Hydrostone Development: Design and Construction

The Heritage Trust is pleased to announce that it is resuming our popular lecture series. The 2026 theme is: Built Heritage Protection: Victories, Defeats and the Struggle Ahead.

Admission to all of our lectures is free for members and a suggested donation of $5.00 for non-members. Click here to become a member or renew your membership and support built heritage in Nova Scotia.

Entrance to the auditorium is through the side doors on the south side of the Museum of Natural History in Halifax.

Hydrostone Development: Design and Construction

Presented by Mary Reardon

On December 6, 1917, during the First World War, SS Mont Blanc, a French cargo ship carrying a full load of explosives, collided with the Belgian relief ship SS Imo in Halifax Harbour creating what would be the largest human-made explosion of its time. The explosion devastated the Richmond district of north end Halifax killing approximately 2,000 people, destroying businesses and homes, and leaving thousands of people homeless in the middle of winter in a city where housing was already scarce. Halifax found itself in the position of having to recreate a large part of its city in as short a time frame as possible. As part of the reconstruction, a newly-built planned community would grow up in the north end of the city which would eventually come to be known as The Hydrostone. This presentation chronicles that process from the history of its design, the people involved, and the chosen method of its construction to its completion, resulting in the first nationally-funded social housing project in Canada.