Dartmouth, Before Being Strangled by a Beltway

dartmouth map

An interesting map of Dartmouth from around 1950. It’s quite detailed – in many cases aspirational.

the avenue-1957 black history

Check out the subdivision plan for what is now Mic Mac Mall – below the modern grid they had once hoped to construct, you can see the makeup of “The Avenue” quite clearly, a rarity for maps of the Dartmouth area. I really appreciate the attention in this plan to preserving pre-existing ROWs.

dartmouth map old ferry portland land grants

A whole plan for Manor Park that didn’t come to pass is included too.

Alderney Drive was yet to be rammed through the downtown, and the original street grid is, for the most part, still present. What would’ve happened if the Province hadn’t strangled Dartmouth’s configuration with the 111 highway? We will never know, but we get an inkling thanks to this map.

“Mapco map and directory of information Halifax and Dartmouth: and vicinity Nova Scotia with indexed streets” Map Corporation of America. 1950.  https://mdlcollections.library.utoronto.ca/islandora/object/mdl%3AG3434_H3_17

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