Auction Hunter.

Earlier this year, a great Halifax institution called Victoria Hall closed its doors.  Once a wonderful home for dignified elderly women, this century-old institution bowed to financial pressures, found new homes for its residents and closed.  I had fond memories of singing Christmas carols there in elementary school.  I know people whose mothers lived out their lives there.  And I know that for many Haligonians, the end of Victoria Hall was a very sad thing.  I'm sure it was a mixture nostalgia and curiosity that brought so many people to the public auction held there several months after Victoria Hall formally closed. 

This historic building had grand drawing rooms full of antiques, dining halls with tables and chairs, industrial kitchens with a mix of equipment, and room after room of assorted things.  The Hall needed to sell off their assets before the grand building was put up for sale or development.  And the building was absolutely packed!

One of the grand parlour rooms.  Keep your eye on that amazing chair on the right.

 

There were a couple things I was specifically interested in for our new house - mostly chairs.  And did I ever end up with chairs!

 

Don't worry!  I didn't buy all of them.  But I did come home with 8 (and at a great price).

 

I ended up buying a total of 11 chairs that day and a glass-front bookcase. 

 

By the end of the auction, there were only a dozen or so of us left.  With the building emptied of both people and possessions, it suddenly became eerie.  Like the end of an era. 

I'm deeply sorry that this wonderful place no longer exists but I will forever treasure the pieces that came from there and will do my best to respect their history.