Nova Scotia Heritage Pulse

30/10/2026

30/10/2026

E. H. Horne School in Enfield, NS received provincial heritage designation this week. Community, Culture, Tourism and Heritage Minister, Dave Ritcey, was on hand to present the designation, with Municipal Affairs Minister and Hants East MLA, John A. MacDonald, also in attendance, along with several Municipality of East Hants councillors.
For Sandra Garden Cole, a member of the E.H. Horne School Preservation Society board and the municipality’s newly appointed deputy warden, the occasion represented the culmination of a lengthy process and a moment that was difficult to put into words.
“I can’t say enough about how much it means to us,” Garden Cole told those gathered, reflecting on the work that went into securing the designation.
The idea of applying for provincial heritage registration originated with the preservation society’s board. Members knew the building’s value to the community, but Garden Cole explained that conveying its history, legacy and significance to those unfamiliar with it was not an easy task.
Thanks to Pay Healey and The Laker News for this information.
Image is from the E.H. Horne School Preservation Society.
The East Hants Historical Society

27/10/2026

23/10/2026

Truro looks to demolish deteriorating farmers' market tower.

A tower atop the Farmers’ Market building is set to come down after an engineering report found it has reached the end of its life.
Jason Fox, the town's director of planning, told councillors earlier this month a mason on-site for another project expressed his misgivings about the structure on the municipally designated heritage property. “There was concern about some visible cracking of the brickwork, some swelling of the bricks. Simply that we should probably investigate this more,” Fox said at a regular council meeting.
Last week, Rural Roots Engineering & Design provided its report to the town. The Debert, N.S., firm identified cracks and voids where bricks have come loose, brick debris on the building's roof, and issues with a brick veneer at the top of the tower.
The tower was used for drying hoses in the building's original purpose as a fire hall. Built in 1899, it served as the town’s home base for fire protection services for more than a century.
The building has been used as a farmers’ market for about 15 years.

This post is an excerpt from an online article by Luke Ettinger of CeeBeeCee.

21/10/2026

Public meeting on Halifax Forum demolition back on track, project cost rises 10%.
Councillors say meeting needed no matter what Forum redevelopment looks like.
Halifax will set a new public meeting next month on the proposed demolition of the Halifax Forum, with councillors saying the cancellation sent a confusing message to the public.
The original Oct. 1 meeting was to gather feedback on the city’s proposal to demolish the municipally registered heritage building to make room for a modern $128-million recreation and community facility.
The meeting was cancelled with six days' notice, and an update on the city’s website said staff had paused the heritage demolition application in light of project costs rising beyond the funding approved by council.
At a council meeting Tuesday, municipal staff said that costs had risen about 10 to 12 per cent, adding roughly $12.8 million to $15 million, and they wanted direction from council before updating the public.
The increase would bring the total price tag within a range of $140.8 million to $143.3 million. But staff said that still had to be confirmed and could change again, as the design was at 75 per cent completion.
Story by Haley Ryan of the CeeBeeCee.

16/10/2026

Massive highrises coming to Halifax historic block.

Two 34-storey towers and one 10-storey tower are coming to a historic block in central Halifax. That’s in addition to two 30-storey towers on the same block now under construction. The location is at the corner of two of the city’s busiest arteries – Robie Street and Spring Garden Road.

The towers will dramatically change the area’s complexion although there has been some highrise development along Spring Garden over the past decades. The block in question is bordered by Robie, Spring Garden, Carlton and College streets and was characterized by some retail on Spring Garden and many older and indeed designated heritage homes on the other streets.

The newest development is The Promenade, a project by long time Halifax developers, father Eddie and son Peter Rouvalis, who call it the “culmination” of their lives’ work. Its official name is Promenade Robie South since it will be immediately south of the under-construction Spring Garden West by the city’s Dexel Developments. The firm will move and revitalize seven historic homes on College and Carlton, creating “the look and feel of a continuous streetscape of historic homes.”

And while the firm is committed to “meticulous” care of the properties, previously a heritage home was dropped by one of its cranes, resulting in a three-year delay and a new municipal development agreement.

Part of the project will include townhouses, “connecting” the heritage lots to the highrises, thereby creating a “leafy ‘Promenade’ providing street-level access to quality boutiques, restaurants and cafes.” The three towers will accommodate as many as 900 units. Hundreds of parking spaces will be located underneath.

Images: 1)Spring Garden West; 2)Promenade Robie South
This article is an excerpt from Daily Commercial News by Ron Stang, October 15, 2026.

15/10/2026

Former Halifax Alehouse building recommended for heritage status.
Building at 1717 Brunswick St. in downtown Halifax built between 1893 and 1895.
A municipal committee is recommending the building that once housed the Halifax Alehouse should be added to the heritage property registry.
The Alehouse building has sat empty for nearly two years. The bar closed in 2024 after a bouncer employed by the Alehouse killed a patron in the early hours of Christmas Eve 2022. The building was subsequently sold.
The new owner, Ramia Group, applied to a city for a demolition permit for the building in 2025, prompting the Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia to launch a petition to save it.
Since then, Ramia Group appears to have changed course and applied for heritage status for the building earlier this year. The owner did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CBC News.
The full article by Josh Hoffman of CeeBeeCee News can be found online.

12/10/2026

Mitchell's Island Union Church in Point Edward, Cape Breton is reportedly under threat. It may be headed for demolition. Can we start a conversation?

10/10/2026

The skyline of Truro-Bible Hill will be changing with the removal of the water tower at Dalhousie Agricultural Campus.

For more than a century, water towers have been part of the landscape of the Agricultural Campus. Its removal later this month marks the end of an era, but not the end of the memories connected to it. https://www.dal.ca/faculty/agriculture/news-events/news/2026/10/05/two_towers__one_campus.html