1029 Tower Road

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Location

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Why it matters

Built around 1873, this beautiful house – positioned perpendicular to the street – is a Victorian era wooden cottage built in the Georgian style complete with five-sided Scottish dormers. The cottage forms part of the Tower Road Victorian Streetscape, with its extraordinary collection of late Victorian Eclectic houses. 1029 Tower Road represents the thousands of small heritage homes throughout the country under threat from insensitive infill and densification.

Why it’s endangered

The owner of 1029 Tower Road has applied to demolish the registered structure and will be eligible to proceed in a little less than two years. Under the Nova Scotia Heritage Property Act, the owner of a registered building can demolish three years after submitting a demolition permit application – regardless of the will of the municipality. This three-year rule is a weak deterrent for developers wishing to demolish historic homes to make way for new development. Its inclusion in the Tower Road Victorian Streetscape does not confer any additional protection. The pressures and insufficient protection on 1029 Tower Road are felt by small heritage homes on large lots across the country.

Every year, the National Trust publishes its Top 10 Endangered Places List as part of its mission to raise awareness of the value that historic places bring to quality of life, local identity and cultural vitality.

First published in 2005, the Top 10 Endangered Places List has become a powerful tool in the fight to make landmarks, not landfill. The National Trust believes that historic places are cornerstones of identity, community and sense of place, yet every year, more are lost due to neglect, lack of funding, inappropriate development and weak legislation. By shining a spotlight on places at risk, the Top 10 Endangered Places List raises awareness about their plight and bolsters the efforts of local advocates working to save them.