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Note from editor: On Canadian Originals on CTV National News, Atlantic Bureau Chief Todd Battis puts the spotlight on The Hydrostone -- a unique neighbourhood in the north end of Halifax. Read Todd's blog below and watch his report above.

And if you know a 'Canadian Original' we should be featuring, please email us your ideas at originals@bellmedia.ca.

In the north end of Halifax sits a unique neighbourhood.

A dozen streets laid out in a grid, separated by tree lined boulevards and back alleys. A tidy collection of row homes, in groups of four and six. Fronting it, a block long collection of shops, restaurants and offices.

It all combines to give one the feeling of being in England. And in a way, they are.

The Hydrostone, as it's called, was the first area of its kind in Canada. Today it's a popular place to live among young families, retired couples and urban professionals. Desired for its proximity to downtown, parks, school and shopping.

Homes, albeit cozy, rarely stay on the market for long and fetch top dollar.

Last spring the area was named by urban planners as Canada's second best neighbourhood. Not bad for an area built in a hurry nearly a century ago.

It rose from the darkest chapter in Halifax's history: December 6th, 1917 -- the day when two ships, the Imo and Mont Blanc, collided in Halifax harbour.

The explosion killed more than two thousand people and injured many more. Homes, largely built of wood, were blown apart. Others burned in fires. Much of the city's north end was wiped out.

Estimates put more than five thousand people without a place to live. Immediately city leaders set out to rebuild.

British architect Thomas Adams was hired to put the neighbourhood and its families back together. He chose what was at the time in England, a new, bold plan called the Garden City movement. It featured row-houses with small front yards, back lanes and boulevards, in a defined area.

Recognizing the tight deadline, he constructed the homes and shops with locally-sourced "hydro-stone". The cement blocks served another purpose; they reassured survivors of the explosion that their new homes wouldn't suffer the same fate as their previous ones.

The Hydrostone renewed confidence and hope in the city's residents. Decades on, city planners use the neighbourhood as an example of sustainable development.

A place born of tragedy that is now envied in Halifax and beyond.

(View from Fort Needham of the hydrostone housing under construction, date circa 1918)

Thomas Adams, British town-planning pioneer and founder of the Cdn planning movement (Photo courtesy Michael Simpson, University College of Swansea, Wales.)

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