Following the Halifax Explosion, many of the wood-frame buildings collapsed on their coal stoves and furnaces and caught on fire, which was a concern when reconstruction was being planned.
 To minimize the danger of fire, Adams and Ross proposed the use of non-combustible hydrostone for the reconstruction of this area.

Hydrostone was a concrete block that was finished with crushed rock (granite, in this case) to approximate the appearance of cut-stone construction.
 The concrete blocks and their faces were amalgamated through a hydraulic pressing process, patented by a Chicago firm.
 Manufacture of the blocks was done in a plant located in Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia and the finished stones were hauled across Halifax Harbour by barge.

Transporting the stones to the construction site was problematic, due to the steep rise from the harbour.
 To solve this problem and make the area more easily accessible, two diagonal streets were included in the Richmond district reconstruction plans: Devonshire Street/Avenue and Dartmouth Avenue.
Following the Halifax Explosion, many of the wood-frame buildings collapsed on their coal stoves and furnaces and caught on fire, which was a concern when reconstruction was being planned.  To minimize the danger of fire, Adams and Ross proposed the use of non-combustible hydrostone for the reconstruction of this area.
Hydrostone was a concrete block that was finished with crushed rock (granite, in this case) to approximate the appearance of cut-stone construction.  The concrete blocks and their faces were amalgamated through a hydraulic pressing process, patented by a Chicago firm.  Manufacture of the blocks was done in a plant located in Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia and the finished stones were hauled across Halifax Harbour by barge.
Transporting the stones to the construction site was problematic, due to the steep rise from the harbour.  To solve this problem and make the area more easily accessible, two diagonal streets were included in the Richmond district reconstruction plans: Devonshire Street/Avenue and Dartmouth Avenue.
The Hydrostone