Halifax City Hall historical tour

Come on a virtual tour of Halifax City Hall! It has been the seat of local government continuously since it opened in 1890 and was declared a National Historic Site in 1984.  The tour starts with a history of the Construction of City Hall, then ascends from the basement to the main floor, then up to the Council Chambers and finally to the top floor and clock tower, telling tales and showing photos of the events and people that have made history at Halifax City Hall.

If you are fortunate to be on-site at City Hall, look for site-specific signage with QR codes linked to sections of this tour (coming spring 2025). If you are a fan of Halifax civic history you'll recognize that City Hall's civic address (1841 Argyle St.) is symbolic (scroll to the end of the tour to find out why).

City Hall insiders familiar with the current terminology for the building's floors (e.g. Council Chambers are on the 3rd floor) may be confused on this historical tour, as up until 1996 when the regional government moved in, the floors were known as one level down (e.g. Council Chambers were on the 2nd floor).

This exhibit largely draws on sources available through Halifax Municipal Archives. Please contact archivists with corrections or your own stories about City Hall.

CONSTRUCTION OF HALIFAX CITY HALL

In 1886, the City invited competitive submissions of plans for the new city hall. One set of plans by Dartmouth's Edward Elliot stood out among the rest and won the $300 first prize. At a special meeting of City Council on October 22, 1886, Elliot’s plans were approved to be the design for city hall. 

Elliot’s design was in the Second Empire architectural style, also known as the Napoleon III style, which was popular for public buildings at the time. Classic elements of Second Empire style include City Hall’s mansard roof and central clock tower. The large imposing building was intended to have space for all aspects and departments of a growing modern city. 

Rhodes, Curry Co. from Amherst were hired to construct the building after the original winning bidder could not fulfil their contract. In  August 1888, the cornerstone for Halifax’s new city hall was laid with great ceremony. Mayor Patrick O’Mullin called the edifice “an ornament to the city.” Read the fascinating story of the time-capsule that was put in City Hall's cornerstone at that ceremony.

The first city council meeting in the new City Hall took place on Wednesday, May 14, 1890. Read the handwritten minutes from that meeting. On May 22, Mayor David McPherson welcomed twelve hundred citizens to explore the floors and offices while the band of the 63rd Regiment played, and refreshments of cake and ice cream were served in the Council Chambers. In July of 1890, the first marriage in city hall took place.

Halifax City Hall received  National Historic Site designation in 1984. In a ceremony held in 1988 a bronze plaque was placed in front of City Hall. The plaque reads: 

The Halifax City Hall, erected between 1887 and 1890, is the largest and one of the oldest municipal buildings in Nova Scotia. Designed by a local architect, Edward Elliot, its elegant façade features an attractive and eclectic blend of decorative elements often found in Victorian architecture. This historic building is representative of city halls found during the 19th century in progressive, moderately sized Canadian cities with highly developed municipal services. Civic pride and optimism are symbolized by its monumental scale, elaborate design and prominent location on the Grand Parade.

These informative booklets contain details around the history and development of City Hall; view the 2000 and 2013 versions.

Renovations and Restorations

As soon as city officials moved into City Hall there were calls for changes and the building’s layout has been adapted with the growth of city bureaucracy and changing functions. There have been fewer changes to the exterior and the Grand Parade, but here are a few to note:

In 1924, citizens and society groups appealed to City Council to construct a war memorial in Halifax. On July 1st, 1929, “the largest number of citizens ever to gather at the Grand Parade” watched as former prime minister Sir Robert L. Borden unveiled the cenotaph designed by Massey Rhind. The cenotaph was built as a memorial to the men and women from Halifax who served and died in the First World War and has been re-dedicated to those taken in WWII, the Korean War and in Afghanistan. In 2010, a concrete arch was unveiled as a memorial to peace officers killed in the line of duty. It stands between the Cenotaph and City Hall.
 

The Canadian Pacific Railway gifted the city a 126-foot-high wooden flagstaff for Grand Parade in 1947, which was the tallest flagstaff in the Commonwealth at the time. Read the story of the Grand Parade flagpole.

In 1976, the flagstaff on Grand Parade was refurbished and Mayor Edmund Morris placed a 1940 Canadian 50 cent coin, a 1975 Joseph Howe Festival commemorative dollar, and a 1975 City Hall brochure at the base of the flagpole. These items were found in 2016 when the Grand Parade flagstaff was taken down due to extensive rot

In March of 1978, City Council approved the restoration and extension of Grand Parade to the front entrance of St. Paul’s Church. On September 13, 1978, a rededication ceremony of Grand Parade took place. The plaque unveiled that day reads:

The Grand Parade has been the central gathering place of our people since the founding of Halifax in 1749. Saint Paul’s Church was established by Royal Charter in our founding year, becoming the first church of the City and the oldest Protestant church in Canada. Most of the pine and oak in Saint Paul’s is original, from Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The three-storied City Hall, at the northern end of the Grand Parade was completed in 1890 and officially opened on May 22 that year. It houses the City Council Chamber, the offices of the Mayor, Aldermen and City Clerk, and some civic administrative departments. On March 16, 1978, Halifax City Council authorized the restoration of the Grand Parade, bringing City Hall and Saint Paul’s together across a common green, church and state renewed in the sharing of their City’s hallowed ground.

Interior renovations

As the symbolic centre of local government City Hall itself has been frequently updated. Ahead of Halifax’s bicentennial in 1949, restorations and renovations were planned for City Hall. In 1940, City Council hired architect Sydney Dumaresq to perform an extensive remodel of the interior, especially the Council Chambers and the Mayor’s Office. The exterior stonework was cleaned with acid and steam to remove the black grime that had built up to return City Hall to its original appearance.

Another renovation of the Council Chambers began in 1956, commissioned by Mayor Leonard Kitz, and completed in January of 1957. Architect J. Philip Dumaresq redesigned council’s seating into a horseshoe-shape, lowered the ceiling to conceal the light fixtures and lined the walls of the chambers with oak paneling. 

In 1980, Halifax City Council approved an extensive City Hall Rehabilitation program to improve and modernize the space, making City Hall more functional and accessible. Council established an Advisory Committee on City Hall renovations with the direction to create a plan:

to enhance the symbolic nature of the building. In response, the creation of a proper reception space and display area for City artifacts respond to this scenario. Administrative functions would be limited. The result would be a reduction in the administrative component of the building and a strengthening of the symbolic image of City Hall consistent with its original intent.

The 1983 report of the Advisory Committee on City Hall renovations explained that “while the spirit and original purpose of the building must be retained, every advantage ought to be taken of the latest energy saving techniques, building materials and office layout concepts.” Some of their recommended renovations were restoring the stained glass windows, repairing the clock and bell mechanisms, creating an accessible entrance and reception hall, and transforming the third floor to a meeting room/conference centre.

This major renovation went above budget by over $690,000, bringing the total cost to over $3.8 million. Mayor Ron Wallace defended the expense, stating “the decision was made because the building was unsafe, obsolete and inaccessible to the handicapped.” Wallace also said, “The most important city property is entitled to restoration at least once every century.”

On April 1, 1996, the City of Halifax, City of Dartmouth, County of Halifax and Town of Bedford were amalgamated to form Halifax Regional Municipality.  Halifax City Hall became the new Municipality’s main civic centre, with the former Dartmouth City Hall at Alderney Landing continuing to be used administratively while the Halifax County Administration Building on Joseph Howe Dr. and Bedford’s town offices were eventually sold. The new Regional Council met in County council chambers until Halifax City Hall’s chambers were renovated to accommodate more seating for the 23 regional councillors, up from the City's 12 aldermen. The first Regional Council meeting held in Halifax City Hall was on February 11, 1997. See more details on changes to the Council Chambers over the years.

In 2009, the City embarked on a major project to restore City Hall’s stone facade. As many of the original stones as possible were conserved and renewed, including the original engraved cornerstone from 1888.  A series of videos  explain the project and talk with the project manager, stonemasons and carvers about their work, as it neared completion in 2013.

Renovations to City Hall's interior got underway in 2012. Council Chambers were updated, a new elevator installed, the front lobby re-designed, and the councillors' fourth floor reconfigured. The large-scale renovation continued through to 2019 when the Clerk's Office moved into the transformed east end of the first floor.

 

FIRST FLOOR (basement)

From the time of City Hall’s completion in 1890 until 1952, the first floor was home to the Halifax Police Department. Edward Elliot’s 1888 plan for this floor shows that there were police meeting rooms and quarters, a court room, lock-up, and jail cells. By 1953, the Police Department had outgrown its cramped quarters in City Hall and moved to the new City Market building on Market Street.

Since the departure of the Police Department in 1953, this floor has also been home to the Planning Information Office, b the City Clerk’s microfilm operation, and the Communications office. There have also been multiple vaults on this floor, including a fireproof room for records and a vault on the eastern side of the floor, in place by 1996. The Municipal Clerk’s office moved down from the second to the first floor in 2019. Over the years City Clerk’s offices have occupied a space on every floor of City Hall.

Police Holding Cells

The west-side of the first floor was below-grade under Argyle St. and so that is where the police securely held recently arrested individuals, either in individual holding cells or the smaller men’s and women's lock-up areas.  In the sub-basement where City Hall's boiler room was, the cell walls can still be seen as they extended through that level, presumably to prevent escapes.

Harry Houdini’s Escape, 1896

One famous ‘prisoner’ of the cells was Harry Houdini, who was touring the Maritimes in 1896 and staying at the Carleton Hotel. As the story goes, Houdini introduced himself to Police Chief O’Sullivan, stating that he could escape from any restraint.  At the police station he escaped from handcuffs and British naval arms then boasted that he could also escape from any jail cell. The police locked Houdini in a cell at City Hall, in a bathing suit. Some time later, the department received a call from the Carleton  Hotel, saying Mr. Houdini was there and wanted his clothes back. [Bruce MacNab, The Metamorphosis: The Apprentice of Harry Houdini (Fredericton: Goose Lane Editions: 2012), 204.]

Author Bruce MacNab  recounts Houdini’s time at City Hall and shows the basement in the municipality’s Halifax City Hall Behind the Scenes video.  His book on Houdini gives these vivid descriptions of the jail cells:

• The fifteen men’s cells were located on the shady Argyle Street side of the station. The cramped units measured four by seven feet. The cell walls were built using a double course of bricks, creating indestructible partitions almost a foot thick. Each cubicle welcomed its unlucky occupant through a narrow twenty-inch opening hung with an iron grated door.(p. 204)
• The women’s lock-up was located in the centre of the building, very close to the chief’s office and adjacent to the police court. Two large windows helped warm the women’s quarters with southern sun throughout the day. (p. 203)

Police Court

The Police Court occupied a large room in the northeast corner of the first floor and had a separate entrance for those accessing it from Barrington Street. Low-level proceedings would have been held here, while more serious crimes would have been dealt with at the Halifax County Court House on Spring Garden Road.

Behind the Police Court and across the doorway out to Barrington Street was the office of the Police Chief.

The Police Court was one of the areas in City Hall targeted in the war-time riot of May 1918, following the arrest of a drunken and unruly sailor. This virtual exhibit on the Riot at City Hall provides more details.

Halifax Municipal Archives has Halifax Police Department records, dating from 1851, which include charge books, patrol record books, and City lock-up records that record so much of the activity that happened on this floor of City Hall.

SECOND FLOOR (main floor or ground level)

The main or principal floor of City Hall (referred to as the second floor after 1996) now holds Halifax Hall, offices of city officials, meeting rooms, and the Downie & Wenjack Fund Legacy Space. 

The entranceway from Grand Parade with its large wooden doors is in the centre of the main floor. Many groups have gathered to be photographed on the entry stairs.  

Until 2016  large marble plaques recording the names of all City of Halifax mayors and aldermen hung in the entranceway. These have been replaced by panels naming the wardens, mayors and deputy-mayors of HRM and its former municipalities.

According to Elliot's original plan this floor held the Mayor’s Office, offices of the Stipendiary Magistrate, Auditor, foreman of the streets, a meeting room, and six private offices for city officials; the offices of the City Clerk, City Engineer, Board of Works and Tax Collector, each with their own safes.

The arrangement of these offices was changed between 1910 and 1920, replacing offices of the Water Inspector, City Engineer, Housing Commission, and Board of Control, with the offices of Finance, City Treasurer, City Assessor, and Plumbing Inspector. The floor also added an engineering library.

Over the next century many changes took place to the main floor. In the 1940s, interior changes were done to upgrade the space ahead of the bicentennial celebrations in 1949. During the mid-1980s, the largest renovation of the main floor took place to improve and modernize the space. The 1983 Advisory Committee on City Hall Renovations report advised that the main floor should be used “to promote activity and interaction with the public”, that a public information/referral service should be established, and also recommended the creation of a reception hall and an artifact display area.

Based on this recommendation, the eastern end of the main floor was transformed into Halifax Hall for public receptions, and the Clerk’s Office became the “Trophy Room” to display historical artifacts.

City Hall responds to the Halifax Explosion

On December 6, 1917, just after 9 a.m., the collision of two ships caused an explosion that devastated Halifax. Despite mass destruction of buildings in Halifax, City Hall remained structurally intact but with severe damage. Almost all the windows in City Hall were broken, most of the doors on the principal floor and second floor were destroyed, and the rooms were full of debris. When questioned about the condition of City Hall after the Explosion, Deputy Mayor Henry Colwell stated, “[City Hall] was wide open.” 

By 11:30 a.m., Deputy Mayor Colwell, five aldermen, and twelve citizens gathered in the City Collector's office, which was the only functional room in City Hall, to determine their next steps and begin relief efforts, starting with the organization of committees such as Shelter, Mortuary, Medical and Food Committees. Halifax City Council meeting minutes provide detail of these discussions in the hours and days after the explosion and as relief efforts as they were taken over by the Halifax Relief Commission. 

Directly after the blast, citizens flocked to the building, which acted as a medical relief centre immediately after the Explosion, using whatever rooms provided shelter. On the main floor, essential items such as blankets, coal, and clothing were distributed out of the Clerk of Works' and Plumbing Inspector’s offices. An information bureau was organized out of the City Clerk’s office and emergency housing and transportation was organized out of the City Collector’s office. The library and City Assessor’s office were dedicated to the distribution of food and the Solicitor's office was used by the medical department. Over the following days, many staff and volunteers remained at City Hall day and night with very little sleep.

We know the details of what happened where in City Hall after the Explosion only because of the investigation of a scandal accusing City officials of stealing confiscated liquor from the N.S. Temperance Act Inspector’s office in the days after the Explosion. A special committee was formed to investigate the burglaries and through their interviews of City officials,  the state of City Hall, the damage done to the offices and the use of City Hall as an operational centre is explained in great detail.

For further information and material on the Halifax Explosion, the Halifax Municipal Archives has a Halifax Explosion Source Guide.

Halifax Hall

Halifax Hall has hosted many significant public and City events; the space at the east end of the ground floor has had an interesting history and evolution. Upon the completion of City Hall in 1890, it held the Tax Collector’s and Mayor’s offices, two of the most significant positions at the time. The offices remained in this location until at least 1920.

After the Halifax Explosion, the City Collector’s office was one of the only useable rooms, so city officials met there directly after the explosion and then emergency housing and transportation were organized from there.

In the following decades, the space housed many different departments, the last being the Halifax Transit Commission. In a 1983 report of the Advisory Committee on City Hall Renovations, the creation of a reception hall was recommended: 

The space formerly occupied by the Halifax Transit Commission should be renovated as a reception hall which, while formal in decor, ought to be extremely flexible in its use. Such a facility is sadly lacking at present and, in the view of the Committee, this space is ideal for this purpose.

From this recommendation, Halifax Hall was created. During the renovation, stained glass windows were uncovered. As Halifax Hall was to be the public reception hall, it was elegantly decorated with paintings from the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, and furnished with pewter chandeliers from Spain, a baby grand piano and chairs engraved with City of Halifax crests from Czechoslovakia. Halifax Hall was ready for its first public event, the 1984 Mayor’s New Years Day levee.

Halifax Hall has and continues to be used for all sorts of public events, including the City Hall time capsule opening; chamber music concerts; afternoon tea hosted by the mayor; the annual New Years Day levee; book launches; and blood clinics.

Downie & Wenjack Fund Legacy Space (former Clerk's and Treasurer's Offices)

The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund Legacy Space is the first room to the right as you enter City Hall. The room was the Clerk’s office when City Hall opened in 1890. Sometime between 1910-1920, the office became the Treasurer’s office.

An important feature of the offices of both the Clerk and Treasurer was a large safe, which originally held Clerk’s Office files and handwritten council minutes. Later, when it became the treasurer’s office, the safe held the money that the treasurer collected from taxes, licenses, and fines paid to the police department. After the Treasurer’s office moved, the large safe remained in the room until City Hall renovations ca. 2014. This video made during the renovations shows the safe and how the room looked in 2013.

In the 1990s, the room became a display area for City Hall artifacts, as recommended by the 1983 Advisory Committee on City Hall renovations. The display room - which was called the City Hall Archives, Artifact Archives, and Exhibit Room and lastly the Trophy Room - held various gifts and commemorative items received by the City of Halifax in glass display cases surrounding a boardroom table. Many items that were held in the Trophy Room can now be viewed via the Halifax Municipal Archives database, including commemorative plaques, plates and medals, hand-made items from Sierra Leone, and gifts from Halifax’s sister city Hakodate, Japan. 

In 2018, the Trophy Room was renovated and unveiled as a Legacy Space. Halifax Regional Municipality partnered with The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund to create the first Legacy Space in a city hall to "provide information for municipal staff and visitors about Chanie Wenjack and ongoing efforts towards reconciliation. The goal is to have accurate information available to all, regarding Indigenous History on the journey to reconciliation". The space contains educational materials, as well as Mi'kmaq and Indigenous artifacts and art.

The creation of the Legacy Space came after Regional Council’s 2015 statement committing to the calls to action by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada to “redress the legacy of residential schools and advance the process of Canadian reconciliation.”

THIRD FLOOR (Council Chambers)

The third floor of City Hall currently holds the Mayor’s Office, Council Chambers, and the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). The third floor was historically known as the second floor and has undergone many layout changes since the building opened in 1890. 

Initially this floor held the Council Chambers, offices of the City Assessor, City Collector, License Inspector, City Council Recorder, City Medical Officer, committee rooms and the Citizens' Free Library.

Between 1910 and 1920 the configuration of the offices on the second floor were slated to be changed, replacing offices of some City officials with the offices of the Nova Scotia Temperance Act Inspector, City Solicitor, City Electrician and the Board of Health. 

The office of the Nova Scotia Temperance Act Inspector was located just outside the Council Chambers. Halifax had come under the Nova Scotia Temperance Act in 1916 and teetotallers held moral sway but alcohol was still commonly available. The City Liquor Inspector's office would have held many seized bottles.  In January 1918, newspapers reported on the most disgusting civic scandal in the history of Halifax,  accusing City officials of drinking confiscated liquor from the Liquor Inspector’s Office in the difficult days following the Halifax Explosion. 
 

Many more renovations to the third floor of City Hall took place to better serve the developing and expanding needs of the City of Halifax and its administration. The Mayor’s Office was moved up from the ground floor, to be closer to the Chambers, near the staircase landing, where it remains today.  Other renovations were completed to update City Hall, such as adding ramps for accessibility and later a media room next to the Council Chambers for the recording and televising council sessions. In a 1983 report of the Advisory Committee on City Hall Renovations it was stated “[the third floor] is seen as the "political" centre of City Hall and uses of this floor ought to be supportive of this function.”

Citizens' Free Library 

Halifax’s Citizens’ Free Library was relocated from Argyle Hall on Argyle Street to City Hall around 1891. The Citizens’ Free Library was Halifax’s first free public library; there were earlier subscription libraries. The library was established when Sir William Young purchased the bankrupt Halifax Mechanic's Library in 1864 and gave it to the City for public use. An 1895 civic report from the Citizens’ Free Library Committee states that 17,333 books were issued in 1891, and the number continued to increase with 52,286 books issued for 1893-94. The Library moved to the new Spring Garden Road Memorial Library in 1950.

The Halifax Municipal Archives has Citizens’ Free Library Committee reports as well as Halifax’s Citizens’ Free Library records available in our collection.

Council Chambers

The Council Chambers are the only room still filling the same function it did when City Hall opened in 1890. The first city council meeting in City Hall took place on Wednesday May 14, 1890, led by Mayor David McPherson. At this time City Council consisted of the mayor and 18 aldermen, with 3 aldermen were elected from each ward annually. 

Shortly after, on May 22, 1890, an event was held inviting the public in to view their new City Hall. The Mayor welcomed 1200 attendees in Council Chambers who were encouraged to explore the floors and offices while the band of the 63rd Regiment played, and cake and ice cream were served.

In 1940, restorations and renovations were commenced to prepare for Halifax’s bicentennial in 1949. City Council hired architect Sydney Dumaresq to remodel the Council Chambers and the Mayor’s Office. The Council Chambers did expand slightly during this renovation, however it wasn’t until a 1956 renovation that it took up the entire east end of the then second floor.

The size and layout of the Council Chambers adapted to the fluctuating number of aldermen it needed to accommodate for Council meetings. Initially there were 3 aldermen in each of Halifax’s 6 wards, plus the mayor (elected at large after 1850).   As of 1941, Council was reduced to 13 with the Mayor and 2 aldermen per ward. In 1951, a 7th ward was added. In 1969, 3 more wards were added with the annexation of former County suburban areas but just 1 alderman was elected per ward. In 1980, wards 11 and 12 were introduced.

In 1956 Mayor Leonard Kitz hired architect J. Philip Dumaresq who redesigned Council’s seating into the shape of the horseshoe and lined the walls of the chambers with oak paneling. The renovation was completed and reopened to the public on January 17, 1957.

This video of the 1969 Swearing-In ceremony shows what Council Chambers looked like in the 1960s and 70s.

Further renovations occurred throughout the 1980s and 1990s, such as adding media equipment and later a media room attached to Council Chambers, and ramps to the public seating area to make it more accessible.

City of Halifax aldermanic scroll

The Halifax Municipal Archives holds the Aldermanic Scroll for the City of Halifax, an incredible 20-foot long document on which each elected Halifax mayor and alderman signed their oath-of-office, from 1841-1994, the year of the city's last swearing-in before amalgamation. Aldermen swore allegiance to the monarch and, accordingly, changes in reign are ceremoniously and beautifully marked, including the death of Queen Victoria and ascension of King Edward VII in 1901, and the death of King Edward VII and ascension of King George V in 1910. Subsequent changes in reign are not marked. The roll also documents the city's move to a Board of Control system from 1913-1919. 

New Beginnings

On April 1, 1996, the City of Halifax, City of Dartmouth, County of Halifax and Town of Bedford amalgamated to form Halifax Regional Municipality. Halifax City Council dissolved, having held their final Council meeting in the Council Chambers with Mayor Walter Fitzgerald presiding on March 29, 1996.

After amalgamation in 1996, Halifax Regional Council consisted of the mayor and one councillor for each of 23 districts. Renovations had to be done to Council Chambers to increase seating to fit all 23 councillors. The first Regional Council meeting held in Halifax City Hall took place on February 11, 1997.

In 2011, the number of HRM districts were reduced from 23 to 16. Council Chambers were renovated in 2012 to account for this, reducing seating from 23 to 16 councillors.

Are you curious who has taken their seat in the renowned Council Chambers over the years?  Halifax Municipal Archives has an Elected Officials List of all the mayors, councillors, and aldermen from 1841-present of Halifax Regional Municipality and the former City of Halifax, City of Dartmouth, County of Halifax and Town of Bedford.

H.M.C.S. Bonaventure bell

The bell located on the north wall outside of the Council Chambers is rung five minutes before every Council meeting to call Council together and indicate the start of the meeting. The bell was presented to the City of Halifax by Vice-Admiral Fulton, Commander of Maritime Command on April 29, 1982. The bell is from the H.M.C.S. (His Majesty’s Canadian Ship) Bonaventure, a Royal Canadian Navy aircraft carrier, in service from 1957-1970.

The anchor and chain from H.M.C.S. Bonaventure were placed in Point Pleasant Park in 1973 to serve as the Navy's Canadian Peacetime Sailors’ Memorial , also called the Bonaventure Anchor Memorial. The names of sailors who lost their lives serving during peacetime are inscribed on its base.

Halifax and Dartmouth Maces

On display outside the Mayor’s Office are two maces - the City of Halifax mace and City of Dartmouth mace. A mace is a symbol of authority that is placed in front of the mayor during regular Council meetings. The mace remains in front of the mayor for the duration of the meeting. At the adjournment of the meeting, Council members are not to leave their seat until the mace is removed from the chambers by the sergeant-at-arms. The sergeant at arms alternates between the Dartmouth and Halifax maces.

The City of Halifax mace was presented to the City of Halifax by the Royal Canadian Navy on August 14, 1950, to commemorate the 201st anniversary of Halifax and the city’s long history of cooperation with the Navy. The mace was crafted by personnel at HMC Dockyard. Engraved on the mace are the Canadian, Nova Scotian, City of Halifax and HMCS Stadacona coats of arms; plaques depicting sails of a British man-of-war; four maple leaves, a thistle, shamrock, fleur-de-lys and rose which are symbolic of early Scottish, Irish, French and English settlers to Canada; crests of armed services associated with the history of Halifax; four sea horses which are symbolic of port cities; and a mural crown from Halifax’s coat of arms.

The City of Dartmouth mace was presented to the City of Dartmouth by the Rear Admiral K. L. Dyer of the Royal Canadian Navy at a ceremony held at the entrance to the Dartmouth City Hall on October 17, 1961, to commemorate the incorporation of the city on January 1, 1961. 

MAYOR’S OFFICE

The Mayor’s Office was originally located on the main floor (now known as the second floor) and Mayor David McPherson was the first mayor to hold office in the new Halifax City Hall in 1890.

The Office of the Mayor was moved sometime after 1920 to the second floor (now known as the third floor). Over the following decades the office gradually expanded to its current span of the entire southwest corner to allow for the addition of a reception area and a suite for the mayor.

Gifts to the City of Halifax or the Mayor were displayed in the Mayor’s Office, such as a set of five gold plated teaspoons from the Mayor of Seoul, and a miniature Samurai helmet in lacquered box from Hakodate, Japan, Halifax’s twin city. Many of these historic gifts can be viewed through the Halifax Municipal Archives.

Mayor’s Chain of Office 

In some of the photographs of the Mayor's Office you can see a wooden display case on the wall holding the mayor's chain of office.  See more photos and read the fascinating origin story of this chain of office. 
 

FOURTH (top) FLOOR

The fourth floor of City Hall is now home to the Councillor’s offices and office spaces for municipal support staff, however the floor looked quite different in 1890. According to Edward Elliot’s original plans, a museum was to occupy almost the entire floor, while the east side was designated as living quarters for the caretaker of the building. It is not known definitively if either of these spaces were put to their intended uses; however, City Council did appoint John Spruhan for “the Janitorship and Caretaker of Heating Apparatus” for the annual salary of $800, at their May 14, 1890 meeting. In August 1890, Council received a delegation and petition to have the Provincial Museum and School of Art & Design located on the Grand Parade, but it does not appear that City Hall ever housed a museum.

As with the other floors in City Hall, offices and spaces shifted over the years. For example, in 1920, the top floor housed a bindery and book storing room, and some plans showing proposed changes suggest that the Director of Civil Defense, Commissioner of Health, and Housing Commission were once on this floor. As of 1996, the councillors’ offices were on this floor, in addition to the Municipal Clerk’s offices (now moved all the way down to the first floor).

Tower Clock

City Hall's original clock was taken from the City Market building in 1893 and placed in the new tower in 1904. The Council minutes from July 7, 1904, show that the winning tender for placing the clock in the tower went to M.S. Brown & Co. A bell was also in the tower, from at least 1904 until 1917, and can be seen in photographs of City Hall from the early 1900s.

The clock more-or-less told the time; it was considered more ornamental than functional according to an article in the Halifax Mail Star from 1960: “In a town which was renowned for its many and accurate public clocks, the city’s official clock ran in fits and starts.”

In 1917, the blast from the Halifax Explosion stopped the tower clock. Sometime after the Explosion, the clock and bell were removed from the tower. It wasn’t until the G-7 Summit in 1999 that the Halifax Foundation placed two new clock faces in the tower, the north-facing one permanently fixed at the exact time of the Explosion – 9:04:35.

You can read more about the history of the clock and bells in the tower of City Hall, including the 2020 initiative to reinstate the bells. This 2013 Behind the Scenes video of City Hall gives a peek at the spiral staircase that accesses the clock tower and the view from the rooftop.

City Hall's civic address

The "New" City Hall was originally listed in the 1890 City Directories at 34-48 Duke St., and later just as Grand Parade/Argyle/Duke/Barrington. After the city adopted a grid-based 4-digit civic numbering schema in the 1960s, City Hall's address became 1841 Argyle St., as the City of Halifax was incorporated in the year 1841.  City directories mistakenly list it at 1861 Argyle until 1987.

The Municipality's postal address is PO box 1749, another nod to history as the city was founded in the year 1749.

Add your City Hall story

You may have your own memory or story about Halifax City Hall. Please contact us to share them or any suggestions for this exhibit.