Halifax Common
Historically, the Common has been used for a variety of activities. It has been used as a common pasture, a military parade and campground, and a dump. The Common has even been used as a horse racetrack (1940's), car racetrack (1990's), and a special events venue. Since its original creation, portions of the Common have been divested for purposes of new growth for the development of roads. In the late 1800's public institutions were placed on the Common that included a university, schools, hospitals, museums, public gardens, parks, sportfields, city operations yards, a fire station, cemeteries and churches.
A Brief History of the Common
| The Halifax Common was granted in 1763 by King George III "for the use of the inhabitants of the Town of Halifax forever". The 235-acre grant is in the tradition of English Commons which were used to convey rights of use for land by the population before the concept of Public Lands were fully developed. The original Common grant was on undeveloped, largely swampy, land behind the city and its boundaries were originally loosely delineated. As the town grew across the peninsula, the Common's boundaries became defined as what is today Cunard Street in the north, South Street in the south, Robie Street to the west and North Park/Ahern/Bell Road/South Park Streets to the east. Today the Common is still approximately 235 acres in area with approximately 200 acres still being publically owned. |
|
| Under the original terms of the Common Grant the lands were to be administered by a Board of Trustees who determined how they were to be used and managed. This responsibility was handed to the council of the City of Halifax and was cited in the Halifax City Charter of 1841 as common land being "for public and common benefit of the City of Halifax according to the true intent and meaning of the original grant." With amalgamation in 1996, the Halifax City Charter was abolished and regional council of the Halifax Regional Municipality became the stewards for the Halifax Common along with all other municipal lands. Today public lands are much more prevalent than when the Halifax Common was granted. Today the Common is largely comprised of public buildings, public streets and public parks. Much of the decisions regarding the Common are no different than those regarding other public lands. There is some recognition of responsibilities which stem from the original grant and the intentions articulated under the Halifax City Charter and the Halifax Common Plan of 1994. These are primarily around protection and promotion of the Common's history and identity and protection against further divestment of public property from the original grant. |
|
| The original intended uses of the Common seem to be intentionally vague. Over its history it has been seen as a public resource that's use reflected the public needs of the day. Early on, these uses included common pasture, access to fresh water, use as a military parade and campground, and as a dump. At times, the stewards of the Common have also seen fit to divest of portions of the Common (35 acres) to encourage growth of the city, swap for other lands and exchange for the development of roads. Up until the 1860's the majority of the Common was open land. After that time the city council and the Province began placing public institutions on the Common. These included a university, schools, hospitals, museum, public gardens, parks, sportfields, city operations yards, a fire station, cemeteries and churches. These were primarily in the southern section where they did not interfere with firing site lines from the citadel and the military did not object. In the north section, the area from Jubilee Road north were not permitted to be built upon as the British Military reserved clear firing sight lines from the back side of the citadel to guard against a land-based attack. A good deal of the north Common was used by the military for drill grounds and military camps. The Armouries was built just off the Common in 1899 for this reason. In 1942 these restrictive lines were lifted, which allowed the construction of Queen Elizabeth High School, the Vocational School in 1949 and CBC Studios in 1952. The remaining open lands in the north (43 acres) are what most people understand as the Common. These lands found wide use as a recreation open space. Such a large piece of open space has since found ready use as a horse racetrack (1940's), car racetrack (1990's), special events venue (1860 to today), sportfields (1920's to today). Today over half of the Common remains as public open space including the north and central Common, Wanderers Grounds, Public Gardens, Victoria Park, Camp Hill Cemetery and public streets.. |
| There is an impression that the Common cannot be used for commercial use. That is not the case. The Common has a history of pay for commercial events including horse racing, sporting events, concerts, circuses and fairs. To clarify this ambiguity, the Halifax City Charter was changed in 1992 and, in 1994, a Commons Policy was adopted which clearly allowed for commercial and special events as long as they were approved by council and met the goals, objectives and policies of the 1994 Halifax Common Plan. |
|
