The Halifax Common, in local popular usage often referred to as the Commons, is a Canadian urban park in Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

. It is Canada’s oldest urban park.

History

The Halifax Common was originally a lightly forested swampy area which formed the source of Freshwater Brook, which flowed into

Halifax Harbour Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Halifax largely owes its existence to the harbour, being one of the largest and deepest ice-free natural har ...

near the site of today's Pier 21. The Common was designated by surveyors following the settling of Halifax in 1749. It was created to serve three purposes. The first was to provide pasturage for

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

s and

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

, both by the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

garrison and the citizens of Halifax. The second was to create a large area in which regiments stationed and in transit through Halifax could set up camps. The third and final reason was to provide clear fields of fire for the garrison of the

Halifax Citadel Citadel Hill is a National Historic Sites of Canada, National Historic Site in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Four fortifications have been constructed on Citadel Hill since the city was founded by the British in 1749, and were referred to as For ...

, so that invading forces would have no cover in the event of an assault on the fort. Originally, the Halifax Common stretched from Cunard Street, the current northern boundary of the North Common, south to South Street. The Saint Mary's Campus is part of the Collins Estate as is Gorsebrook Field to its immediate north. This has both Inglis Street (Saint Francis School and Gorsebrook School. With its eastern boundary at North Park, Ahern, Bell Road, and South Park, and Robie Street in to the west. During the 1800s, the city expanded in all directions, and some of this development encroached on the Common. Residential development spread up Spring Garden Road, cutting the Common in half. In addition, civic institutions were established on the Common, in keeping with its use as a public space. The Common became home to the Public Gardens,

Camp Hill Cemetery Camp Hill Cemetery is a cemetery within Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located on Camp Hill, adjacent to Robie Street. History The city's first cemetery, the Old Burying Ground was established in 1749, growing for nearly a century until ...

and Camp Hill Hospital, Dalhousie University Medical Campus, the Civic, Victoria General, IWK and Grace hospitals, Citadel High School.

Facilities

The North Common contains a cricket ground, several

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

diamonds, a large fountain near the centre, tennis courts, a soccer field, an outdoor city-owned

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...

, skateboarding facilities, and a smaller fountain. It is larger than the Central Common, and is much more empty and open, making it suitable for organized sporting and recreation events. A public washroom was recently built on Cunard Street. Playgrounds were recently replaced on the Central Common, because of concerns due to toxicity levels in the soil beneath the playground. Arsenic from playground wood that had been treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA, which has since been discontinued in playground use in Halifax) had leached from the playground wood, into the soil. Across Cogswell St from the Pavilion is the Emera Oval, a 400-metre skating track. Originally constructed to host speed skating events in the 2011 Canadian Masters Championships and the 2011 Canada Games, the oval was slated to be removed in March 2011, but due to its overwhelming popularity, it was made a permanent fixture. As of January 2014, it is going into its second winter as a permanent fixture. It is open for public and speed skating sessions and the ice surface opens for supervised skates as soon as weather conditions are sufficiently cold. During the warmer seasons it remains open for other uses. The summer of 2013 marked the beginning of inline activities offered by the city - supervised inline/ roller skating times with free rentals of inline and roller skates just as ice skates are rented out for free during public skates during the winter. Construction on a renovation of the Common's aquatic area, with pool,

splash pad A splash pad or spray pool is a recreation area, often in a public park, for water play that has little or no standing water. This is said to eliminate the need for lifeguards or other supervision, as there is little risk of drowning. Typically ...

, and related facilities, is anticipated after the 2021 season. The $17 million project includes demolition of existing facilities (pools, playground, pavilion). It is anticipated to open for the 2023 season.

Location

The Halifax Common is centrally located on the Halifax peninsula, about a five-minute walk to and from

Downtown Halifax Downtown Halifax is the primary central business district of the Municipality of Halifax. Located on the central-eastern portion of the Halifax Peninsula, on Halifax Harbour. Along with Downtown Dartmouth, and other de facto central business di ...

. The square-shaped North Common is bordered by Cunard Street to the north, North Park street to the east, Cogswell street to the south, and Robie Street to the west. The Central Common is triangle shaped and is bordered by Cogswell Street to the north, Bell Road to the south-west, and Trollope Street to the south-east.

Events

The Common is now a popular outdoor

concert A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

venue for the Halifax region. With its central location, it has direct walking access (approx. five to ten minutes walking east on Cogswell Street or Rainnie Drive) to

and the Barrington Street

Halifax Transit Halifax Transit is a Canadian public transport service operating buses and ferries in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Founded as Metro Transit in March 1981, the agency runs two ferry routes, 66 conventional bus routes (including corridor, local, and expre ...

public transit Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of wh ...

terminal, with services providing connections to the rest of the city, the Halifax harbour ferry connecting with Downtown Dartmouth and Woodside, as well as the new Bus Rapid Transit service MetroLink. During these shows, concert express and shuttle buses run directly to and from Common Park from various locations and are designated to operate along with the regular service Metro Transit offers. ;Notes ;Pre-2000 *In 1983,

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

and

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...

were greeted by a large crowd on the Common during a visit to Halifax. *In 1984, 80,000 faithful attended a service by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

at the Common. ;2006 *The

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

played on the Common as part of their

A Bigger Bang Tour A Bigger Bang was a worldwide concert tour by the Rolling Stones which took place between August 2005 and August 2007, in support of their album '' A Bigger Bang''. At the time, it was the highest-grossing tour of all time, earning $558,255,52 ...

. It was the largest concert the city has ever undertaken at the time, and a test-run for more concerts in the future. With an attendance of approx 55,000, the event was considered a success. ;2009 * June/July 2009: In preparation for the upcoming events season on the Common, the City of Halifax invested a great amount of effort and money into preparing the Common for the concerts and future events. Ground preparation, amenities, grass seeding were all part of the effort to cut down on damaging effects from heavy equipment and foot traffic during the large events. * July 11, a performance by

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

drew a reported crowd of 50,000 to the Common. ;2010 * Grand Chief Membertou is a 4-day event held to celebrate the life and inspiration of

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Mi'kmaw'' or ''Mi'gmaw''; ; , and formerly Micmac) are an Indigenous group of people of the Northeastern Woodlands, native to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Bru ...

saqamaw Henri Membertou.Grand Chief Membertou 400 Event Website
/ref> *

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

's Royal visit to Canada began in Halifax and during her first afternoon in the city had stopped at the Common to experience and take part in the Membertou 400 celebration. * Halifax Rocks 2010 was originally to be a 2-day

music festival A music festival is a festival, community event with music, performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock music, rock, blues, folk music, folk, jazz, classical music), nation ...

held on the Common, however due to reasons not released by the concert promoter, the Friday concert, featuring

Kid Rock Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock, is an American musician, singer, rapper, and songwriter. After establishing himself in the Music of Detroit#Hip-hop, Detroit hip-hop scene, he broke through into m ...

and

Counting Crows Counting Crows is an American rock band from the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of rhythm guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, David Immergl� ...

had been cancelled. However The Jimmy Swift Band and The Stanfields were added to the Saturday bill.

References

External links