This is the last of a four part series on ironwork in Halifax that was made by the Walter Macfarlane Company in Glasgow Scotland. All the others pieces I've shown are well known, like the gates to the Public Garden, but I suspect you may never have stopped to appreciate the five lamp posts near the Lodge at the South… Read More

This is the third blog about products from the Walter Macfarlane ironworks in Glasgow Scotland  that found their way to Halifax around the end of the eighteen hundreds. Are you ready for a fantastically wacky fountain masquerading as a war memorial? From a distance the 1903 fountain looks suitably restrained, topped with a figure representing the "citizen soldiers" who… Read More

November often exceeds expectations because the bar is not set very high. I think dark and drizzle, so every day of bright and fair feels like a reward. Since I'm a sunny days kinda guy, the month looks pretty good in this little visual diary. The Devour Film Festival in Wolfville started the month. If you have not sampled… Read More

What are the Halifax icons? The Town Clock for sure,  aerial views of the harbour are popular, a dripping donair (relax I was only kidding). Somewhere in this mix are the Public Gardens often represented by their massive cast iron gates. Like the summer houses in Point Pleasant Park  (that I blogged about recently)  these… Read More

As you may have noticed, I'm a fan of the decorative cast iron that was popular from about 1860 until the First World War. There is not a lot in Nova Scotia but we are lucky to have small treasures from local foundries and some larger pieces made at the most significant American and British ironworks of… Read More

The surfaces we walk on often go unnoticed and uncelebrated. Terrazzo for example. Over the last couple of years I've developed an affection for terrazzo, that speckled surface you might associate with government buildings or school locker-rooms of a certain vintage. Around here the heyday of terrazzo was probably from the 1930s to the early… Read More

Recently I blogged about the charms of the Maritime Life Building on Spring Garden Road because it is on track to be demolished.  A number of folks said they enjoyed the building and that got me thinking about other mid century buildings around town. Here are some  buildings I enjoy; are they on your list too? Lets start… Read More

Apparently our developers will soon be presenting their design concept for the block of Spring Garden Rd facing the Central Library (Queen to Brunswick). * [News  flash - the plans are available- see bottom of blog.] Over the last months the buildings have been emptying in preparation for demolition. Sounds like a good time for all of… Read More

A couple of Saturdays ago I had some errands in the Spring Garden area and used the opportunity to look around a little. Our developers had just announced their intention to erect a building at the corner of Brenton and Clyde Streets and provided this dramatic concept drawing. Have you noticed the trend  to show buildings at  twilight with all… Read More

October is one of the good months; weather can be great, the September frenzy of back to school and back to life has subsided. Looking through my photos for the month I decided to attempt a visual diary of what we were up to (which goes on a bit). The month started with the all-you-can-eat Oysterfest in a big… Read More