Friends of the Halifax Common

The 235 acres of common land that King George III granted in 1763 “for the use of the inhabitants of the Town of Halifax forever,” includes all the land bordered by Robie and North/South Park Streets between Cunard and South Streets. Originally the predominant uses were as a military ground, for public grazing & wood, and as public open space.

Over the next two and a half centuries, public institutions were added to the common as these were seen as appropriate public uses. Today much of this land is occupied by the hospitals, CBC television studios, Queen Elizabeth High School, the new Citadel High, Camp Hill Cemetery, Dalhousie’s Carleton campus, the Public Gardens and Victoria Park, the Museum of Natural History, All Saints Cathedral, etc.

What Happened? In the early years the land was considered a bit of a wasteland and over the years using it for institutions and selling parcels to private owners seemed like a positive civic step.

Unfortunately, as a result, less than 1/3 of the original Common remains and more is in danger of being lost.

Erosion of the Common

Article

Spacing Atlantic, January 26th, 2010
Uncovering our ‘Common’ past
By Nova Tayona

HALIFAX - If you look it up on Google Maps, Canada’s oldest urban park, the Halifax Common hugs the western skirt of Citadel Hill. It’s shown as two triangular patches of green space — North and Central — divided by a yellow line that is Cogswell Street. The city seems to stop at its edges on all sides: Cunard, Robie, North Park Streets, and Bell Road ...read more

Information

People Not Cars

If a new Life Sciences Research Institute is built on the Grace hospital lands on University Avenue lots of open space and sensitive landscaping which reflect the land’s “common ownership” can be a priority and take precedence over vehicle parking.
The Queen Elizabeth High School site can not become an expanded parking lot for the QE II hospital. Its future use can include vital open space for people, not cars, and reflect its role as an important welcome point to downtown Halifax.
Since 1996 the former Grace maternity hospital site on university Avenue has been a Dalhousie parking lot for 300 cars with all the proceeds going to Dalhousie.
Half of the former Civic Hospital Site on University Avenue became an IWK parking garage for 600 cars.
The former School for the Blind site is the huge parking lot in front of the VG hospital that holds hundreds of cars. Until the mid-1980s it was landscaped open space.

And Things Aren’t Getting Any Better…..

In 2007 HRM signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to turn over part of the Queen Elizabeth High School site to Capital Health and a second MOU with concert promoters for two mega concerts/year on the North Common.

Posted 11-19-08

University of Kings College article on the FHC>