Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and Halifax Citadel

We left early this morning to drive into Halifax to visit the Maritime Museum and the Halifax Citadel. We took Hwy 333 south to Peggy’s Cove and continued on Hwy 333 as it wound around the different bays and coves before it turned inland and took us into the city of Halifax.
We found a place to park just off of Sackville Street. We stopped at a Visitor Center a couple of blocks away to get information on the Maritime Museum and the Citadel. We walked on down Sackville St. to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.

From Halifax

At the Maritime Museum we paid for our senior tickets ($7.75 each) and started looking at the exhibits. On the first floor we saw the Small Craft Gallery, Model Ship builders, Navy Gallery, Convoy Gallery, Lifesaving Exhibit and the Halifax Explosion.

We entered a small theater and watched a slide presentation of the Halifax Explosion. On December 6, 1917 the French ship Mont-Blanc (loaded with 2,300 tons of wet and dry picric acid, 200 tons of TNT, 10 tons of gun cotton and 35 tons of benzol) was struck by the Norwegian vessel Imo and a fire broke out on the Mont-Blanc. Fearing an immediate explosion, the crew abandoned ship and the ship eventually drifted to the north end of Halifax where it exploded. Over 1600 homes were destroyed, 12,000 homes damaged and 6,000 people were left homeless. Over 1900 people died and over 4,000 people were injured. This was the largest man-made explosion before the atomic age.

We then went up to the second floor to see the Age of Steam, Shipwreck Treasures, Days of Sail and the Titanic exhibits. In the Titanic exhibit we saw pieces of carved panels, shoes of an unknown child, and the only intact deck chair.

From Halifax

We then walked back up the hill to where we had parked the car and drove up Sackville Street to the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site. The Halifax Citadel is part of the Halifax Defense Complex and consists of the Citadel, York Redoubt, Prince of Wales Tower, Georges Island and Fort McNab that the British built in the 18th and 19th centuries. The current Citadel, completed in 1856, is the 4th fort built on the hill since 1749.

From Halifax

We paid $3.25 to park at the Citadel and $10.50 each for senior tickets to enter the fort. Since it was lunch time, we located the Coffee Shop inside the Cavalier Building where we bought a couple of sandwiches. We found an empty table and had a very good lunch. Then we started on our tour of the Citadel.

Out on the parade grounds some of the 78th Highlanders were practicing marching in formation. We saw the soldiers’ barracks, guard room, Citadels exhibit, and Army museum before walking around the upper walls.

From Halifax

From the upper walls we had a terrific view of Halifax and Halifax harbor. While we were on the upper walls a fog started moving in from the Atlantic Ocean toward Halifax.

From Halifax

We had a great time visiting this fort and learning about the history of Halifax. The photo below is one of our favorites and we just happened to be at the right place at the right time.

From Halifax