The West End is a

neighbourhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

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 ...

in the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

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 ...

, located on the western half of the Halifax Peninsula. The West End is predominantly middle class with many blocks of tree-lined older residential streets. However, it is also home to many students and small low rent units. Rising real estate prices have also led to some levels of gentrification.

Boundaries

The border between the West and South End's of Halifax has crept north as the southern section has

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 ...

. While Jubilee Road has long been considered as the southern boundary, some now regard Quinpool Road as the area's southern edge. Quinpool is generally considered the heart of the West End, and site of such landmarks as the West End Baptist Church, the Oxford Theatre and a diverse array of small businesses. The northern boundary is also subject to interpretation but is widely regarded as Kempt Road and Windsor Street. The western boundary between the West End and Mainland Halifax is generally considered to run from the Northwest Arm and northward along Dutch Village Road and Joseph Howe Drive. The neighbourhood is defined municipally by District 14 Connaught-Quinpool and provincially as the Constituency of

Halifax Chebucto Halifax Chebucto is a provincial electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. It is one of several ridings within the Halifax Regional Municipality. It encom ...

History

For the first century and a half of Halifax's history, the area of the West End was occupied by small farms and country estates. It was developed in the 1870s as residential streets were laid out. The growth of

streetcar A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...

lines accelerated development. Chebucto School was built in 1912 to serve the expanding neighbourhood and the building served as a morgue for 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 ...

as it was close to the north end but relatively undamaged.

In 1931, "Bluebell Farm" between Chebucto and Bayers Road was converted to Chebucto Field, the first airport in Halifax with terminal buildings near Connaught and Chebucto Road. Today the air field location is marked by Saunders Park. Simpsons built a large department store in the West end in the 1930s, the first retail centre outside the downtown. The large remaining open areas of the West End filled with housing after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

with many blocks of Victory Houses and 1950s suburban homes. The West End was severely affected by Hurricane Juan in 2003 as the high density of large, older trees in the neighbourhood resulted in many toppled trees, damaged houses, blocked streets and prolonged power outages. A major controversy in 2008 was a project to widen Chebucto Road. Opponents argued it would increase traffic volume, noise and waste two million dollars better spent on

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 ...

, while supporters argued it would reduce commuting times and congestion in the expanding municipality. Despite a widespread protest by environmentalists and West End residents, and after some consultation with residents and a public information campaign, the widening went ahead, albeit slightly altered in that it did not require the demolition of a house originally set to be destroyed."Chebucto Road Reconstruction", ''The Coast'' June 19, 2008
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Notes

References

* Raddall, Thomas H. (1948) ''Warden of the North'', McClelland and Stewart Ltd, Toronto. * Erikson, Paul A. (2004) ''Historic North End Halifax'' Nimbus, Halifax. {{coord, 44, 39, 0.03, N, 63, 37, 16.64, W, region:CA-NS_scale:100000_type:city, display=title Communities in Halifax, Nova Scotia