Hydrostone is a neighbourhood in the North End of the

Halifax Peninsula The Halifax Peninsula is a peninsula within the Urban area, urban area of the Halifax, Nova Scotia, Municipality of Halifax, Nova Scotia. History The town of Halifax was founded by the Kingdom of Great Britain, British government under the di ...

in the

Halifax Regional Municipality Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

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 ...

, Canada. It consists of ten short parallel streets and is bordered by Duffus Street to the north, Young Street to the south, Isleville Street to the west and Novalea Drive to the east. The Hydrostone District has about of landmass. The neighbourhood was designed by architect

Thomas Adams Thomas Adams may refer to: Politicians *Thomas Adams (MP), Member of Parliament for Bedford *Sir Thomas Adams, 1st Baronet (1586–1667/68), Lord Mayor of London * Thomas Adams (politician) (1730–1788), Virginia delegate to the Continental Congr ...

to provide housing for working-class families displaced by the

Halifax Explosion On the morning of 6 December 1917, the French cargo ship collided with the Norwegian vessel in the harbour of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. ''Mont-Blanc'', laden with Explosive material, high explosives, caught fire and exploded, devastat ...

in 1917. Architectural design was by George Ross of the

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

architectural firm of

Ross and Macdonald Ross and Macdonald was one of Canada's most notable architecture firms in the early 20th century. Based in Montreal, Quebec, the firm originally operated as a partnership between George Allen Ross and David MacFarlane (known as Ross and MacFarla ...

. The neighbourhood draws its name from the special

cinderblock A concrete block, also known as a cinder block in North American English, breeze block in British English, or concrete masonry unit (CMU), or by various other terms, is a standard-size rectangular block used in building construction. The u ...

s from which the houses were constructed. Most of the dwellings are row-houses in groups of four and six, except for the large, two-storey single-family houses at the eastern end of each street. Some have been converted to sets of flats. All of the streets in the Hydrostone are boulevards except Stanley Place. These boulevards have treed, grassy strips which serve as communal outdoor space for the neighbourhood. This is consistent with the

Garden city movement The garden city movement was a 20th century urban planning movement promoting satellite communities surrounding the central city and separated with Green belt, greenbelts. These Garden Cities would contain proportionate areas of residences, i ...

by which Adams was influenced. All streets are also served by

back lane The human back, also called the dorsum (: dorsa), is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral ...

s, a feature characteristic of

Western Canadian Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West, or Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada–Unit ...

cities, but not usually found in Eastern Canadian communities. It is designated a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada () are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being of national historic significance. Parks C ...

Construction

Following the

, many of the wood-frame buildings collapsed on their coal stoves and furnaces and caught on fire, which was a concern when reconstruction was being planned. To minimize the danger of fire, Adams and Ross proposed the use of non-combustible hydrostone for the reconstruction of this area. Historic Places I 60671 - Halifax Relief Commission Building

Historic Places I 60671 - Halifax Relief Commission Building

Hydrostone was a concrete block that was finished with crushed rock (granite, in this case) to approximate the appearance of cut-stone construction. The concrete blocks and their faces were amalgamated through a hydraulic pressing process, patented by a Chicago firm. Manufacture of the blocks was done in a plant located in Eastern Passage and the finished stones were hauled across

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 ...

by barge. Transporting the stones to the construction site was problematic, due to the steep rise from the harbour. To solve this problem and make the area more easily accessible, two diagonal streets were included in the

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

district reconstruction plans: Devonshire Street / Avenue and Dartmouth Avenue.

The Hydrostone today

Today, the Hydrostone has become a

gentrified Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has been us ...

area, sought after by young professionals and small families for its ample green space and proximity to shops and transit. Recently, this newer generation has been buying and renovating the area's homes, pushing up property values and displacing longtime residents. In 2011, the

Canadian Institute of Planners The Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) is a professional organization in Canada for those involved in land use planning. It is responsible for advocating at national and international levels for members, developing public policy positions, and ...

named the Hydrostone the Second Greatest Neighbourhood in its inaugural Great Places in Canada contest.2011 Great Places Winners
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hydrostone Communities in Halifax, Nova Scotia National Historic Sites in Nova Scotia Historic districts in Canada North End, Halifax Ross and Macdonald buildings Public housing in Canada