Seven Mysteries of St George's Round

June 2017 Volume 42 No. 2 ISSN 0384 7335 The Griffin A Quarterly Publication of Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia 3 ARTIST Jane Rovers 4 HERITAGE QUIZ At the Sign of ... Joe Ballard 6 LECTURE Emanuel Jannasch: Seven Mysteries of St George’s Round Church, Halifax Donna McInnis 8 LECTURE Barry Copp: A Tour Down Young Avenue’s Historic Streetscape Donald Forbes with speaking notes from Barry Copp 11 HERITAGE LOST Two More Grand Houses Lost on Young Avenue, Halifax Garry Shutlak 13 LECTURE Bill Mont: Growing Up in Greenbank – a Vanished Halifax Neighbourhood Dulcie Conrad 15 VANISHED NEIGHBOURHOOD Where was Greenbank? Dirk Werle 16 ADAPTIVE RE-USE Heritage Bank Repurposed as Centre for Old Sydney Society Joyce Rankin 18 HERITAGE CONSERVATION The Simeon Perkins House in Liverpool – Another Bluenose Fiasco in the Making? Martha Scott June 2017 1 REPORT The Griffin President’s Report A quarterly newsletter often drawn to old buildings for their published by ability to differentiate businesses and Heritage Trust of charm patrons. Nova Scotia Many people don’t recognize it, but Patron: our heritage is great for business. So, His Honour Brigadier-General when federal powers work to under- the Honourable J.J. Grant, mine the heritage sector in Nova Scotia, CMM, ONS, CD (Ret’d) it is bad for everyone. Lately there has Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia been a flurry of undermining forces, each one chipping away at the integ- Editorial Committee rity of our history or the infrastructure Donald Forbes, Melanie Ballard, we have built up. CBC’s The Story of Us Dulcie Conrad, Peter Delefes, should have endorsed this province as Donna McInnis, Janet Morris Nancy O’Brien, the cradle of Canada in a year that will Tony Edwards (ex officio) likely see a record number of Canadians exploring their own country; instead, Contributors to this issue the producers arbitrarily assigned the Joe Ballard, Barry Copp, Joe Ballard honour to Quebec. Our world-class Dulcie Conrad, Donald Forbes, archaeology lab in Dartmouth is threat- Donna McInnis, Joyce Rankin, In the 1960s and 70s, archaeological ened with being uprooted and moved Jane Rovers, Martha Scott, fieldwork at the ruins of Fortress Louis- to Gatineau, QC. Parks Canada has Garry Shutlak, Dirk Werle bourg laid the foundation for a massive issued a tender for work on the Halifax Layout: Douglas Porter reconstruction of the Fortress. That Town Clock that calls for the use of such Printers: etc. Press Ltd impressive effort, employing archaeolo- inappropriate treatments as aluminum- Unless otherwise indicated, gists, heritage carpenters, engineers, and clad windows and glass-fibre reinforced the opinions expressed masons allowed trades-people to devel- plastic columns. These events don’t in these pages are those of the op and exercise valuable heritage-sector really put Nova Scotians in the mood contributors and do not skills. The Fortress employed historians to celebrate Confederation. It’s enough necessarily reflect the views of and interpreters and welcomed thou- to make one a little cynical - but maybe Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia. sands of visitors per year to an economi- that’s à propos, because that’s how we’re We welcome submissions cally challenged corner of the province. told Nova Scotians felt about Confedera- but reserve the right to edit In more recent years, and perhaps most tion in the first place. for publication. Contributions appear in both print and astonishingly, the Fortress has helped In each of these cases, Heritage Trust web editions. foster development of new food and has stood up for Nova Scotians. Our Deadline for the next issue: beverage products like artisanal heritage letters, phone calls, meetings, and media August 1, 2017 chocolate (Mars Incorporated) and For- interviews are challenging attempts to tress Rum (Authentic Seacoast Distillery), erode our heritage resources – whether Please send your pushing the bounds of how historic the built variety, in the case of the Town submissions to places can cultivate economic activity. Clock; infrastructure and expertise, in the Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia Heritage is supporting economic activ- case of the archaeology lab; or even our Box 36111 Spring Garden RPO ity all around us. Lawyers, dentists, and national legacy and tourism potential, in Halifax NS B3J 3S9 [email protected] www.htns.ca other professionals commonly seek out the case of CBC’s history series. Tel: 902 423-4807 old homes featuring elegant craftsman- On the issue of the threatened ship. The idea, of course, is the old strat- move of the archaeology lab, I urge you Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia egy of positive association – the stability, to contact your MP. Retaining the lab is a charitable organization. quality, and longevity of the premises, it allows a certain calibre of expertise to All donations are tax creditable. is hoped, will be perceived as a reflec- develop and dwell here and to positively tion of the quality of the professional’s affect historic sites that lay the foun- Cover image: Across the street, by Jane Rovers, practice. Film-makers, small business dational narrative of our history and 2015, framed limited edition print, 28” x 38” start-ups, creative industries, restaurants, heritage assets. (courtesy of the artist) and tourism-dependent businesses are 2 The Griffin • Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia ARTIST Jane Rovers Jane Rovers takes photos of people, places, and things and layers them with texture, light, and colour. Her digital artwork has been seen in Design*Sponge, Apartment Therapy, Nylon Magazine, and others. A native of Nova Scotia, Jane spent her childhood by the ocean, in the for- est, and at the piano. Creating and making were a constant theme. Her artistic pursuits were encouraged by her family, especially by her grandmother who was also an artist. Her recent artwork was in- spired by the beautiful shapes, textures and colours of Nova Scotian homes and buildings. Jane lives in the Annapolis Valley with her husband and two children. She works from home as a freelance graphic designer, artist, and mother. Her artwork is represented by Argyle Fine Art. Coffee’s on, by Jane Rovers, 2015, framed limited edition print, 28” x 28” (courtesy of the artist) Down the road, by Jane Rovers, 2015, framed limited edition print, 28” x 28” Where what’s her name grew up, by Jane Rovers, 2015, framed limited (courtesy of the artist) edition print, 28” x 28” (courtesy of the artist) June 2017 3 HERITAGE QUIZ At the Sign of … Joe Ballard those who were illiterate or were simply resented a hardware store, specifically the fashion of the time is beyond the re- Halifax’s H.H. Fuller & Co. in 1864. Going “And the sign said long-haired freaky search of this modest article. Many eigh- back even further, in 1776, a Grafton people need not apply.” These are the teenth and nineteenth century signs in Street weathervane topped by a hand opening lines of the Five Man Electrical Nova Scotia included both a textual and holding a pen announced the location Band’s 1971 hit song, Signs. From an a symbolic representation of the place of a Halifax printing office. historian’s perspective, signage from the of business. This article identifies some At this stage I’m going to introduce past has the ability to speak to the pres- historic signs that used symbols to con- a little fun. I invite the reader to guess ent in a way that a building itself cannot. vey meaning and challenges the reader the trade associated with the following A sign like the one described in these to interpret them. visual aids advertised by early commer- lyrics could be graphically rendered I should begin by relating to the cial interests. I’ll also provide an associ- without text and understood by all who reader how it is that we know of early ated date for additional context. Think of saw it – picture a long-haired fellow with signs from a period before photographs this as The Griffin’s answer to the popular a slash drawn through. This was exactly became common. Old newspaper puzzle page found in your daily news- the way many early signs were designed advertisements would occasionally paper. So, once again, the object is to – even into the early twentieth century. provide helpful wayfinding tips, such identify the trade alluded to: Whether such graphically expressive as “Sign of the Circular Saw, 45 Water signs were intended to accommodate Street”. This sign, not surprisingly, rep- In this image of Prince Street, Truro, a hardware store sign in the foreground contains an image of an axe and shovel; next, a harness and trunk seller’s sign contains an image of a suitcase and a trunk; next, A.H. Smith’s sign bears a crown because the business is located in the Crown Building; additionally, there appears to be an oversized pocket watch hanging outside of Smith’s watch repair and jewelry business (courtesy of the Colchester Historical Society) 4 The Griffin • Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia 1. “At the sign of the King’s Arms and pressed elegance and the suggestion of The well-known barber’s pole Laced Hat” (The Royal Gazette, 1790) quality goods and first-class service. dates to a time when barbers were also 2. “Sign of the Prancing Steed” (Yarmouth Another observation made of these surgeons – the striped pole is said to be Herald, 1867) ten examples is the prevalence of such suggestive of bloodied bandages. In 3. “Sign of the Little Indian” (Yarmouth signs in Yarmouth. Although more the 1860s, a man by the name of George Herald, 1873) study is required, it could be that Yar- Jones operated a barber shop in Truro.

Load more