What to See in Dartmouth - Top Sights and Attractions

Bridge in Nova Scotia, Canada. The Angus L. Macdonald Bridge is a suspension bridge crossing Halifax Harbour in Nova Scotia, Canada; it opened on April 2, 1955.

The bridge is one of two suspension bridges linking the Halifax Peninsula to Dartmouth in the Halifax Regional Municipality.

It is named after the former premier of Nova Scotia, Angus L. Macdonald, who had died in 1954 and had been instrumental in having the bridge built. The bridge was designed by Philip Louis Pratley, one of Canada's foremost long-span bridge designers who had also been responsible for the Lions Gate Bridge in Vancouver. The bridges have a similar design, which is most notable in the towers. The contractor was Dominion Bridge Company Ltd.

The bridge regularly experiences traffic congestion during rush hours as a result of the structure's proximity to the downtown cores of Halifax and Dartmouth, as well as its narrow width. Large commercial vehicles are not permitted to cross and must use the wider MacKay Bridge to the northwest. Public transit buses are allowed to cross and the bridge links several Halifax Transit routes. In 2014/15 the average number of vehicle crossings per month was 1,183,095.

As of January 3, 2022 the toll charge to cross for regular passenger vehicles is $1.25 cash or $1.00 with the MACPASS electronic toll system. The original toll, when the Macdonald opened in 1955, was 40 cents plus 5 cents per passenger. There was also a separate toll for trucks, cyclists, pedestrians, motorcycles and horses/rider.^[1]

The Halifax Waterfront Boardwalk is a public footpath located on the Halifax Harbour waterfront in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Constructed of durable heavy timber, the Halifax boardwalk is open to the public 24 hours a day. The boardwalk also includes shops at Bishop's Landing and the Historic Properties buildings as well as the "Cable Wharf", a former cable ship terminal now used as a tour boat base for several vessels formerly including Theodore Too. A fleet of tugboats operated from the tug wharves at the foot of Salter Street for over a hundred years, including the famous tug Foundation Franklin but in 2010 the last tugs such as Point Chebucto were transferred to Port Hawkesbury. The final working vessels to regularly operate from the waterfront were pilot boats which were based at a small pier at the foot of Sackville Street, but in late 2020 their base moved to a wharf in Dartmouth near the foot of the Macdonald Bridge. The former tug and pilotage wharves have since been partially demolished and refurbished to make way for new public amenities.

The boardwalk's southern terminus is at Halifax Seaport. It stretches northwards along the coast for approximately 3 km (2 mi) before it terminates in front of Casino Nova Scotia at its northern terminus. Three notable museums are located on the waterfront. The Pier 21 immigration museum is located at the southern terminus. The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic at the boardwalk's centre and includes the museum ship CSS Acadia. Just south of Acadia is the summer home of the museum ship HMCS Sackville.

The waterfront boardwalk is administered by the Waterfront Development Corporation Limited, a provincial crown corporation located at the Cable Wharf.^[2]

Park in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The Dartmouth Commons is an approximately 120 hectares area of land set aside by the government in the late 18th century for the settlers common use in Dartmouth Nova Scotia, Canada. Much of it is maintained by the Halifax Regional Municipality. Today the most prominent area is called Leighton Dillman Park, named after a voluntary keeper of the garden.

Other areas of the common are used by: baseball fields, the former Dartmouth City Hall, the Dartmouth Regional Library then after that the Dartmouth Heritage Museum, the Zatzman Sportsplex, Dartmouth High School, Bicentennial Jr. High School, an elementary school called "Park School" (since torn down) and two burial grounds. The baseball fields are named for Arthur H. Merrick who was a co-founder of minor baseball in the City of Dartmouth in 1950. Between the Dartmouth Sportsplex and Dartmouth High School there is the Bridge Transit Terminal, a major hub for Halifax Transit. The former Dartmouth Heritage Museum building has since been demolished, and the area it stands on was turned back into park land.

Under the "Halifax Regional Municipality Act" the municipality cannot develop the Dartmouth Common, nor charge a fee to use the ball fields. The Dartmouth common section of "Halifax Regional Municipality Act" reads:

529 (1) In this Section, "Dartmouth common" means the common of Dartmouth so far as it was vested in the City of Dartmouth on April 22, 1986. (2) The Halifax Regional Municipality shall not sell, lease, license or otherwise alienate the Dartmouth common. (3) Subject to subsection (4), no person shall build on the Dartmouth common. (4) A person may build an addition to a building located on the lands described in the Schedule to Chapter 87 of the Acts of 1994, An Act to Amend Chapter 68 of the Acts of 1986, the Dartmouth Common Act, if the building and the addition are both totally located on those lands. (5) The Dartmouth common is held by the Halifax Regional Municipality in trust for the inhabitants of the municipality. 1998, c. 18, s. 529.

Recent amendments to the Act:

It is recommended that subsection 529 (4) be renumbered to 529 (4)(a) and clause 529(4)(b) be added as follows: (b) The Municipality may build, expand or improve: i) transit facilities, fronting on Nantucket Avenue; and ii) parking lots for the Sportsplex, on the Dartmouth Common to a maximum of 24,000 square metres (5.9 acres).^[3]

Theatre in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Alderney Landing is a convention centre, art gallery, market, events plaza and theatre facility in Downtown Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. It was opened in May 1999. The theatre hosts many concerts, conventions and other events, and is the home of Halifax Theatre for Young People, San Family Productions, Coastal Dance, Maritime Marionettes.

The market on the lower level of Alderney Landing is home to a weekly farmers market, the Craig Art Gallery, Evan's Seafood Restaurant, the Casaroma Wellness Centre, Meadowvale Meat Market, a Noggin's Corner outlet and a Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation retail store.

The parking lot on the north side of the building bordering the harbour doubles as a large outdoor multi-use space called the Events Plaza, which can be used for outdoor concerts or festivals. There is a large stage build on one side of Alderney Landing facing the events plaza, with a permanent roof, used for outdoor concerts which can accommodate up to 10,000 people. There are also washrooms and electrical facilities on the opposite end of the plaza.

Alderney Landing hosts various outdoor events each year including; Canada Day Concert, Natal Day Events, Mother Goose Festival, Bluenose Ghosts Festival, and the Christkindlmarket.

When the complex was constructed it was integrated via a pedway into Alderney Gate, an existing building housing municipal government offices and the Dartmouth Regional Library (now a branch of the Halifax Public Libraries) completed in 1990, and the Halifax Transit ferry terminal built in 1979.^[4]

Bridge in Nova Scotia, Canada. The A. Murray MacKay Bridge, known locally as "the new bridge", is a suspension bridge linking the Halifax Peninsula with Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and opened on July 10, 1970. It is one of two suspension bridges crossing Halifax Harbour. Its counterpart, the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge, was completed in 1955. The bridge carries on average 52,000 vehicle crossings per day, and is part of Nova Scotia Highway 111.

As of January 3, 2022, the toll charge to cross for regular passenger vehicles is $1.25 cash, or $1.00 with the Macpass electronic toll system. Larger vehicles have higher tolls proportional to the number of axles. The Halifax-Dartmouth Bridge Commission is exploring the idea of moving entirely to electronic tolls to avoid handling tokens or cash. The A. Murray MacKay Bridge is the only harbour bridge that permits semi-trailers and large trucks. Pedestrians and bicycles are not permitted on the A. Murray MacKay Bridge; they may instead use dedicated lanes on the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge.^[7]

Lake in Nova Scotia, Canada. Lake Micmac is a freshwater lake located in the Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Located entirely within the community of Dartmouth, Lake Micmac is also known as 'Second Lake' for its position in the Shubenacadie Canal system.

The lake is bordered on three sides by roads: Waverly Road on its eastern shore, Highway 118 on its western shore, and Highway 111 on its southern shore; the bridge carrying this latter road also separates Lake Micmac from Lake Banook. The north shore of Lake Micmac is occupied by Shubie Park, a large urban park. There is also private beach frontage known informally as 'Mossman's Beach' on the northeastern end of the lake.

Lake Micmac is a popular location for water sports and boating; the lake features a boat launch at Red Bridge Pond.

Lake Micmac is named after the Mi'kmaq Nation who used the Shubenacadie portage route as a transportation corridor before the arrival of European settlers. Several pre-colonial archaeological sites have been found in the area of Shubie Park; many of the artifacts that were recovered are on display at the park's Fairbanks Centre.^[9]