Mills Brothers Building Meets Wrecking Ball

You’ve likely walked by it dozens of times and never given the building a second glance. Or maybe you noticed the oddity of a Tudor styled building in downtown Halifax. I’m talking about that long, beige and brown trimmed shopping centre on Spring Garden Road that up until recently housed a variety of shops, including the well-known Duggers. This location is the Mills Brothers building.

Mills Brothers building October 2020 — The Mills Brothers Building (taken Oct 31st, 2020).

Over the last years, stores have been emptying out in preparation for the block to be torn down. The demolition will make way for a new development by Micco Group, set to be finished by 2023. Originally the demolition was planned for this summer, but seems to have been delayed to November 2nd, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

When I heard that the leveling was back on, I knew that I needed to visit. I arrived to see metal fencing around the building, signs in store windows informing customers of new locations and warnings that the building will be deconstructed.

Mills brothers building set for demolition November 2nd, 2020. A fence is currently around the property.. — Photo taken October 30th, 2020.

For the longest time, I just stood there. I stood there staring at the vines wrapping their fingers around sides of the building. I stood there looking at the darkened detail of the trim and the peeling paint. I stood there looking in the beautifully curved windows. I stood there and I couldn’t help but shed a few tears.

Historic Mills Brothers building to be torn down. — Photo taken October 30th, 2020.

You may wonder why a historian like me is sad to see this seemly boring building go. You may even share the opinion of entrepreneur and owner of Micco Group Mickey MacDonald, who was quoted in CTV News stating:

“The Mills building wasn’t anything that was really historical; it was just a bunch of old buildings that were all pieced together,” says MacDonald. “They had that Tudor front on it – but that was the only thing that was really of any significant, I think.”
– Mickey MacDonald, owner of Micco Group

In another article written by the Chronicle Herald, MacDonald, referring to the building, states:

“There’s nothing historic about it.”
– Mickey MacDonald, owner of Micco Group

MacDonald is correct in stating that the Tudor front of the Mills Brothers building made it stand out on the Halifax landscape. However, as MacDonald admits, he is ill-informed on the historical significance of the block.

Here I am, your local historian, about to go on a bit of a rant to share with you some of the history of Mills Brothers and this block of Spring Garden.

Mills Brothers Limited opened in 1919 and ran for 96 years. Operated by brothers Hugh and Willet Mills, the store would become a Haligonian household name. Hugh was a well known local radio host and figure in the Halifax theatre community. Willet was an accountant. The department store quickly became a shopping destination, with Nova Scotians traveling across the province to rummage through its racks.

In 1939, Hugh Mills established the Halifax Herald Concert Party. The Concert Party organized entertainment for military personnel in the city and parts of Nova Scotia until 1946. Running the Halifax Concert Party was a family affair, as Mill’s wife Jeanie and his sister Gertrude also worked to ensure the organization’s operations ran smoothly.

As Ross wrote in her 2020 M.A. thesis (yes, that’s me):

“Hugh Mills was known as the networker for the Concert Party, often coming up with the big-picture ideas for the group. Jean Mills was the organizer, making sure that her husband’s ideas came to reality. Gertrude Mills scheduled performers, connecting them with costumes, props, and instruments.”
– Kirby Ross, Music, Movies, and Meals: Halifax’s Local Contributions on the Home Front

This work often took place at the Mills Brothers store.

Past employee Charlotte Guy (married Jeffries) worked at Mills Brothers and was revered as one of the shop’s best employees. She was also a talented musician, and through her connections with Hugh was recruited into the Halifax Concert Party. The piano accordionist, along with hundreds of other volunteers, helped bring smiles to the faces of soldiers and sailors alike through singing, music, dancing and comedy. By the end of the war, Mill’s civilian concert party was one of the most successful in the country. The group was funded by the Canadian government to travel to Europe, tasked with entertaining troops waiting to be sent home. You can learn more about her life in Dorothy Grant’s “Turn the Other Cheek”. Patrick O’Neill also covers the Halifax Concert Party.

In 1966, the old building (you can see a 1957 photo here) burnt down. A new Tudor styled building replace the old store while still keeping some similar stylistic choices such as the curved top windows and height. The façade has since become a staple of Spring Garden. As an easily recognizable and unique building in the downtown, the Mills Brothers’ building brought charm and character to a city that is now rapidly replacing historic building with high rises.

In 1972, Mills acquired 1479 Birmingham (most recently The Daily Grind) to expand their operations.

Historic Mills Brothers block to be torn down. — Taken October 31st, 2020.

The shop continued to attract customers for decades afterwards. The business was passed down through family. However, as department stores became a thing of the past, so did Mills Brothers’ success. Stephen Kimber cites different opinions from locals on the decline in his article “Who killed Mills Brothers?”. Blamed is everything from the homeless, the target audience of over-40 women, high bills and taxes, as well as terrible city planning. In this article, Kimber states “MacDonald blamed the street people who hang out on Spring Garden for scaring away rich lady customers, and called for more police.”

MacDonald did put efforts into keeping Mills Brothers running and finding buyers more knowledgeable about women’s fashion. The business planned to move locations in 2012 when bought out by a group of four women, but regardless saw receivership and closure in 2015.

Yet the Mills Brothers building is not the only historically significant part of this Spring Garden block. The building next door at 5409 Spring Garden (most recently Duggers) housed the revitalized Ajax Hospitality Headquaters (formerly the Ajax Club) after their location on Tobin Street was shut down. Janet McEuen, founder of the organization that once aimed to bring beer to sailors in a respectable setting, shifted her efforts to finding accommodations for sailors serving during the Second World War.

Outside of these two buildings, this area of Halifax belongs to historic Schmidtville. Established in the 1830’s, this neighbourhood one of the first outside of the fortifications of the city. The area is named after captain Christian Wilhelm Schmidt, a German man who moved to Halifax and married Elizabeth Pedley. Her father, a merchant and land owner, gave much of this land to Elizabeth in his will. When her husband died in 1830, Elizabeth split the land into 79 plots. The area became known as “Schmidt’s Ville” (later Schmidtsville). Made up of immigrants from Greece, Germany, England, Scotland as well as Jewish individuals, the neighbourhood was a diverse community. As the plaque below states, Schmidtville has faced issues surrounding demolition of homes from the community. It is now recognized as a Cultural District by the city of Halifax.

Historic Schmidtville plaque outside the Halifax Central Library. — The “Historic Schmidtville” plaque, currently in need of repairs. Photo taken October 31st, 2020.

The Halifax Military Heritage Preservation Society also notes the city’s military connection to the area in their post on the Mills Brothers’ Block, though sourcing is lacking on their post.

In its later years, Mills Brothers helped support The Mental Health Foundation, The QEII Foundation, Symphony Nova Scotia, Neptune Theatre, and the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (see Ian MacLellan’s obituary, previous owner and president of Mills Brothers Limited).

Are these details the only historically relevant ones? Of course not. While my focus on entertainment in Halifax during the Second World War led me to focus on organizations such as the Halifax Concert Party and Ajax Hospitality Headquarters, there are many more stories, perspectives, and histories that touch the Mills Brothers and its block between Birmingham and Queen.

I get that Mickey MacDonald and Micco Group are just doing their job. I understand that this block of Spring Garden Road is prime real estate. I know that these buildings are old and could use some repair.

What I don’t respect is the uneducated stance that Mickey MacDonald has taken against the historical significance of Mills Brothers and accompanying buildings of the block. Or generally the location and how vital it has been to Halifax’s cultural and social history. I also don’t understand the lack of attention being drawn to demolitions like this one.

Halifax is a city existing on the balance of old and new. Charming yet innovative. But is this balance being maintained? At what point do we, residents of this city that credits much of its income to tourism, feel that the line is being breached?

Whether or not anyone shares my view that the Mills Brothers building and block has historical significance, it’s scheduled to be torn down on November 2nd, 2020. I can’t help wondering if I’ll feel similarly to witnesses of the 1974 demolition of the Captiol Theatre. Replaced with the Maritime Centre, I can’t say that it holds the same level of historical significance as the Capitol Theatre did. I have doubts that another new high rise will bring the same character to Spring Garden as Mills Brothers does currently. Nonetheless, I’ll be there on Monday, watching a historic landmark see its end.

I’ll leave you with this clip from one of Hugh Mills aka Uncle Mel’s CHNS Halifax radio shows: