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  #1  
Old Posted May 27, 2011, 10:31 PM
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cormiermax cormiermax is offline
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Cool The great Halifax "I remember when" thread

So I got the idea from the I remember when thread over on the Regina forum, and thought it would be great to have it here on the Halifax boards.

Basically the idea is you say something about Halifax that has now changed, Example: (I remember when the Super Store on Quinpool was an IGA)

Any pictures to go along with it are highly encouraged.

Ill go first.

I remember when...

There was a large Xerox sign on one of the Purdy's wharf towers, many people still call Purdy's wharf the "Xerox Towers"

When the waterfront Marriot was a Sheraton, and included the original Casino Nova Scotia.
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  #2  
Old Posted May 27, 2011, 10:47 PM
halifaxboyns halifaxboyns is offline
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I remember when the Clayton Park Sobeys was still trees and the bus would drop you off literally in the ditch on the side of the road and Lacewood didn't go up to the 102.
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  #3  
Old Posted May 27, 2011, 10:49 PM
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I'm an old man (at least according to one member here) so I can remember a lot of things from way back when. I'll keep this batch limited to one geographic area downtown.

I remember when Scotia Square opened and there were shops in both the upper and lower malls, with a movie theater across from the Woolco store in the upper mall. I remember going to the new Woolco with my mom and walking down the broad staircase that led from Duke St onto the sales floor.

I remember when the Moirs chocolate factory was operating downtown where the WTCC now stands.

I remember going to buy jeans (when the market for blue jeans among young people was just taking off in the late 60s) at a store called the Warehouse which was in the building where the Five Fishermen now is.

I remember going to what is now Atlantic News in its original building where the Canada Trust bldg on Argyle now stands.

I remember my folks talking about going to the Peppermint Lounge on Barrington in a building where the Delta Barrington now stands. I remember the tall neon sign that place had.

I vaguely remember going with my folks to the old Halifax city market in the basement of the old Halifax police station, on a stretch of Market St that is now Albermarle, where the Scotia Sq apartments are now.

I remember shopping at Birks on Barrington (now an empty lot next to the Dennis Bldg).

I remember riding the NSL&P electric trolleys downtown.
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  #4  
Old Posted May 27, 2011, 10:59 PM
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I remember when Sobeys occupied what is now Sportcheck/Atmosphire in the HSC. It was a pretty cool place back then, and last time I was there I remember the parcel pickup conveyer belt was still out front.
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  #5  
Old Posted May 28, 2011, 1:13 AM
terrynorthend terrynorthend is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Keith P. View Post
I'm an old man (at least according to one member here) so I can remember a lot of things from way back when. I'll keep this batch limited to one geographic area downtown.

I remember when Scotia Square opened and there were shops in both the upper and lower malls, with a movie theater across from the Woolco store in the upper mall. I remember going to the new Woolco with my mom and walking down the broad staircase that led from Duke St onto the sales floor.
Well, I'm not as old as Keith, but I'm not young either. I remember Scotia Square back in the day with two floors of stores, the Woolco of course, a "50's" themed diner where you could get a bottle of Coke from a cooler that was fashioned into the trunk of an old car (57' chevy or such). Movie cinemas upstairs across from Woolco, yes. There was also a sort of animatronic Christmas show put on by NS Light and Power that we were bussed over from Dartmouth to see everyear as a class trip.
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  #6  
Old Posted May 28, 2011, 1:48 AM
fenwick16 fenwick16 is offline
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I remember when the TD Bank, CIBC, Metro Centre and Maritime Centre were being built. I also remember when the Maritime Centre was only 12 storeys high (it is better at its current height).

I also remember being inside the Metro Centre for a Nova Scotia Voyageurs game and CIS Basketball championship shortly after the Metro Centre opened (SMU and Acadia were the final two teams in the national CIS championship). I was a university student at the time and living in Fenwick Towers.

PS: I also remember the previous generation of harbour ferries (the first of the current generation of ferries was built in 1979, and still looks modern). I also remember the old ferry terminals as being somewhat rundown - the current ones were a huge improvement, especially when they were built about 30 years ago (I think the new terminals were built before I moved to Ontario in 1980).

Last edited by fenwick16; May 28, 2011 at 1:10 PM.
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  #7  
Old Posted May 28, 2011, 2:15 AM
FuzzyWuz FuzzyWuz is offline
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I remember seeing a movie at the Capital theatre. I think it was the Disney version of Robin Hood.

I remember when there were still electrical lines overhead for the trams that were gone by then.

I remember playing in the muddy mess that was to become Dunbrack street.
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  #8  
Old Posted May 28, 2011, 2:51 PM
terrynorthend terrynorthend is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fenwick16 View Post
I remember when the TD Bank, CIBC, Metro Centre and Maritime Centre were being built. I also remember when the Maritime Centre was only 12 storeys high (it is better at its current height).

I also remember being inside the Metro Centre for a Nova Scotia Voyageurs game and CIS Basketball championship shortly after the Metro Centre opened (SMU and Acadia were the final two teams in the national CIS championship). I was a university student at the time and living in Fenwick Towers.

PS: I also remember the previous generation of harbour ferries (the first of the current generation of ferries was built in 1979, and still looks modern). I also remember the old ferry terminals as being somewhat rundown - the current ones were a huge improvement, especially when they were built about 30 years ago (I think the new terminals were built before I moved to Ontario in 1980).
Yes, I remember those old ferries as well. One sat as a lobster restaurant docked by the current Halifax terminal for a while in the 80's I think. I do remember taking them across the harbour, you loaded on like cattle by a ramp at the bow/stern. The ferry had its own token system I think, and it cost 10 or 15 cents.

My dad also took me across to see Voyageurs games in the Metro Centre when it was first built. I remember how new, bright and big it seemed. Of course I was a young kid and it was much more cavernous in there before the skyboxes were added.

I remember Mic Mac Mall before the third floor was openned. It was always there since the orginal construction (to allow future expansion) and I remember looking up as a kid and wondering what it would be like to be way up there looking down into centre court. I was so excited when they finally announced expansion... they were adding an arcade too! (Fantasy 2000)
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  #9  
Old Posted May 28, 2011, 3:21 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by terrynorthend View Post
I remember Mic Mac Mall before the third floor was openned. It was always there since the orginal construction (to allow future expansion) and I remember looking up as a kid and wondering what it would be like to be way up there looking down into centre court. I was so excited when they finally announced expansion... they were adding an arcade too! (Fantasy 2000)
I'm trying to remember what that looked like before the expansion and am having a bit of difficulty. I do recall when the end that now contains Zellers (soon to be Target) was in its original form as Eaton's. That always seemed a bit of an odd store in that it seemed too small for what it was trying to offer in terms of merchandise selection. Still, it carried the usual good quality items that Eatons was known for. I still miss that chain - I was a big fan and bought most of my clothing there in the 80s (but at the HSC store).

I recall when Eatons closed in MicMac that the space sat empty for a while. I remember that at one point during that time they used it for a car display by GM.
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  #10  
Old Posted May 27, 2011, 11:15 PM
halifaxboyns halifaxboyns is offline
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I remember when Sobeys wasn't even at the HSC - it was in West End Mall. I remember the Woolco at SS and the wonderful dinner in what is now the Scotia Bank - that had the back of the old studabaker (SP?) where you'd get your utensils.

I remember when Bayers Road was a bustling mall and the old IGA, as I used to work there (and how we hated the talking cash registers and so we'd take every delight in breaking the speakers).

I remember when St. John's Anglican was on the corner of Dutch Village where the shoppers is now - I was in Boy Scouts there and how excited I'd get when I'd help sell blueberries in the summer when a train would go by (or even if I was at a cub meeting).

I even remember good old Halifax West - the original. I had some great times in that school. Plus the single family home lots at the top of Sunnybrae - I remember when that cul-de-sac was just forrest and then someone built those homes and the church.
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  #11  
Old Posted May 28, 2011, 12:24 AM
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My memories from long ago are generally from a car window since I grew up out in Lawrencetown... I'm also only 30 so they don't go back to the horse and buggy era like Keith's I do distinctly remember the giant boots from Little Nashville on Alderney Drive and when they came down. I remember sitting in traffic on the Mic Mac Rotary and I remember it disappearing. I remember those brightly coloured eyesores on Robie (now a vacant lot) that were painted clashing colours in anger after the owner's attempt to get a development agreement was turned down. I remember going to the Public Gardens as a kid to feed the ducks... a memory that new Haligonians will never have since you can't feed the fowl anymore.
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  #12  
Old Posted May 28, 2011, 12:45 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by halifaxboyns View Post
I remember when Sobeys wasn't even at the HSC - it was in West End Mall.
Actually Sobeys was always in the HSC up to a few years ago. The original Sobeys there was in the same spot but there was no parking structure in front of it.

Quote:
I remember when Bayers Road was a bustling mall and the old IGA, as I used to work there (and how we hated the talking cash registers and so we'd take every delight in breaking the speakers).
I remember those! I think that was the only place they were used locally. But I also remember when that was a Dominion store, and I remember it before it was expanded in the early 70s.

One of the odd things that sticks in your mind - I had a bit of a crush on a girl in high school, Debbie C., a nice kid, looked good, funny, smart, a bit of a jock. Nothing ever happened with us and i went to university and lost touch. A few years later I'm in the Dominion and I see her standing in line at the checkout. It was nice to see her again but I remember being shocked because she was now smoking! I never knew her as a smoker. Yes, back then you could smoke in a grocery store while you shopped. Unbelievable.
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  #13  
Old Posted May 28, 2011, 5:17 AM
halifaxboyns halifaxboyns is offline
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Originally Posted by Keith P. View Post
Actually Sobeys was always in the HSC up to a few years ago. The original Sobeys there was in the same spot but there was no parking structure in front of it.
What was the grocerry store at the West End Mall (Where the DMV ended up before it moved)??

I thought it was sobeys because it was in the West End mall with the Sears and then moved to Halifax Shopping Centre?
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  #14  
Old Posted May 28, 2011, 12:23 PM
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Originally Posted by halifaxboyns View Post
What was the grocerry store at the West End Mall (Where the DMV ended up before it moved)??

I thought it was sobeys because it was in the West End mall with the Sears and then moved to Halifax Shopping Centre?
There was a Sobeys there as well. It was in the space that later became Access NS down by The Bay (which originally opened up as Simpson's). But the one at HSC was in that development from the day it opened at the north end of the development, closest to Bayers Rd. You accessed it from inside the mall.
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  #15  
Old Posted May 28, 2011, 3:24 PM
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Does anyone else find it odd that its hard to find pictures of Halifax from the 70s/80s? Iv never seen construction photos of any of the high rises downtown besides a few far away shots of Purdy's Wharf.
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  #16  
Old Posted May 28, 2011, 3:52 PM
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I remember when there was a Greek bakery on Gottingen St. near Falkland and when the West End Mall was a pretty happening place full of girls with skyscraper hair dos and guys wearing acid-wash jeans with partial elastic waist bands.
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  #17  
Old Posted May 28, 2011, 4:06 PM
fenwick16 fenwick16 is offline
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Originally Posted by cormiermax View Post
Does anyone else find it odd that its hard to find pictures of Halifax from the 70s/80s? Iv never seen construction photos of any of the high rises downtown besides a few far away shots of Purdy's Wharf.
I think because it was prior to digital cameras and the internet. And because it isn't considered to be historical yet, pictures haven't been scanned and saved at the Nova Scotia archives.

I would be interested in seeing some construction pictures of the Metro Centre, if anyone has any that they can scan.
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  #18  
Old Posted May 28, 2011, 7:12 PM
halifaxboyns halifaxboyns is offline
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I remember 'The Poppe Shop' just off Quinpool and good old Sister Sarah's on Quinpool being a big deal.

I also remember back before the Superstore was on Barrington Street that there was a container transfer terminal there (Clarke Transport). I know that because my mom was one the accounting supervisor for Clarke up until sometime in the 90's when her MS took a turn for the worse and she went on LTD. I loved going in with her on weekends when I was a kid, I'd colour and play with the typewritters and we'd get a clubhouse sandwhich from the little dinner on Barrington that closed a couple years ago.

Just before mom went on LTD, Clarke moved into a new facility out in Bayers Lake. I remember touring the building when it opened, since they were part of the reason for the railway spur out to Bayer's Lake not being shutdown when Volvo left. But eventually they moved away from railcars and bye bye rail line!
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  #19  
Old Posted May 28, 2011, 7:36 PM
Antigonish Antigonish is offline
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I remember going to Halifax and being fascinated by the graffiti boom of 1995. I was 6 then and being blown away by the whole "urban street" type culture happening there, it gave my first impression of Halifax being "The Big City" to me. Every time my family went back to visit my cousins there I'd have my head out the window looking for all the new bombs and pieces that were EVERYWHERE.

I also remember playing PeeWee football at the SMU astroturf 2000-01ish before they turned it into field turf. How more people didn't break their ankles and knees on that concrete carpet surprises me.
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  #20  
Old Posted May 28, 2011, 7:52 PM
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I remember when the building on the corner of Quinpool across from the Atlantica hotel had a parking garage and gas station on the ground floor, I believe it has now been converted to offices. I also remember on the other side of the same building there was a subway, I tried using the washroom in there once and I remember the conditions where just plain horrible.
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