halifax and apt

Halifax owes its existence to the British government’s need for a strong military base in the western north Atlantic. More than 250 years later, the ships of Canada’s navy are still a constant presence in the harbour while the granite Citadel still overlooks the city as it, and its predecessors, have done since the city’s founding. In between, Halifax has experienced prosperity, economic recession, fire and explosion. All these have left traces on the city’s landscape.

Halifax was founded in 1749 and for much of its first 70 years, experienced the boom and bust of wartime during a series of wars between France and Britain and between Britain and the new American republic. The long years of peace in the 19th century brought prosperity to the city with the development of international trade, especially with the Caribbean. The latter half of the 19th century saw the growth of industries in the city, growth that was limited by Halifax’s position on the eastern edge of the new nation following confederation in 1867 and by competition from central Canadian manufacturers.

The First World War brought wartime prosperity to the city but also brought one of the greatest civilian disasters in Canada’s history. On the morning of 6 December 1917, the French munitions ship Mont Blanc caught fire after colliding with the cargo ship Imo. The resulting explosion, the greatest man-made explosion before Hiroshima, destroyed much of the city’s north end, killing more than 1500 people, injuring 9000 and leaving 26,000 either homeless or without adequate housing. The subsequent rebuilding program included development of a planned community in the Garden Suburb style known as the Hydrostone district, now a national historic site.

Today’s Halifax is a mid-sized city where past and present exist side by side. Our architectural heritage includes such buildings as St. Paul’s Anglican Church, constructed in 1750, Government House (1800) and Province House where the provincial legislature has met since 1818, as well as residences and commercial buildings of the later 19th and 20th centuries. Halifax is a regional centre for the Atlantic Provinces with universities, theatres, galleries, museums and a wide variety of restaurants and pubs. People attending the APT conference will find lots to see and do in this historic seaside city.

Who Should Attend?

• Architects, landscape architects, engineers, and conservators

• Building managers and owners

• Planners and cultural resource managers

• Historic Preservation Officers and government officials

• Historians and architectural historians

• Contractors

• Anyone with an interest in preservation technology

The Association of Preservation Technology is a registered provider with the AIA Continuing Education System.