North End, Halifax
Encyclopedia
The North End of Halifax is a neighbourhood located in the urban core of Nova Scotia
's Halifax Regional Municipality
, occupying the northern part of the Halifax Peninsula
.
(the Eastern Shore
and South Shore
respectively).
At 60m in elevation, Citadel Hill is the highest point on the peninsula and when combined with the expansive undeveloped parkland of the North Common
, creates a physical boundary that separates the various neighbourhoods; the South Common having been developed for institutional and commercial/residential use is mostly considered. Fort Needham is another glacial drumlin
located in the heart of the North End.
and the Bedford Basin
. Its other boundaries as not as sharply defined, but the western limit of the neighbourhood is generally agreed to lie somewhere between Oxford Street and Robie Street, with many settling on Windsor Street as a convenient delimiting line.
The southern boundary was, traditionally, the northern limit of General Cornwallis's original Halifax settlement along the slope of Citadel Hill
(now Cogswell Street), and continuing along the northern edge of the North Common
to Quinpool Road.
The northern boundary has steadily migrated toward the Bedford Basin since Halifax's founding. The boundary originally ended at North Street, just as the South End
ended at South Street. Another community further to the north was Richmond
, and was located on the eastern slope of Fort Needham. Further north of Richmond, at the end of the Campbell Road, was the black community of Africville
.
By the end of the 19th century, the perception of the North End had come to generally include Richmond as well. Following its total destruction in the Halifax Explosion
(December, 1917), Richmond never again regained its individual identity. The area underwent significant redevelopment during the inter-war period and gradually became an extension of the original North End.
Africville held out as a separate community until the 1960s when it was demolished by city authorities and its residents relocated, many to public housing projects such as Uniacke Square
. With the removal of Africville, public perception of the northern boundary then extended to the shores of the Bedford Basin.
During the same time period, the perception of the southern boundary became less clear, with some contending the North End starts at North Street, and that the original north suburb is in fact a part of central Halifax.
Today residents consider the North End to be north of North Street.
. Prior to the explosion, the North End and Richmond was the focus of the city's industrial community, with the railway station located at the foot of North Street, factories, cotton
mills and prison
s lining the waterfront, along with major defence installations such as HMC Dockyard and Stadacona (formerly HMCS Stadacona, now part of CFB Halifax
).
The explosion's aftermath saw the area north of North Street razed and a new street grid established. New residential construction saw the creation of the historic Hydrostone
neighbourhood, built during the relief construction following the disaster. Today the memorial bells at Fort Needham, which were recovered from a church that didn't survive the event, may be heard in the carillon and monument to the disaster.
The Halifax North Memorial Public Library was opened in 1966 in memory of the victims of the explosion. Located on Gottingen Street, south of North Street, the library offers a welcoming environment as well as programs that strongly reflect the diverse make-up of the community.
Seaview Park on the Bedford Basin
is the site of Africville
, the former African-Canadian community that was a safe haven for African slave
s coming to Canada. The community was torn down in the 1960s preceding a proposed urban redevelopment of the region which would see new highways and the construction of the A. Murray MacKay Bridge
, although the lands of the community were never used in a proposed port expansion. In the ensuing controversy it was designated as parkland.
The Africville expropriation is often characterized as an example of institutional racism in Halifax. The municipal government justified the destruction of Africville by citing the poor living conditions of the community, despite having historically refused to extend those services to the community. The razing of Africville allowed for industrial development in the area and for the progress of the city's traffic grid, with the construction of the 'new' bridge. The Africville residents and descendants were dispersed among some of the North End's public housing projects, as well as into other parts of Halifax and Dartmouth.
and Saint Mary's University continue to rise, and as the cost of transportation has fallen due to the introduction of the U-pass, students are finding cheaper accommodations in the North End. This has giving birth to a thriving artistic community, with many painters, musician
s and writers being lured to this colourful section of the city.
However, the North End is often linked to issues of crime and poverty. Its historic reputation as a largely blue collar, working class area remains in the minds of much of the local population, especially the older citizens. Hugh MacLennan, in his 1941 novel of the Halifax Explosion, Barometer Rising described the North End as having always been "Catholic and poor". Land use has been defined by the proximity of the CFB Halifax
naval base and various adjunct facilities, as well as the Halifax Shipyard, the devastation of the 1917 explosion
, all of which contributed to a now-aging stock of residential and commercial buildings that are typically smaller and of lower assessed value than other areas in the metropolitan region. Socio-economically, the devastation of the explosion and the military and industrial concentration in the neighbourhood saw a flight of the middle class to other exclusively residential undevastated neighbourhoods during the early 20th century, leading to a decline in the reputation of the North End.
A perceived media bias against the North End, and media confusion over boudries, continues to generate controversy among residents, who believe they are targeted for racial and/or socio-economic reasons. Low rent in the smaller residential and commercial properties had contributed to a trend toward gentrification
in recent decades, often spearheaded by artistic, cultural and activist organizations. The recent housing boom of the early 21st century has again re-valued property on the Halifax peninsula.
The area has become home to organizations such as Bloomfield Centre, North By North End, Grainery Food Co-Op, the Anchor Archive Zine Library and the North End Community Gardening Association. Plans are now under way for the redevelopment of Bloomfield Centre.
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...
's Halifax Regional Municipality
Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia
Halifax Regional Municipality is the capital of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The Regional Municipality had a 2006 census population of 372,679, while the metropolitan area had a 2010 estimated population of 403,188, and the urban area of Halifax had a population of 282,924...
, occupying the northern part of the Halifax Peninsula
Halifax Peninsula
The Halifax Peninsula is a community and planning area located in the urban core of Halifax Regional Municipality in the province of Nova Scotia. Halifax Peninsula is home to Downtown Halifax, the financial and economic heart of the region, which was also the site of the original settlement and...
.
Geography
The northern part of the Halifax Peninsula comprises thin soil resulting from glacial deposits, as well as outcroppings of a dark metamorphic slate known as “ironstone”. The entire peninsula has no significant surface water, unlike the areas northeast and southwest of Halifax HarbourHalifax 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...
(the Eastern Shore
Eastern Shore (Nova Scotia)
The Eastern Shore is a region of Nova Scotia Canada. It is the Atlantic coast running northeast from Halifax Harbour to the eastern end of the peninsula at the Strait of Canso....
and South Shore
South Shore (Nova Scotia)
The South Shore is a region of Nova Scotia, Canada. Although it has no formal identity and is variously defined by geographic, county and other political boundaries, it is generally understood as the Atlantic coast running southwest from Halifax Harbour to the end of Shelburne County...
respectively).
At 60m in elevation, Citadel Hill is the highest point on the peninsula and when combined with the expansive undeveloped parkland of the North Common
Halifax Common
The Halifax Common, in local popular usage more often referred to as the Commons, is a Canadian urban park in the community of Halifax in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality...
, creates a physical boundary that separates the various neighbourhoods; the South Common having been developed for institutional and commercial/residential use is mostly considered. Fort Needham is another glacial drumlin
Drumlin
A drumlin, from the Irish word droimnín , first recorded in 1833, is an elongated whale-shaped hill formed by glacial ice acting on underlying unconsolidated till or ground moraine.-Drumlin formation:...
located in the heart of the North End.
Boundaries
The neighbourhood referred to as the "North End" by Halifax residents was bounded on the east and north by "The Narrows" of Halifax HarbourHalifax 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...
and the Bedford Basin
Bedford Basin
Bedford Basin is a large enclosed bay, forming the northwestern end of Halifax Harbour on Canada's Atlantic coast.-Geography:Geographically, the basin is situated entirely within the Halifax Regional Municipality and is oriented northwest-southeast, measuring approximately 8 kilometres long and 5...
. Its other boundaries as not as sharply defined, but the western limit of the neighbourhood is generally agreed to lie somewhere between Oxford Street and Robie Street, with many settling on Windsor Street as a convenient delimiting line.
The southern boundary was, traditionally, the northern limit of General Cornwallis's original Halifax settlement along the slope of Citadel Hill
Citadel Hill
Fort George is a National Historic Site in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and was established during Father Le Loutre's War....
(now Cogswell Street), and continuing along the northern edge of the North Common
Halifax Common
The Halifax Common, in local popular usage more often referred to as the Commons, is a Canadian urban park in the community of Halifax in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality...
to Quinpool Road.
The northern boundary has steadily migrated toward the Bedford Basin since Halifax's founding. The boundary originally ended at North Street, just as the South End
South End, Halifax
The South End is a region of Halifax Regional Municipality, located on the southern half of the Halifax Peninsula in Halifax's urban centre. Quinpool Road is increasingly considered to be an arbitrary border between the South and North Ends, though Quinpool Road is also a part of the West End, and...
ended at South Street. Another community further to the north was Richmond
Richmond, Nova Scotia
Richmond is a Canadian urban neighbourhood comprising part of the North End of the Halifax Peninsula in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality....
, and was located on the eastern slope of Fort Needham. Further north of Richmond, at the end of the Campbell Road, was the black community of Africville
Africville, Nova Scotia
Africville was a small community located on the southern shore of Bedford Basin, in the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. During the 20th century, the City of Halifax began to encroach on the southern shores of Bedford Basin, and the community was eventually included as part of the city...
.
By the end of the 19th century, the perception of the North End had come to generally include Richmond as well. Following its total destruction in the Halifax Explosion
Halifax Explosion
The Halifax Explosion occurred on Thursday, December 6, 1917, when the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, was devastated by the huge detonation of the SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship, fully loaded with wartime explosives, which accidentally collided with the Norwegian SS Imo in "The Narrows"...
(December, 1917), Richmond never again regained its individual identity. The area underwent significant redevelopment during the inter-war period and gradually became an extension of the original North End.
Africville held out as a separate community until the 1960s when it was demolished by city authorities and its residents relocated, many to public housing projects such as Uniacke Square
Uniacke Square
Uniacke Square is a public housing residential area in the north central area of Halifax, Nova Scotia. It is flanked in the northeast by Brunswick Street, the southwest by Gottingen Street....
. With the removal of Africville, public perception of the northern boundary then extended to the shores of the Bedford Basin.
During the same time period, the perception of the southern boundary became less clear, with some contending the North End starts at North Street, and that the original north suburb is in fact a part of central Halifax.
Today residents consider the North End to be north of North Street.
History
The North End is best known for the disaster of December 6, 1917, commonly referred to as the Halifax ExplosionHalifax Explosion
The Halifax Explosion occurred on Thursday, December 6, 1917, when the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, was devastated by the huge detonation of the SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship, fully loaded with wartime explosives, which accidentally collided with the Norwegian SS Imo in "The Narrows"...
. Prior to the explosion, the North End and Richmond was the focus of the city's industrial community, with the railway station located at the foot of North Street, factories, cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
mills and prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
s lining the waterfront, along with major defence installations such as HMC Dockyard and Stadacona (formerly HMCS Stadacona, now part of CFB Halifax
CFB Halifax
Canadian Forces Base Halifax is Canada's east coast navy base and home port to the Atlantic fleet, known as Maritime Forces Atlantic....
).
The explosion's aftermath saw the area north of North Street razed and a new street grid established. New residential construction saw the creation of the historic Hydrostone
The Hydrostone
The Hydrostone is a neighbourhood in the North End of the Halifax Peninsula in the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. It consists of ten short parallel streets and is bordered by Duffus Street to the north, Young Street to the south, Isleville Street to the west and Novalea Drive...
neighbourhood, built during the relief construction following the disaster. Today the memorial bells at Fort Needham, which were recovered from a church that didn't survive the event, may be heard in the carillon and monument to the disaster.
The Halifax North Memorial Public Library was opened in 1966 in memory of the victims of the explosion. Located on Gottingen Street, south of North Street, the library offers a welcoming environment as well as programs that strongly reflect the diverse make-up of the community.
Bedford Basin
Bedford Basin is a large enclosed bay, forming the northwestern end of Halifax Harbour on Canada's Atlantic coast.-Geography:Geographically, the basin is situated entirely within the Halifax Regional Municipality and is oriented northwest-southeast, measuring approximately 8 kilometres long and 5...
is the site of Africville
Africville, Nova Scotia
Africville was a small community located on the southern shore of Bedford Basin, in the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. During the 20th century, the City of Halifax began to encroach on the southern shores of Bedford Basin, and the community was eventually included as part of the city...
, the former African-Canadian community that was a safe haven for African slave
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
s coming to Canada. The community was torn down in the 1960s preceding a proposed urban redevelopment of the region which would see new highways and the construction of the A. Murray MacKay Bridge
A. Murray MacKay Bridge
The A. Murray MacKay Bridge locally known as "the new bridge" is the second suspension bridge linking the Halifax Peninsula with Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and opened on July 10, 1970....
, although the lands of the community were never used in a proposed port expansion. In the ensuing controversy it was designated as parkland.
The Africville expropriation is often characterized as an example of institutional racism in Halifax. The municipal government justified the destruction of Africville by citing the poor living conditions of the community, despite having historically refused to extend those services to the community. The razing of Africville allowed for industrial development in the area and for the progress of the city's traffic grid, with the construction of the 'new' bridge. The Africville residents and descendants were dispersed among some of the North End's public housing projects, as well as into other parts of Halifax and Dartmouth.
Reputation of the North End
In recent years, the North End has become a popular destination for Halifax's growing university population. As the prices of apartments closer to Dalhousie UniversityDalhousie University
Dalhousie University is a public research university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university comprises eleven faculties including Schulich School of Law and Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine. It also includes the faculties of architecture, planning and engineering located at...
and Saint Mary's University continue to rise, and as the cost of transportation has fallen due to the introduction of the U-pass, students are finding cheaper accommodations in the North End. This has giving birth to a thriving artistic community, with many painters, musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
s and writers being lured to this colourful section of the city.
CFB Halifax
Canadian Forces Base Halifax is Canada's east coast navy base and home port to the Atlantic fleet, known as Maritime Forces Atlantic....
naval base and various adjunct facilities, as well as the Halifax Shipyard, the devastation of the 1917 explosion
Halifax Explosion
The Halifax Explosion occurred on Thursday, December 6, 1917, when the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, was devastated by the huge detonation of the SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship, fully loaded with wartime explosives, which accidentally collided with the Norwegian SS Imo in "The Narrows"...
, all of which contributed to a now-aging stock of residential and commercial buildings that are typically smaller and of lower assessed value than other areas in the metropolitan region. Socio-economically, the devastation of the explosion and the military and industrial concentration in the neighbourhood saw a flight of the middle class to other exclusively residential undevastated neighbourhoods during the early 20th century, leading to a decline in the reputation of the North End.
A perceived media bias against the North End, and media confusion over boudries, continues to generate controversy among residents, who believe they are targeted for racial and/or socio-economic reasons. Low rent in the smaller residential and commercial properties had contributed to a trend toward gentrification
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
in recent decades, often spearheaded by artistic, cultural and activist organizations. The recent housing boom of the early 21st century has again re-valued property on the Halifax peninsula.
The area has become home to organizations such as Bloomfield Centre, North By North End, Grainery Food Co-Op, the Anchor Archive Zine Library and the North End Community Gardening Association. Plans are now under way for the redevelopment of Bloomfield Centre.
Further reading
- Paul A. Erickson, Halifax's North End: An anthropologist looks at the city, Hantsport: Lancelot Press, 1987.