Historic downtown buildings, old port-side sheds and a present day restaurant. These are just some of the locations which NSCAD University has called home over its 121 year history. Now inhabiting three locations throughout Halifax, the university has been instrumental in the rebuilding of several key historic areas. The current downtown campus block on Granville Street resides in a number of historic properties which were saved from demolition when NSCAD decided to make them its permanent home in the 1970's.
The Port Campus is the newest addition to the university, and though it looks very modern in appearance, it too has a rich history. It resides in the historic area of Pier 21 which is currently being revitalized by the city. This is another example of NSCAD contributing to the rebuilding and preservation of Halifax's historic areas, while finding a new and ever growing use for them.
The Five Fisherman restaurant, known to visitors and residents of Halifax for its excellent seafood was also once the home of the art school during the 1950's. The building housed several educational institutes--NSCAD was its last school occupant, quitting the location in 1956 to make way for the restaurant that everyone knows today.
NSCAD also spent a good portion of time occupying what is now a hole in the ground across the street from Dalhousie University on Coburg Road. It was here that NSCAD's famed Mezzanine Gallery was housed as well as an incarnation of the Anna Leonowens gallery, which continues today on the Granville campus.
From its beginnings in the Union Bank building on the corner of Duke and Granville (which it eventually came back to in the form of the modern day Granville campus), to the Academy Building on Brunswick Street (obtained in 2002) which houses the film program, to the brand new Port Campus, NSCAD is always moving and changing locations to the delight of the city which enjoys the revitalized by-product.
Ryan LeBlanc
Sources
NSCAD Press, NSCAD The Nova Scotia College of Art & Design. Halifax: NSCAD Press, 1982.
NSCAD University, “Founding”. NSCAD University. September 25, 2008
http://www.nscad.ca/about/history_1.php
“Union Bank of Halifax”. Nation Master. September 22, 2008
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Union-Bank-of-Halifax
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