When it comes to female names in bootlegging, you’re more likely to see them attached to a boat than to an actual human being. Helen G. MacLean, Nellie J. Banks, Rosella, Isabel, Stella and Josephine—these are ships, not people. Women are all over prohibition histories, but they’re often unnamed figures—archetypes of virtue clutching their pearls […]
History
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Citizen Gus
Last year was his 75th in the city. He has reigned over Halifax’s hearts longer than Queen Elizabeth II has ruled the British empire. She sits on a throne, under a golden crown. He lives in a plexiglass enclosure, under the warming glow of a 150-Watt heat lamp. A humble life, of no less magnitude. […]
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King’s College to examine school’s connection to slavery
The University of King’s College is taking a serious look at its own historical connections to the slave trade. The school announced on Monday it’s creating a scholarly inquiry to examine the direct and indirect benefit King’s has received from slavery in the 18th and 19th centuries. According to an accompanying press release, the inquiry […]
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Mayor on Cornwallis panel: “I don’t really think it’s useful to point fingers”
The Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs wants immediate action. Halifax mayor Mike Savage, however, is looking forward to more conversation. On Friday afternoon the Assembly officially walked away from participating in HRM’s historical panel on the legacy of Edward Cornwallis. The Chiefs cited ongoing delays in dealing with city hall and called for the statue […]
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Elmwood saved from the wrecking ball
One of the oldest buildings in Halifax without official heritage status is getting another shot at life thanks to its new owners. Galaxy Properties is working with HRM’s heritage team to try and save the Elmwood, and it looks like it might actually happen. “I think the odds are very good,” says municipal planner Aaron […]
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How we choose to remember the Halifax Explosion
If a hurricane passes over a deserted island, says Jacob Remes, no one calls it a disaster. According to the historian, a disaster is defined by people—how society responds or doesn’t respond to its impact. In his book, Disaster Citizenship: Survivors, Solidarity and Power in the Progressive Era, Remes examines those issues through the aftermath […]
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Rebuilding trust in Beechville
Armco Capital has a lot of work ahead if it wants to earn back the trust of Beechville residents for the company’s new subdivision. Helping ease the tensions built up from 200 years of false promises and racist planning decisions is Joachim Stroink, the former MLA who made national headlines in 2013 after posing for […]
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Marc Denhez on the future of heritage
If there’s an expert on heritage planning in Canada, it’s Marc Denhez. The author and adjudicator has over 30 years experience dealing with historic preservation and planning issues all across the world. He chaired a government-renovation industry task force, and has been honoured by the Canadian Institute of Planners, Ontario’s Ministry of Culture and received a […]
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Halifax councillors keep fighting about racism on Twitter
A city councillor’s use of the word “negroes” while stating that it’s impossible to be racist against Mexicans has prompted the latest public tweet storm between Halifax’s elected leaders. The back-and-forth between city councillors devolved out of Halifax West Armdale representative Shawn Cleary’s statement Tuesday that he would personally no longer use the term “marijuana” […]
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Memories of life at the Elmwood
While researching this week’s cover story on the history of the Elmwood building at South and Barrington, The Coast ended up speaking with dozens of current and former tenants from the past 40 years. They shared their memories—and a couple ghost stories—about what it was like living at the ageing historic property. Here’s what they […]
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The fall of the house of Elmwood
“So much of mankind’s varied experience had passed there—so much had been suffered, and something, too, enjoyed—that the very timbers were oozy, as with the moisture of a heart. It was itself like a great human heart, with a life of its own, and full of rich and sombre reminiscences.” —Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of […]
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When Daniel Paul found Cornwallis
Daniel Paul found his rival in a pub in 1965. He and his brother Lawrence and their Indian Brook friend Norman Brooks were upgrading their education together in Dartmouth. Getting out of school early one day, the trio headed to Halifax’s Piccadilly Tavern on Argyle Street for a few beers. They had enough cash to […]