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Spring Heights

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1.  Description

The Spring Heights district, along the southern side of the harbor, was trendy and modern, prior to the apocalypse. The multi-story Lordslace Hotel stands proudly among other high-rise buildings, and the spindly Angus Bridge extends across the harbor, connecting Spring Heights with the Hydrostone district. Despite heavy evidence of commercial activities, the Spring Heights district also boasts two small libraries, several museums, and the sprawling Halifax Public Gardens. Once cultivated, the flora of the gardens has exploded outward, overtaking the better part of a city block. Various semi-exotic species can be found in Spring Heights thanks to the gardens.

2.  Landmarks

2.1  Angus Bridge

The Angus is the older of the two bridges spanning Halifax Harbour, and it shows. Where the McKay bridge is sturdy, the Angus sways with strong gusts of wind and seems altogether more unsteady. Littered with cars and trucks, passing over the suspension bridge so high above the water is generally enough to unnerve anyone. Parts of the bridge have begun to obviously rust, leaving streaks of orange-red on its steely gray sides. Nonetheless, it provides a direct route over the harbor where no other exists, so many Luperci are willing to chance it, despite rust and fear.

2.2  St. Mary's Basilica

St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica was a Catholic cathedral located in downtown Halifax. The facade and spire are entirely of local granite; the basilica boasts the tallest granite spire in North America. Its Norman-Gothic architecture includes Romanesque rounded arches over windows and doorways and especially massive proportions. Its main hall can fit a very large number of people, and even a tall Luperci riding a tall horse might need only stoop to avoid brushing their ears against the main entryway doors.

Sacred Heart School of Halifax

This former Catholic high school can be found in the same courtyard as the church. Segregated education resulted in two nearly identical buildings, separated by a low wall of the church courtyard. Though constructed in an imitation of the same style as the church, these buildings are clearly a more modern adaptation of the style. The school buildings lack the vastness of the church building. Both seem downright cramped and small in comparison. Within, however, can be found enough room to teach nearly three hundred students in the days of humanity. Desks, rotting papers and books, and other implements of the school are still found within the building, though some have been rooted through by Luperci seeking plunder over the years.

2.3  Lordslace Hotel

This grand hotel looms just across the street from the Halifax Public Gardens. Its walls are constructed of blue stone, decorated with arches and ornate carvings. Two stone wolves sit on either side of the hotel's entryway, their snarling faces still sharply-lined after many years. Though the Lordslace only rises twelve stories, the hotel has nearly five hundred rooms, ranging from economy suites -- still magnificent in comparison to some of the cheaper highway hotels outside of Halifax -- to the larger, more expensive suites near the top. Due to the hotel's construction, it is still standing tall -- though of course, many windows have been broken open through the years. The elements are slowly beginning to seep within, souring the former magificence of the hotel.

2.4  Halifax Public Gardens

This area was once landscaped in formal Victorian fashion; a large lawn, long since turned into an open meadow, creates the centerpiece of the gardens. Stone paths, lined with stone benches and more rickety wooden gazebos, run in straight and very orderly paths through most of the area; in a few places, such as the meadow, these paths are circular. They are all extremely sensibly laid out, however; there is no zig-zagging or willy-nilly curving in these gardens.

Several birdbaths, filled with stagnant water and generally overgrown with green moss, sit beneath trees that are now far from neatly trimmed. Sundials and statues litter the park, however, and some of the paths are lined with wrought iron gates. In addition to statues and extensive flower beds, there are three fountains, two stone bridges, three ponds (one large and two small), and a small concession building (located in the original Horticultural Hall).

There are several small lakes and ponds still supporting populations of fish -- very large Koi fish and many smaller and growing fish -- populate the gardens, leftovers from humanity. Only a few of the ponds sport this marvel, those specially designed for the fish and deep enough to keep them from freezing over in winter. Additionally, the gardens are home to numerous invasive plant species, not native to Canada. If one requires an exotic plant, this would be a top place to look.

3.  Sources

• Wikipedia:Halifax_Public_Gardens
• Wikipedia:Lord_Nelson_Hotel
• Wikipedia:St._Mary's_Basilica_
• Victorian garden