.All Trips / Eastern Canada / North America / Nova Scotia

Halifax’s Legislative Home — Province House

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During my travels I often find myself visiting sites of government.  Not sure why this is so because, as a rule, most governments really annoy me.  Perhaps it’s because the buildings in which they’re housed are often grand and opulent and their landscaping beautiful, covering many acres of prime real estate. 

So a visit to Province House in Halifax was a pleasant change from the norm.  When we first spotted the building during our exploratory walk through the city, I thought it must be of some significance because it was old and looked important, but it is not at all large, occupying only a small city block.  Perhaps, I thought, it was a courthouse or library?  Turned out this was Province …

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.All Trips / Eastern Canada / Nova Scotia

A Visit to the Citadel, Halifax

00 Citadel, Halifax (9)

Halifax’s roots lie in its proximity to the sea, and its large natural harbor.  When the town was founded in 1749, among the first buildings constructed was a guardhouse atop what would become known as Citadel Hill.  The Citadel, because of its hilltop location, offered a strategic defensive position.  As the harborside town grew and changed, so did the fort which overlooked and protected it. 

The Citadel was completed in 1856, the fourth and last in a series of forts built at this site.  Its official name is Fort George (after King George II).  It has a distinctive star shape, strategic for allowing optimum defense of the structure.  Fortunately these defenses were never put to the test as the city was …

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.All Trips / Eastern Canada / North America / Nova Scotia

Signs of Halifax, Nova Scotia

Signs of Halifax (1)

I’d never visited Halifax before this past summer and was not quite sure what I’d find when I visited.  As it is a provincial capital, I expected a lot of government and corporate offices and was not to be disappointed in that regard.  I didn’t expect the city’s natural harbor to be as lovely as it was, nor did I expect the downtown construction boom we encountered as the area is one of the poorest in Canada.  It is also one of the dirtiest cities I’ve seen in a country known for its cleanliness, so this revitalization offers promises of a better tomorrow.

Halifax has a number of interesting attractions, none overwhelming, but with an engaging Maritime Museum and a unique …

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