Another scene on Campbell Road (today’s Barrington Street) in Halifax, Nova Scotia, before the 1917 Halifax Explosion. Photo courtesy of the Nova Scotia Archives.
The scene in 2014:
The first photo is undated, but the absolute earliest date would be 1888, although it is probably a little later than that, perhaps around 1900. A few clues give it away, with one being fairly obvious: the Coca Cola advertisement on the side of the building. Coca Cola was established in 1886, but it is unlikely that it would have made its way to Canada so quickly. Perhaps less obvious of a clue is the bicycle leaning against the mailbox; this now-ubiquitous style of bicycle, known as the “safety bicycle” – because it was safer than a penny farthing – was not developed until the late 1880s. Finally, the reference to “Kodaks” in the drugstore sign indicates that it must be 1888 or later, and probably later. Kodak was founded in 1888, but the sign seems to indicate that people were already familiar with it by then, which suggests a somewhat later date.
These photos were taken from almost the same spot as the ones in this post, just from a slightly different angle, at the corner of Barrington and Young Streets. As mentioned in the other post, this entire area would be leveled by the 1917 Halifax Explosion, and today the scene looks entirely different. In the distance is the Angus L. MacDonald Bridge, one of two that cross the Narrows of Halifax Harbour, the same area where the explosion occurred.