HRM Point of Interest #10: Point Pleasant Park

The largest forested park on the Halifax peninsula, Point Pleasant Park is home to the annual Shakespeare by the Sea festival, and was once part of the strategic defence system that kept Halifax safe from attack during four different wars. The park is home to two National Historic Sites, the Prince of Wales Martello Tower, and the Atlantic Bulwark Coastal Defence Fortress. It is also one of my favourite places in Halifax.

(Based on the Gatehouse at Hughenden Manor, in Buckinghamshire, UK, the lodge at Point Pleasant Park was built in the 1800s to house the park superintendent.)

(Built in 1868, the Cambridge Battery was named in honour of the Duke of Cambridge, who was head of the military during the reign of Queen Victoria. It was abandoned though, by the start of WWI.)

(One of two lovely summerhouses built at Point Pleasant Park in 1882, at the bequest of Halifax business man, Walter West.)

(Stunning views of the Northwest Arm and the Atlantic Ocean are the norm at Point Pleasant Park, rather than the exception.)

Nova Scotia National Historic Site #5: CSS Acadia

CSS Acadia is a former hydrographic surveying and oceanographic research ship once used by Canada to map its coastal waters. Launched in 1913 and named after the original name for Nova Scotia under French colonial rule, Acadia provided landmark surveys of Sable Island, the Bay of Fundy, and provided information instrumental in the establishment of the port of Churchill, Manitoba.

Later, the prefix CSS was changed to HMCS when Acadia spent two years from 1917 to 1919 on anti-submarine patrol in the Bay of Fundy and Gulf of St. Lawrence. During WWII, HMCS Acadia patrolled the waters at the entrance to Halifax Harbour, and also saw extensive action as a training ship. After the war, Acadia resumed work as a survey vessel for the third time, and in 1962 rescued hundreds of people from forest fires in Newfoundland. By the end of its career, CSS Acadia had charted nearly every metre of water in Atlantic Canada as well as a great percentage of the Eastern Arctic Coast.

Currently CSS Acadia belongs to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax where it is moored, and is open to the public every year from May to October. CSS Acadia is the only known ship still afloat to have survived the Halifax Explosion, and is also the only ship still afloat to have served the Royal Canadian Navy in both World Wars.

Random Halifax Picture #4

This edition of Random Halifax Picture contains not just one, but four random pictures, all taken at the Quinpool Show and Shine on Quinpool Road, July 18, 2010. The cars are, in order from top to bottom (or from left to right depending on how your monitor displays them), a 1954 Chevrolet Bel-Air, a 1956 Chevrolet Bel-Air, a 1928 Model A Ford with its own trailer, and a 1940 Chevrolet Special Deluxe.

HRM Monument #19: Halifax Explosion Memorial Bell Tower

On December 6, 1917, the French munitions ship, S.S. Mont Blanc, collided with the S.S. Imo, a Norwegian ship carrying war supplies, near Pier 6 in Halifax Harbour. The resulting explosion killed 2 000 people, as well as leaving many more injured and/or homeless. The Halifax Relief Commission supplied funds to create Fort Needham Memorial Park, overlooking Richmond Street which leads to Pier 6.

Today the park is still a popular recreation area, and contains this memorial bell tower, designed and dedicated in 1985 to look like the jagged ruins left after the explosion. The tower includes a distinctive upward thrust which represents hope for the future, and contains a set of church bells that formerly hung in the United Memorial Church - once shared by both Methodists and Presbyterian congregations after both of their churches were destroyed in the Explosion. The Halifax Explosion Memorial Bell Tower stands as memorial to all those who lost their lives or suffered injuries in the Halifax Explosion, and to the survivors who helped rebuild the city.

Halifax Jazz Festival: July 9-17, 2010

The Halifax Jazz Festival is an 8 day party on Spring Garden Road, that features free outdoor concerts with local bands, as well as more high profile international talent in various venues around the city. Last year the festival drew over 65 000 visitors, and this year more than 500 volunteers signed up to help at least that many or more enjoy another year of great Jazz music.

When the Atlantic Jazz Festival was first held in Halifax 24 years ago, it was the only Jazz Festival in Atlantic Canada. However, Newbrunswick, PEI, and Newfoundland have all recently developed jazz festivals of their own, and so this year JazzEast - the organization responsible for the Atlantic Jazz Festival - decided to change the name of the festival to Halifax Jazz Festival to more accurately reflect reality.

I attempted to see at least one free concert every day, and the artists and bands I watched perform spanned the jazz spectrum from gospel to bossa nova, from dixieland to gypsy-jazz (whatever that is). There were many memorable performances, and a great number of songs I wish I could have recorded for you, but in the interest of preserving my limited bandwidth I will post just one song (below). Bonus points if you can guess the name of the tune (hint: if you hear this song it usually means the Washington Generals are in for a long night.)

Canada's Parks Day: July 17, 2010

Canada's Parks Day was first celebrated in 1990. It has been held every year since then, on the third Saturday in July. It was formed to give Canadians a chance to participate in a number of unique and fun events in the many parks and National Historic Sites across the country. This year is a special year, as it is not only the 20th Anniversary of Canada's Parks Day, but also the 125th Anniversary of the creation of Banff National Park. Banff National Park was Canada's first ever National Park, and only the third National Park ever created in the world, after Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, USA, and Australia National Park. To celebrate Canada's Parks Day I went to The Citadel National Historic Site in Halifax, where there were a number of unique presentations and admission was free the entire day. How did you celebrate Canada's Parks Day?

Nova Scotia National Historic Site #4: The Citadel

Citadel Hill is an 80 metre tall glacial drumlin with a commanding view of Halifax Harbour. Citadel Hill's strategic value was the primary reason the British chose to maintain a military base on the east side of Nova Scotia. The current star-shape fortress currently atop Citadel Hill, formerly known as Fort George, is actually the fourth fortress design to occupy the hill, and took 28 years to build.

It took so long to build, because the entire fortress had to be set into the hill so that only the parapet was in view from the base of the hill. Should an enemy soldier miraculously escape having his head blown off at the bottom of the hill, from well inside the range of the British rifles, he would be met with the precursor to land mines just outside the base of the wall. Should he pass that, he would fall off the edge of the wall into the hidden ditch, roughly 10 metres in depth, where if his legs or neck were not broken, he would be pelted with "balls of spikes attached with chains meant for taking down ship masts" from the cannons. Or he may be lucky and merely hit in the back of the head by the sharp shooters hiding inside the secret tunnels behind him and aiming through the slits in the wall.

The wall was designed to be, and in fact was, the most technologically advanced fortress of its time. Its construction was ordered because of fear of an impending American attack. Ironically, the largest threat the Americans ever posed to the British at Halifax was during the War of 1812, when US President James Madison declared his intentions to claim what would later become Canada, for America. The War of 1812 ended in 1814, before construction of Fort George had even begun.

Today, Fort George (The Citadel) is a National Historic Site managed by Parks Canada. Costumed actors bring life at the fort in 1869 alive for the numerous visitors, and many rooms are open for guests to tour at their leisure. Even the secret tunnel in the outer wall is open.

There are numerous demonstrations that take place during the day, and the highlight of any visit is the firing of the "noon gun". Overall the fortress is in remarkably good condition, and it is my strong opinion that any trip to Halifax should definitely include a visit to this fabulous living museum.

(Rifle firing demo.)

(Getting ready to fire the noon gun.)

(Ceremonial cutting of the cake for Parks Canada's 125th birthday on July 17, 2010. I had four pieces.)

(The Pipes and Drums of the 78th Highlanders. The pipers have green coats because they were not paid by the military like the drummers or brass band members, but rather by the officers personally. Having a personal pipes regiment was a sign of prestige for British officers, and so an officer would dress his pipers with extra brass and more regal colours to show off how rich he was.)

(Changing of the guard.)

(The new recruits practice loading a cannon.)

(Military drill demonstration. Look at how tightly they walk together.)

(A special treat: this is the actual cloak that the legendary General James Wolfe was wearing when he was shot and killed on the Plains of Abraham, in 1758. Wolfe's Adjutant General and friend, Isaac Barre, saved the cloak for posterity. It currently belongs to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and is on loan to the Army Museum at The Citadel.)

(Closing up the gates.)