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Ground Zero
In the decades since the explosion, the Graving Dock and Shipyard businesses grew, and now they are both part of the Irving empire. The Irving Shipyard is where Canada’s east coast Navy procurement program is centred; Arctic patrol vessels are being assembled here now. They will play an important role in the Canadian Arctic, as climate change frees up the waterways, and resources, that are now locked in ice.
Ground Zero, where the SS Mont-Blanc exploded, is next to where Pier 6 stood at the foot of Richmond Street. This location is now within the Halifax Shipyard, Irving Shipbuilding Inc.
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XYZ Marker
The XZY marker is a ‘counter-monument’ made by students in a Dalhousie University School of Architecture Design and Build Freelab course in the summer of 2014. The sculptural design references the use of X, Y and Z coordinates in 3D drawing, and also hearkens back to the house foundations and chimneys left on the Richmond slope after the explosion.
During the explosion, many people lost their eyesight. The XYZ marker lists the names of the known dead in Braille. After the explosion, the Canadian National Institute for the Blind established strong roots here, with so many people to assist.
The stones lining the driveway behind the XYZ marker are originally from the Richmond Printing Company, which was destroyed in the explosion. The Printing Company building was located on Campbell Road (now Barrington Street), closer to the Harbour.
Thank you for walking in the Debris Field.