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Maritime Centre (Halifax)
Encyclopedia
Downtown Halifax
Downtown Halifax is the city centre of the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. Located on the eastern-central portion of the Halifax Peninsula, on Halifax Harbour, it serves as the business, entertainment, and tourism hub of the region.- Municipal:...
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
is an office building home to the regional telecommunications company Bell Aliant (formerly Maritime Telephone & Telegraph, from which it is named).
The building is on the site of the former Capitol Theatrehttp://cinematreasures.org/theater/12220/, which was demolished in 1974 to make way for the construction of the present tower. Completed in 1977, the original structure had 14 stories; another seven floors were added in 1988. The building stands at 78 metres and has 21 floors, including the two retail levels.
Maritime Centre was designed to avoid blocking the view from Citadel Hill to various parts of Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality.-Harbour description:The harbour is called Jipugtug by the Mi'kmaq first nation, anglisized as Chebucto...
, hence the building's peculiar angle to the street. The project was extremely controversial at the time that it was being developed as certain factions felt that high rise development had no place in Halifax's historic downtown. Consequently a "view-planes" bylaw was enacted concurrently with the development of the project to ensure minimal impact on the view of the harbour from the hill-top fortress from certain vantage points.
The architects were Webb, Zerafa, Menkes, Housden (now WZMH Architects
WZMH Architects
WZMH Architects is an architecture company based in Toronto, Canada. The firm was founded in 1961, and is known for the design of landmark structures, skyscrapers, major mixed use, commercial, institutional, residential and hospitality projects, as well as renovation and retrofit projects...
)http://www.wzmh.com/introduction/introduction.htm of Toronto.