all the time and we gain extra height to build up downtown.
Actually don’t mind the height restrictions for the viewplanes, but aren’t there other places on the peninsula (or off), that you could build up? Maybe Dartmouth could use some tall buildings so when we are looking across the harbour from the hill we actually have something nice to look at. Right now the best thing about Dartmouth is the view of Halifax.
Jai, I was recently in Boston, and that is a perfect example of how new age buildings do not hinder historical preservation. Boston has sky rises and has plenty of beautiful old buildings and the combination is great. Halifax could learn a lesson from it’s relative if it wants to advance beyond the 19th century.
I own a historic property downtown and I can tell you, that these new bills affect any historic property in the municipality and threaten their continued conservation. I’m all for modern development, we all are, bring it on, but it’s just that sometimes it threatens older buildings in the process and that’s something we should be trying to prevent. BRoc mentioned that Boston is an example of sky scrapers and beautiful old buildings, and he/ she is totally correct, however for that to happen we have to make sure the older buildings remain protected and right now in Halifax, that isn’t happening.
I would be fine with them putting up new buildings if the architects who design them have any creative backbone in them at all.
So far from what I have seen in the papers, the planned buildings look like rehashed versions of something I’ve seen before. Disgusting glass boxes mixed with bricks, stone and plain vanilla walls.
The only new building in Halifax that has any architectural integrity is the new NSCAD port campus down by pier 21, but even that building has it’s flaws.
Even the current towers in Halifax which are primarily brutalist architecture have some sense of confidence that makes them (in my eyes) something we can appreciate. Most people hate brutalist architecture, I like them, that’s a different story.
Boston does do a wonderful job but the big difference is they do not have a historically significant hill behind them. Their hill is in a different part of the city.
I say gut the heritage properties, leave the facades and build up from within them. Then all of the new buildings look like the old from the ground level…where all of the tourists will be walking by…unless I have missed these newfangled flying tourists that have apparently started to arrive here in the “Greater Metropolis” of Halifax.
What’s really quite humorous is that Citadel hill was lowered something like 7 times over the course of it being fortified. Every time a bigger cannon was designed…they shaved another chunk off the top to get the guns up there.
“Right now the best thing about Dartmouth is the view of Halifax.”
LOL, Miles.
It’s true though. Used to work in an office building with an AMAZING view of the hfx water front and it was A LOT better than the view from the opposite side of the harbour (cause all you gots to look at from hfx is dartmouth…)
No one comes to halifax for the veiw from citidel hill. They come for the east coast music, for peggys cove, for irish stlye pubs, sea food, the tall ships etc. It’s great that we have historic properties around, but we are such a young country, History buffs tend to go to egypt if they want old buildings. Its time to allow some modern blood into halifax, while taking reasonable measures to insure our historic properties are restored. a few sky scrapers is not going to ruin that history. The view from citidel hill is not exactly our best selling point.
Really Rafiki, then why the hell is it coated in tourists taking pictures every nice day during on season? I’ve seen people up there multiple times in the dead of winter with their cameras. They’re not pointing them at the cobblestones.
I thought they came for the harbor hopper?
wibbit wibbit.
Good comments! Keep it up and you will manage to come up with a creative middle ground for growth. It is possible to blend old with new. It is done constantly worldwide. People just need to be wary of those who wish to push back against change, before they know what the finished product will be. These folks tend to be well intentioned, however, they are also historicaly well healed, and tend to spend large amounts of cash to resist, or stall change. All parties need to be convinced there is something in it for them and the city they live and work in. It can be done well.
Just some points to observe:
Q:Standing in Grand Parade Square or by the water, how much of Citadel Hill is viewable?
A:The Town Clock, and only from select (two places) positions.
Q:From Citadel Hill how much of the waterfront is viewable?
A:None.
Those tourists taking pictures are usually taking pics of the fort or of the CITY SCAPE, so I really don’t see how new and different buildings will change that.