1945 Halifax Master Plan

[halifaxboyns]

Was just reading through some of Andy Fillmore's tweets and found a link to the 1945 Master Plan for Halifax. Built HFX has it on their website.

A very interesting read. Some highlights:

• They had considered construction of some viaducts;
• Roundabouts were considered for traffic congestion issues at the Fairview Overpass;
• A round about was considered at the intersection to the McKay Bridge (although the bridge wasn't build at the time);
• There would have been a round about on north street coming off the MacDonald bridge.

[q12]

LOL

Some quotes:

Precautions will be required for all suburban areas so that in years to come, the city will not inherit additional slums with their accompanying evils.

...the Darkside

and:

The standard requirements for a desirable neighborhood are the following:-- Low density of population.

[ILoveHalifax]

The Chronicle Herald supplement that comes around to the door with all the ads had a picture of where the rotary is but back in 1952. Very interesting.

[Keith P.]

There is already a thread on this elsewhere on here. It is a shame that city fathers in 1945 ignored everything in the plan, as it had some visionary concepts.

Here is a link to where the conversation starts, at post #217: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...143037&page=11

[Ziobrop]

The Post On the 1945 Plan is actually one in a series. (there are also 2 others on the plan itself). The Series also discusses How the ideas fo these plans came about, and why they seemed so good at the time. The series will also look at the 1957 plan, Some NS Planning Legislation, and Specific Monuments, Such as Scotia Square, Mulgrave Park, Harbourfront Drive.

The Series is Inspired by an exhibition put on my the Canadian Center for Architecture Called "the 60's, Montreal Thinks Big"

You can follow the full series at http://blog.builthalifax.ca/search/l...20thinks%20big

[HalifaxRetales]

[Drybrain]

Note how the 1945 plan seems to disregard the presence of that pesky 150 year-old community where the shopping centre was supposed to be.

That plan is also hilarious in the way it extends a tight, pedestrian-amenable street network and turns it into a series of long, suburban-styled roads that practically beg you to get in your car just to go to the end of the block. Amusingly of its time. (Not that what's there now is any better.)

[ILoveHalifax]

Such a shame they dozed the old city jail. I would have made nice apartments for the poor and disadvantaged.