How often I walk by places and wonder about their stories. Perhaps because my father built homes, I have a particular affinity for buildings. One of my favourites in Halifax is The Waverley, which is now a boutique Inn. I wrote a story which was published in the Chronicle Herald but in case those stories eventually go away, I thought I'd put it here as well.
THE HALIFAX WAVERLEY
If the walls of the Waverley Inn could talk, they would tell stories of grand parties,
interesting characters, ladies of leisure, ladies of the evening and even a ghost story or two.
In the city’s south end, The Waverley Inn stands as a beacon to a time long gone.
The bright yellow building is recognizable to many Haligonians as a landmark on
Barrington Street and its history is just as colourful.
When Halifax began, Barrington Street, from Spring Garden Road to Inglis,
was called Pleasant Street. It was on this street in 1865 that construction of a grand house
commenced. By 1867 Edward W. Chipman and his socialite wife Mahala moved into one of the
most expensive and extravagant homes in the city. From the very beginning, it was considered
a lavish place to hold social gatherings and Mahala hosted dances and parties for local society
which included British officers stationed in the garrison.
When Chipman’s dry-goods business began to fail, the house was lost to the Sheriff and sold
at auction to a local real estate investor, who flipped the property to two sisters,
Sarah and Jane Romans. It was the Romans Sisters who turned the property into the
Waverley Hotel, building an addition on to the back to accommodate more guests, making
The Waverley one of Halifax’s finest residential inns. During that time, it boasted some well-known guests including Irish poet Oscar Wilde, who has a room named after him, Anna Leonowens, the inspiration for the movie and musical “The King and I” and well known showman P.T. Barnum of the Barnum and Bailey Circus.
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| artist rendition of the Waverley in the late 1800's |
After the Romans sisters retired in 1905 the building changed hands a couple of times and in
1944, during the Second World War, it was purchased by the Blue Triangle Women's League.
The Women’s League was a charitable organization that stemmed from the YWCA. One of their
functions was to look after war brides immigrating through Pier 21 and many of these women
stayed at the Waverley before moving on to their homes across the country.
Members of the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRCNS or "Wrens") were also housed there.
Calvin Blades is the manager of the Waverley and has worked there for the past 25 years.
He has met some of these women, who have returned for reunions. They remember their time
at the hotel fondly.
“They tell of a much different time back then. For instance, when they wanted to have gentlemen
callers, it had to be supervised visits in the sitting room. They certainly didn’t go out alone, or
entertain in their rooms.”
Blades was hired by owner Abe Leventhal who had purchased the Inn in 1950’s. By this time,
The Waverley, and the neighbourhood was in a decline. In fact, for a while, the area from
Spring Garden Road to Inglis Street was Halifax’s red-light district, so it’s no surprise that
The Waverley saw its share of illicit action, with some of Madam Ada McCallum’s girls sitting in
the lobby.
When Leventhal and his business partner first purchased the property, it was as a redevelopment
project. The initial thought was to tear down the building and put up a motel complex but luckily
they didn’t act on that idea right away. Later, those plans changed when Leventhal and his wife
Elaine, were visiting her family in Massachusetts. They noticed the trend throughout
New England was to renovate old Victorian homes into inns and B&Bs and they saw the potential in the Waverley. It wasn’t until the early 80’s that this plan was put into action.
Elaine Leventhal wanted to restore the inn to an upscale property, and that meant the clientele
had to change and the ladies of the evening were no longer welcome.
Mrs. Leventhal’s taste was more on the lavish side, so the decor became quite opulent with
plush burgundy carpeting and dusty rose embossed wallpaper. Most of the Victorian antiques
were acquired at this time.
Although he has been there for 25 years, Blades said he originally had no intention of staying
that long. But the Leventhals made it “a fun place to work with a kind of family atmosphere” and
the returning guests became friends as they came back several times a year, over the years.
Other long-time staff stayed for the same reason. Calvin remembers the Leventhal's going to
dinner in the evenings and popping in afterward to drop off a meal or dessert to him as he worked the front desk.
In the 1990’s, Abe Leventhal entered into an agreement with the provincial government to allow
refugees to stay in the hotel. Drita Marshall, who fled her home in Albania, was one of those
guests. She credits Mr. Leventhal not just for providing her with a temporary home, but a job as
well. She remains on staff today.
There are other “returning guests” that become a topic of conversation at the Waverley, those
of the ghostly variety. The Waverley has been the subject of several television “ghost hunter”
type shows. Staff and guests alike claim to have seen the same apparition of a Victorian era
woman in a long dress. She has been spotted in the hallways and sometimes sitting at the foot
of a bed. No one seems to know who she was in life, but in death, all reports say there is positive feeling, nothing malevolent, so the Waverley ghosts is a friendly and agreeable guest.
Upon the death of Abe Leventhal three years ago, the fate of the Waverley was in question. As a location of prime real estate, there was much interest and an offer was accepted. Known for building condominiums, Nassim Ghosn had every intention of tearing down The Waverley and putting up a modern building. But once again, the Waverley’s charm saved it from the wrecking ball. When Ghosn walked through the place, learned its history and heard stories from the staff, he decided that the Waverley had to stay The Waverely. And once again, the inn is in the hands of a family.
Major plans are underway for renovations, with a new, modern building behind and the original
building to remain. The Ghosn’s hope to open up the main level as a cafe or restaurant while
keeping the Victorian feel in the original guest rooms upstairs.
For over 150 years the Waverley Inn has weathered many storms, literally and figuratively
speaking. It has survived the Halifax Explosion, world wars, economic decline and threats of
demolition. It is rooted into Halifax’s history and grounded to see its future.
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