Nova Scotia
Recent Articles
Tidal Beacon and Rise Again
At Queen’s Marque on Halifax’s waterfront, a broad timber staircase rises toward a shimmering tower overlooking the harbour. The staircase, called Rise Again, forms a public gathering place and an elevated lookout. At its summit stands Tidal Beacon, an artwork by Ned Kahn that responds to the wind and the changing tides. Together, the structure […]
The Halifax Town Clock
On the eastern slope of Citadel Hill, the Halifax Town Clock overlooks Brunswick Street and the downtown streets below. Its white tower, blue clock faces and copper dome form one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks. The clock began keeping time on October 20, 1803, providing a public reference for both the military garrison and […]
The Slopes of Citadel Hill
The broad grassy slopes surrounding Halifax’s Citadel were an essential part of its defences. Their open appearance reflects a military requirement: soldiers needed an unobstructed view of the ground outside the fortress, and an approaching enemy needed to remain exposed. The landscape surrounding the walls was designed to work with the fort itself. Military engineers […]
The Sailors’ Memorial
At Sackville Landing on Halifax’s waterfront, a bronze sailor strides forward with a duffel bag in one hand and a rolled hammock balanced across his shoulder. Created by sculptor Peter Bustin, the figure represents a Canadian sailor of the Second World War era. His belongings give the monument an everyday character: a young man carrying […]
The Dominion Building
The Dominion Building on Hollis Street was conceived as a centre for the services that connected nineteenth-century Nova Scotia to the wider world. In 1863, the provincial legislature approved its construction to house the Post Office, Customs House and Railway Department. Completed in 1868, it brought together institutions responsible for communication, trade and transportation. Designed […]
Norwegian Memorial
On Halifax’s waterfront, the Norwegian Memorial honours members of Norway’s Merchant Navy, Royal Navy and Royal Army who were lost at sea or buried in Nova Scotia during the Second World War. Unveiled on November 11, 1998, the monument commemorates a wartime connection between two countries separated by the Atlantic. Its stone, larvikite, was brought […]
The Ballast Boxes
Along Halifax’s waterfront, stone-filled metal boxes topped with wooden seating recall an essential part of maritime trade. These ballast boxes turn a practical feature of the public landscape into a reminder of the weight that helped sailing ships travel safely across the ocean. A ship needed stability even when its hold carried little or no […]
The Lebanese Emigrant Statue
On Halifax’s waterfront, a bronze figure honours the Lebanese emigrants who crossed the ocean to establish new lives in Nova Scotia. Installed in September 2018, the Lebanese Emigrant Statue recognizes their pioneering spirit and the contributions of generations of Lebanese Canadians to the province’s communities, businesses and professions. Lebanese migration to Nova Scotia began in […]
Sail
At the foot of Prince Street on Halifax’s waterfront, a ship appears to rise from a lattice of metal and light. Sail, by Italian artist Edoardo Tresoldi, is a twenty-foot-high wire-mesh sculpture at Queen’s Marque. Its transparent form evokes a ghost ship, recalling the vessels that once filled the harbour while allowing the present waterfront […]
William Annand
A portrait bust in Halifax’s Founders Square commemorates William Annand, a newspaper publisher and political leader whose career spanned Nova Scotia’s struggle for responsible government and its contested entry into Confederation. Born in Halifax in 1808, Annand was first elected to the provincial House of Assembly in 1836, where he supported demands for a government […]
Jonathan McCully
A portrait bust in Halifax’s Founders Square commemorates Jonathan McCully, a lawyer, newspaper editor and political leader remembered as one of Canada’s Fathers of Confederation. Born in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, in 1809, McCully practised law in Amherst before entering provincial politics. Appointed to the Legislative Council in 1848, he later served as solicitor general […]
Nova Scotia Technical College
At the corner of Spring Garden Road and Brunswick Street, the former Nova Scotia Technical College preserves an important chapter in the province’s educational history. Designed by Halifax architect Herbert E. Gates and opened in 1909, the building served for many years as the college’s principal academic home. Its red brick walls and formal classical […]
