FOREWORD

During the latter decades of the Twentieth Century, efforts to identify and conserve heritage buildings in Canada and elsewhere in North America

broadened in view. Instead of focusing almost exclusively on individual

buildings, the obvious monuments from the past, attention began to include groupings of buildings: streetscapes, districts, and in many cases entire towns. When taken together, these groupings of buildings create a unique and compelling sense of place, a fabric which may be of a particular style or era, or which may include many diverse building types, styles, and ranges of expression spanning decades or longer. The streets of downtown Halifax form such a rich and diverse collection of buildings. The American architectural historian, Roy Eugene Graham, who was influential in the establishment of Lunenburg as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, commented on walking Barrington Street in Halifax that it was a “catalogue of buildings.” It includes examples of architectural styles and building types from the earliest days of Halifax to the present. It is now Halifax’s first heritage district. Barrington Street is also one of the Halifax streets examined in this broadly- focused, well-researched, sharp-eyed, and charmingly written book. It discusses the buildings and streetscapes of the prominent streets in downtown Halifax in rich architectural and historical detail. It is unique and deserves credit among the many fine previously published books on the architecture of Halifax for looking beyond individual buildings, styles, eras, and types to examine diverse groupings of buildings on multiple streetscapes. The reader will find a perceptive and illuminating description of the modern and popular new Halifax Public Library, as well as discussions of the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Century venerable institutional buildings which are its neighbours on Spring Garden Road. This wholistic view, combined with careful research and documentation, will be of benefit to architects and planners to more fully understand the fabric of these streets where change continues to happen. It will also, and perhaps more importantly, be informative and enjoyable to the many Haligonians who walk the streets of downtown Halifax daily and wish to expand their understanding and appreciation of the rich built environment they experience.

David F. Garrett, Architect Member, Nova Scotia Association of Architects