"Best Local Conspiracy Theory"

The Coast's Best of Halifax 2013 is out, and among the many gold winners is the maze of tunnels that are alleged to connect Citadel Hill and Georges' Island. The debunked passageway to the harbour island won "Best Local Conspiracy Theory", ahead of Bayers Lake's Holy Grail and a clean harbour. The Coast was nice enough to recommend this blog for more information on the tunnels.

Busting Harbour Myths

I wanted share this here since it is unforunately no longer available through the Government of Canada.

York Redoubt Walkabout

Earlier today I drove out to Ferguson's Cove, to York Redoubt, a National Historic Site of Canada. York Redoubt was established in 1793, and was built up over the next 150 years. The redoubt was essential to harbour defense throughout both world wars before it's closure in 1956.

I hadn't been to the area in well over a year. After double checking the time the gate would close, 6pm, I headed for the caponier tunnels. I anticipated the closure of the more extensive tunnel and was correct. The far tunnel remains open. The stairs crumbled away years ago, and the tunnel is still popular with big, ugly spiders.



I circled around to the exterior wall of the sealed caponier tunnel. There, I was able to reach in and take some crude shots of the interior.

My next stop was the cliff-side cave. It's still flooded but I was able to navigate my way inside wearing only sneakers.



After leaving the cave, I made my way down the path to York Shore Battery, and the three light emplacements just beyond it. York Shore Battery is closed because many parts of it are unstable. I was sure to watch my step venturing out on a rooftop for several photos.

York Shore Battery was built for World War Two. It was armed with three guns and controlled the mines at the harbour's entrance.

I climbed down the bank to the shoreline and approached the light emplacements from below due to the unstable terrain above. The light emplacements smelled of fresh spray paint.



From the light emplacements, I walked a beaten path straight up the hill. In hindsight, I would have preferred to walk back the way I came. I didn't fall until I could see the top. The path left me backtracking considerably to return to the parking lot.


View York Redoubt in a larger map

Related Links

• Parks Canada: York Redoubt National Historic Site
• UER.ca Location DB: York Redoubt - York Shore Battery  

Downtown Halifax Tunnels

Photo: National Resources Canada 

For decades construction crews have been bumping into passageways beneath Halifax's downtown core. The tunnels under Halifax have been written about and discussed for decades. The official line was that they were not actually passageways, but sewers.

They're definitely not sewers.

Photographs taken in 1976 show rock walls with arched ceilings, approximately six feet high, and wooden floors.

Rumours suggest that many of the older buildings that did, and still do, stand downtown could access these tunnels from their basement level.

We know there are, or were prior to development, stone passageways under many streets in the core. What we can't seem to agree on, or confirm true, is the existence of other tunnels branching out from the downtown. Some believe a tunnel connects Brunswick Street to the Halifax Citadel. Others suggest a tunnel connects the Halifax Citadel to the Halifax Armoury at the corner of North Park and Cunard Street. Both make sense, but I have yet to encounter anyone who can confirm or deny they're actually there.

Then there is the tunnel that allegedly runs from somewhere near the harbour, presumably near Sackville at Lower Water Street, and then beneath the harbour floor, eventually surfacing on the once militarized George's Island.

The George's Island under-water passage has been debunked but some of the mystery still remains in the words of 19th century mason John William Cameron. Cameron, although sworn to secrecy, claimed to have built two tunnels under Halifax- the tunnel to the Citadel as well as the tunnel to the island.

Over time I've built a map to illustrate where the tunnels might potentially lie. To my knowledge, only a few of them are at all accessible.

View Downtown Halifax Tunnel System in a larger map.

Confirmed (Blue Marker) ― These are documented tunnel entrances, some verified by photo.

Date	Entrance Location
2012	1682 Hollis St (Halifax Club)
1995	Sackville St at Lower Water St
1977	Duke St at Granville St
1976	Price St at Grafton St
1973	George St
1938	Duke St at Market St
1919	Town Clock

Rumoured (Yellow Marker) ― These tunnel entrances range from speculative to debunked.

Date	Entrance Location
1995	Prince St at Market St
-	1740 Granviille St (Dennis Building)

Blue Lines ― Represent tunnels that almost certainly do, or did, exist.
Red Lines ― Represent tunnels that do not exist, or are not likely to exist.

Link: Natural Resources Canada: Busting Harbour Myths

York Redoubt Wall Tunnels

Both underground wall tunnels were accessible this afternoon at York Redoubt.

Normally, if you can find them, they're secured with railway ties.



1.


2.


3.


4.


5.