The Halifax Club
When the Halifax Club was founded, the American Civil War was on and Halifax was booming. Halifax was a wealthy city based upon the Navy, shipbuilding, fishing, lumbering, international trades, mining and agriculture, as well as being noted for its manufacturing and banking. Three of today’s existing chartered banks, the CIBC, the Bank of Nova Scotia and the Royal Bank, have their roots in Halifax.
On January 22, 1862, 15 distinguished gentlemen of Halifax met in the Hollis Street office of Robie Uniacke to organize what was to become known as The Halifax Club. These men, whose names served as a Who’s Who of Halifax at that time, were William A. Black, Mathers Byles Almon, Edward Binney, Captain W.W. Lyttleton, Colonel W.J. Myers, Edward Kenny, S.A. White, James C. Cogswell, Henry Pryor, John Tobin, Robert Morrow, Alfred G. Jones, M.B. Almon, Jr. and William Cunard.
In May 1862, the land on Hollis Street was purchased for $8,000. In November 1863, the building was completed and as noted in the London Illustrated News: “…is situated on Hollis street and presents a bold and striking appearance. The style is Italian Renaissance, the ground and first stories are decorated with Roman Doric and Ionic orders…”
The Club prospered along with the business community. The full time manager was paid 30 pounds per year and the first telephone was installed in 1879, one of the first in Halifax. Along with dining and cigars, the Club was a place where the members played billiards and in 1902, a ping pong table was also added to the Club. The cost to play in those days was 15 cents for a half hour.
In 1912, the club was completely renovated at a cost of over $40,000. This included the refinishing of all walls and floors, the remaking the kitchen and the installation of a new heating system. At this time, the Club was renting six telephone lines, each housed in an elegant oak and glass booth, at a cost of $180 each.
Prohibition hit Halifax and the Club in 1916. The loss of revenue from selling spirits meant that the members’ dues had to go up from $50 to $60.
While it did not itself suffer much damage in the tragic Halifax explosion of 1917, the Club did house the many doctors who came from New England to tend to the city’s wounded.
In 1920, several members of the Club formed the Bachelors’ Club, a group of men that would meet on selected Saturday nights to play cards and enjoy a fine meal. This organization is still going strong today.
During the Second World War, Halifax and the Halifax Club were humming. The membership swelled with all of the military officers in town. Along with cards, billiards and fine meals, the Club also held dances and other entertainment to alleviate the stresses of wartime.
After the war was over, the Club was still run on the English model of a Club and many of the staff were from England. However, times were changing. Restaurants and licensed establishments were opening up in the city and the Club was no longer the only place in town to go to enjoy fine dining and entertainment.
One change was that up until 1985, women were not allowed in the Club until after 5:00 p.m. In that year, Noella Fisher became the first female member of the Club. Since that time, the Club has elected its first female president and the use of the Club has been opened for use by non-members. Today, while the building retains its old world charm, the atmosphere is much more casual, and the “old boys” image is now a thing of the past.
This brief summary of the Halifax Club has been largely extracted from the book The Halifax Club 1862-1987 which was produced by the Club in 1986.
Many thanks to E.G. (Ward) Skinner for compiling this historical summary.
