You haven’t experienced Halifax till you visit the Historic Properties. Anchoring the city’s downtown core, the district hearkens back to the great Age of Sail, when merchant ships, privateers and naval ships plied the Harbour waters. Seafarers built this city, and the wharves and warehouses that were the base of operation later became known as the Historic Properties.
Noteworthy buildings of the period

include the Privateers Warehouse, which was built to support the activities of the daring sea captains who plundered enemy ships for the Crown.  It would take a book to detail all the stories behind these buildings. It’s well worth your time to spend an afternoon ambling around the area, soaking up the history. It feels as if nothing’s changed. But it wasn’t always this way. In the 1960s, the buildings were slated for destruction in the name of urban renewal.

Luckily, some farsighted citizens fought the move, and saved the buildings.  Their actions really preserved the heart of the city.  Each of these sites has been lovingly restored, with an emphasis on maintaining their unique history and atmosphere for you to experience. Many of the buildings had to be stripped down to their old wood and stone shells to recapture their former glory. But the hard work paid off. One of the first projects of its type in North America, the Historic Properties district has won numerous awards.