HTA Podcast: The Presence of the Past in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

A conversation with Hilary Grant, Heritage Officer and Senior Planner for the town of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

Colourful wooden Houses of Lunenburg. — Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, is one of Canada’s most historic towns, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This podcast served as the final virtual ‘lecture’ in my 2^nd-year course on 18^th– and 19^th-century architecture. The topic is arguably the greatest site of 18^th– and 19^th-century heritage in Canada: the town of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. My guest is Hilary Grant, Heritage Officer and Senior Planner for Lunenburg – and a graduate of our History & Theory of Architecture program.

In a wide-ranging conversation, Hilary and I chatted about her career trajectory, Lunenburg’s extraordinary heritage value, and the not inconsiderable challenges involved in being both a World Heritage Site and a thriving 21^st-century community. At the end, she gives us all a task to perform – but I’ll let her explain that to you.

Here’s our conversation:

Here are some of the features that Hilary discusses:

Rectininear grid diagram showing the street plan of Lunenburg. — The original grid plan of Lunenburg, perfectly preserved to this day.

People gather around a bandstand and listen to musicians playing in Lunenburg. — The bandstand in the public heart of Lunenburg, hosting (among many other things) the Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival.

A white wooden church in Lunenburg. — St. John’s Church, Lunenburg, re-built after a fire in 2001.

Colourful wooden houses in Lunenburg. — The vernacular architecture of Lunenburg.

Links:

Lunenburg by the Sea is a wonderful repository of archival images of Lunenburg.

You can find Lunenburg’s listing as a UNESCO’s World Heritage Site here.

All music used in the podcast was by Oliver Schroer, from the albums Whirled, A Million Stars, and Celtica. Most of Oliver’s music can be purchased through Borealis Records.

Peter Coffman

Supervisor, History & Theory of Architecture program, Carleton University

peter.coffman@carleton.ca