Barrington Street is a major street in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, running from the MacKay Bridge in the North End approximately 7 km south, through Downtown Halifax to Inglis Street in the South End. Its civic numbers range from 950 to 4756 on the Halifax Peninsula street grid numbering system.
Barrington Street
Maintained by
Halifax Regional Municipality Transportation & Public Works
Barrington Street is centrally located within the original Halifax street grid, laid out in the 18th century. It remains one of the main streets of the city and is home to numerous shops, office buildings, and the Halifax City Hall.
Barrington Street is part of the original street grid laid out by engineer John Bruce and surveyor Charles Morris when Halifax was established as a British fortress. The streets were named after leading British statesmen, but the origin of the name Barrington Street is reportedly unclear. One account suggests the street is named after William Barrington, 2nd Viscount Barrington, who served as a Secretary of War but was an "unknown" in 1749 when Halifax was founded. Others say the street name is derived from a misspelling of the Earl of Harrington, the Secretary of State.[1]
Barrington Street sits halfway up the slope to Citadel Hill and has long been a main street of Halifax. After the town's founding it became a fashionable street for promenading. In 1766 the eastern sidewalk was planked and became known as the "mall" until it fell into disrepair in the 1820s and was dismantled.[1]
By the 19th century, Barrington Street was the main commercial district in Halifax.[2] Horse-drawn streetcars began operating on Barrington Street in 1866. These were replaced by electric streetcars by 1896.[3]
The street saw big changes in the mid-20th century, with massive demolition under the banner of urban renewal. A huge swath of the downtown area, north of Duke Street, was cleared for the development of Scotia Square and the Cogswell Interchange.
The Birk's Building at the George Street intersection, along with several adjacent smaller structures, were demolished in the early 1990s. This site is now under the ownership of the provincial government and remains one of the most prominent surface parking lots in the downtown core.[4]
Evolutionedit
Today, Barrington Street stretches the length of the Halifax peninsula. However, the Barrington Street name originally only applied to the length of the street within downtown proper. South of Spring Garden Road, the street was called Pleasant Street. North of downtown (up to North Street), it was originally called Lockman Street. The remainder (everything north of North Street) was once called Campbell Road.[2]
The area between downtown and the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge changed drastically in the 20th century. In order to serve the bridge, hundreds of properties were demolished in this area and this section of Barrington Street was partially converted into a limited-access highway. No shops front on this section of the street anymore.
The construction of the multi-level Cogswell Interchange in 1970 separated Barrington Street into two discontinuous sections; the street now interchanges with itself at this point. That is, a driver heading south toward downtown who exits Barrington at the Cogswell Interchange will wind up on the south section of Barrington Street. Continuing straight through the interchange, Barrington splits into Hollis Street and Lower Water Street. The Cogswell Interchange is slated to be demolished in the near future. In the current redevelopment plans, Barrington Street would form a continuous street once again.[5]
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Barrington Street is a major street in Halifax Nova Scotia Canada running from the MacKay Bridge in the North End approximately 7 km south through Downtown Halifax to Inglis Street in the South End Its civic numbers range from 950 to 4756 on the Halifax Peninsula street grid numbering system Barrington StreetMaintained byHalifax Regional MunicipalityTransportation amp Public WorksComponenthighwaysTrunk 2North endHwy 111 Windsor StreetMacKay Bridge44 39 45 2 N 63 37 22 1 W 44 662556 N 63 622806 W 44 662556 63 622806 Barrington Street North Terminus MajorjunctionsNorth Street Macdonald Bridge Cogswell InterchangeSouth endFoundry Lane Inglis Street 44 38 7 6 N 63 34 9 9 W 44 635444 N 63 569417 W 44 635444 63 569417 Barrington Street South Terminus View southward on Barrington StreetBarrington Street is centrally located within the original Halifax street grid laid out in the 18th century It remains one of the main streets of the city and is home to numerous shops office buildings and the Halifax City Hall Contents 1 History 2 Evolution 3 Intersections 4 Notable places 4 1 North End 4 2 Downtown 5 References 6 External linksHistory editBarrington Street is part of the original street grid laid out by engineer John Bruce and surveyor Charles Morris when Halifax was established as a British fortress The streets were named after leading British statesmen but the origin of the name Barrington Street is reportedly unclear One account suggests the street is named after William Barrington 2nd Viscount Barrington who served as a Secretary of War but was an unknown in 1749 when Halifax was founded Others say the street name is derived from a misspelling of the Earl of Harrington the Secretary of State 1 Barrington Street sits halfway up the slope to Citadel Hill and has long been a main street of Halifax After the town s founding it became a fashionable street for promenading In 1766 the eastern sidewalk was planked and became known as the mall until it fell into disrepair in the 1820s and was dismantled 1 By the 19th century Barrington Street was the main commercial district in Halifax 2 Horse drawn streetcars began operating on Barrington Street in 1866 These were replaced by electric streetcars by 1896 3 The street saw big changes in the mid 20th century with massive demolition under the banner of urban renewal A huge swath of the downtown area north of Duke Street was cleared for the development of Scotia Square and the Cogswell Interchange The Birk s Building at the George Street intersection along with several adjacent smaller structures were demolished in the early 1990s This site is now under the ownership of the provincial government and remains one of the most prominent surface parking lots in the downtown core 4 Evolution editToday Barrington Street stretches the length of the Halifax peninsula However the Barrington Street name originally only applied to the length of the street within downtown proper South of Spring Garden Road the street was called Pleasant Street North of downtown up to North Street it was originally called Lockman Street The remainder everything north of North Street was once called Campbell Road 2 The area between downtown and the Angus L Macdonald Bridge changed drastically in the 20th century In order to serve the bridge hundreds of properties were demolished in this area and this section of Barrington Street was partially converted into a limited access highway No shops front on this section of the street anymore The construction of the multi level Cogswell Interchange in 1970 separated Barrington Street into two discontinuous sections the street now interchanges with itself at this point That is a driver heading south toward downtown who exits Barrington at the Cogswell Interchange will wind up on the south section of Barrington Street Continuing straight through the interchange Barrington splits into Hollis Street and Lower Water Street The Cogswell Interchange is slated to be demolished in the near future In the current redevelopment plans Barrington Street would form a continuous street once again 5 Intersections edit nbsp Barrington Street shops near Sackville Street Nova Scotia Highway 111 Africville Road Glebe Street Vestry Street Rector Street Duffus Street N Marginal Road Richmond Street Hanover Street Young Street Devonshire Avenue Niobe Gate Bridge Marjorie Russell Lane North Street Macdonald Bridge Valour Way Artz StreetNotable places edit nbsp Halifax City Hall North End edit CFB Halifax Cogswell Interchange Halifax Shipyard Mulgrave Park Richmond Terminals and railyard Downtown edit Bank of Commerce Building Barrington Place Shops The Book Room Dalhousie University Sexton Campus former Technical University of Nova Scotia Delta Hotel Barrington Government House Grand Parade Granville Mall Halifax City Hall The Khyber Maritime Centre Province House Scotia Square St Mary s Basilica St Paul s Church TD CentreReferences edit a b Algie Susan ed June 1981 Barrington Street Bulletin 7 3 Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada 2 6 a b Sampson Paul A September 2001 Reinvigorating the Urban Heart Directions for Revitalizing Downtown Barrington Street Halifax Regional Municipality PDF Dalhousie University Sandalack Beverly Nicolai Andrei 1998 Urban Structure Halifax An Urban Design Approach Halifax TUNS Press ISBN 0929112423 Province HRM Conclude Land Exchange Province of Nova Scotia 21 January 2010 Retrieved 13 August 2015 Cogswell Transformed PDF Halifax Regional Municipality March 2014 Retrieved 13 August 2015 permanent dead link External links editMap all coordinates using OpenStreetMap Download coordinates as KML GPX all coordinates GPX primary coordinates GPX secondary coordinates 44 39 23 96 N 63 35 5 86 W 44 6566556 N 63 5849611 W 44 6566556 63 5849611 Barrington Street Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Barrington Street amp oldid 1162390094, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
