Hal Forbes - Historic Renovator

Though it’s been a few years since he passed away, Hal Forbes is never far from my mind. Reminders are everywhere. The Jubilee House we live in would not exist without his encouragement and wonderful work. I think there’s hardly a block in Halifax or town in Nova Scotia that doesn’t seem a little nicer because of his ideas and inspirational work.

You don’t have to be an architect, planner, or design expert to appreciate his work. It’s a ‘you know it when you see it’ kind of thing that just makes your heart a little happier. It’s about colour, texture, symmetry, materials, quality, and proportion that keeps ornamentation just inside the accessible bounds of timeless style.

It has a quality without a name that will echo on our streets and through the efforts of those who worked with him for generations to come.