Remember This? Jane’s Walks : Exploring history, architecture, gardens and more

On Saturday, May 5th and Sunday, May 6th, a series of guided walks, free and open to the public, will be held throughout Halifax and Dartmouth. 

Known as Jane’s Walks, in honour of the late urban planning activist Jane Jacobs, these community-minded walks take place in cities and towns around the world in early May, coinciding with Jane’s birthday. 

Jane Jacobs was famous for taking on the city governments of New York and Toronto, pushing for human-scale design and the preservation of historic neighbourhoods considered by some to be slums. 

The topics of the Jane’s Walks are diverse, ranging from local history to transportation infrastructure to urban gardening. 

For years, the Jane’s Walks in the Halifax Regional Municipality, known as Jane’s Walk Halifax, were successfully organized by Dartmouth Councillor Sam Austin. Due to Sam’s political responsibilities, the hat has been passed to local blogger Peter Ziobrowski.

This year, there are eight walks planned for Halifax and Dartmouth.

From 9-10 a.m. on Saturday May 5th, Gary Wright, community volunteer, will lead the Tufts Cove History walk, meeting at the corner of Sunnydale Avenue and India Street, Tufts Cove, Dartmouth. Gary Wright is the enthusiastic and dedicated keeper of the historic and little-known Tufts Cove Cemetery. Walk with Gary amongst the gravestones, exploring the history of a small but storied community.

From 10 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 5th, the Downtown Dartmouth Business Commission and the Dartmouth Community Health Board will be presenting The Gardens of Downtown Dartmouth. Meeting at Findlay Community Centre on Elliot Street, the two organizations will lead you through the beautiful streets of Downtown Dartmouth, exploring community urban gardens.

From 1 to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 5th, T. J. Maguire of Waterfront Development will present The Halifax Waterfront, meeting at the Halifax Ferry Terminal.

From 11 to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 5th, David Jones, historian and archaeologist, will lead Starr, Shubie and the Sawmill. Meet at Lion’s Beach, Lake Banook, between Banook Canoe Club and Senobe Aquatic Club. The walk will explore the history and archaeology of the Starr Manufacturing Company, the Shubenacadie Canal and the ancient Sawmill River (which runs from Lake Banook to Dartmouth Cove). Along the way, you will get to visit the former location of the Octagon House (also known as the Ink Bottle House), stand on top of the Circular Dam which helped form Sullivan’s Pond in the early 19th century, and you will have your questions answered about the new Power House, built on the site of the world famous Starr factory. For background information, consult Remember This? Daylighting Punmakati: The story of Dartmouth’s Sawmill River. This will be David Jones’ fourth year as a Jane’s Walks guide. David’s previous topics include Downtown Dartmouth’s oldest houses, Lake Banook, Downtown Portland Street, Dartmouth Cove and the Dartmouth ferries.

From 9-11 a.m. on Sunday, May 6th, there will be a Big Lift walk entitled The Macdonald Bridge. The start location is to be determined. Check the event page for updated information.

From 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 6th, Stephen Archibald, local blogger, will present an encore of his Storm Porches walk, meeting at the corner of Halifax’s Queen Street and Morris Street. Stephen Archibald is an enthusiastic supporter of Nova Scotia material culture and has taken local history and architecture enthusiasts on numerous Jane’s Walks.

From 1 to 2 p.m. on Sunday May 6th, David Jones will present his second walk of the event; The Hidden Burial Grounds of Downtown Halifax. Meet David at the entrance of the Saint Paul’s Church Cemetery (the Old Burial Ground) on Barrington Street, Halifax. David will take you on a historical and archaeological journey throughout the Spring Garden Road area, exploring several burial grounds and going as far afield as the former location of Fort Massey. Some of the burial grounds to be discussed include the Poor House cemetery, the burial ground underneath the parking lot of Saint Mary’s Basilica, and the Methodist burial ground at Saint David’s Church. For background information, consult Remember This? Saint Mary's Basilica parking lot; a paved-over burial ground.

From 3 to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday May 6th, a small team of experts and enthusiasts, organized by Maura Donovan and Sam Austin, will present Dartmouth’s new river: Daylighting the Sawmill. Also meeting at Lion’s Beach, the walk will discuss and explore the ongoing daylighting of Downtown Dartmouth’s historic Sawmill River (which, until now, had run underground since the early 1970s). As of Monday morning, over four hundred people online have expressed interest in attending this event.

This year’s series of walks offer great variety to the participant and serve as an opportunity to discover and share many aspects of urban life, especially local history, in Halifax and Dartmouth. For more information, visit the Jane’s Walk Halifax Facebook page.

David Jones is an archaeologist and historian from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Thursdays at Noon, David Jones has a weekly thirty minute history segment on The Rick Howe Show, NEWS 95.7. David will be leading two Jane’s Walks this year; The Hidden Burial Grounds of Downtown Halifax and Starr, Shubie and the Sawmill. He hopes you will attend!