West End, Halifax
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Part of a series about Places in Nova Scotia |
|
 |
|
| Places and Communities in Halifax Regional Municipality |
|
| West End, Halifax | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Municipality: | Halifax Regional Municipality |
| Community Council: | Peninsula Council |
| Planning Area: | Halifax Peninsula |
| Halifax Peninsula Neighbourhoods or Villages | |
| Armdale, Downtown, Hydrostone, North End, Quinpool, South End, Spring Garden, West End | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The West End is a region of Halifax Regional Municipality in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located on the western half of the Halifax Peninsula.
The border between the West and South End's of Halifax has crept north as the southern section has gentrified. While Jubilee Road has long been considered as the southern boundary, many now regard Quinpool Road as the southern edge of West End Halifax. Quinpool is generally considered the heart of the West End, and site of such landmarks as the West End Baptist Church and the Oxford Cinema. The northern boundary is also subject to interpretation but is widely regarded as Kempt Road and Windsor Street. The western boundary between the West End and Mainland Halifax is generally considered to run from the Northwest Arm and northward along Dutch Village Road and Joseph Howe Drive.[1] The neighbourhood is defined municipally by District 14 Connaught-Quinpool[2] and provincially as the Constituency of Halifax Chebucto.[3]
The neighbourhood is predominantly middle class with many blocks of pleasant, tree-lined older residential streets. However it is also home to many students and small affordable rental units. Rising real estate prices have also led to some levels of gentrification.
For the first century and a half of Halifax's history, the area of the West End was occupied by small farms and country estates. It was developed in the 1870s as residential streets were laid out. The growth of streetcar lines accelerated development.[4] Chebucto School was built in 1912 to serve the expanding neighbourhood and the building served as a morgue for the Halifax Explosion as it was close to the north end but relatively undamaged. In the 1920s, the first airport in Halifax was built near Connaught and Chebucto Road. Simpson's built a large department store in the West end in the 1930s, the first retail centre outside the downtown. The large remaining open areas of the West End filled with housing after World War Two with many blocks of Victory Houses and 1950s suburban homes. The West End was severely affected by Hurricane Juan in 2003 as the high density of large, older trees in the neighbourhood resulted in many toppled trees, damaged houses, blocked streets and prolonged power outages.
[edit] References
- ^ Real Estate Map Areas, Daily News January 12, 2008, p.34
- ^ HRM District 14 http://www.halifax.ca/districts/dist14/dist14.html
- ^ The Constituency of Halifax-Chebucto http://howardepstein.ca/constituencyinfo.htm
- ^ Halifax the First 250 Years Judith Fingard, David Sutherland, Janet Guildford (1999) Formac Publishing.
- Raddall, Thomas H. (1948) Warden of the North, McClelland and Stewart Ltd, Toronto.
- Erikson, Paul A. (2004) Historic North End Halifax Nimbus, Halifax.
