HALIFAX — From the original Oxford Theatre film projector to letters spelling out the iconic name of Morse’s Teas through multiple bathrooms, Garrison Brewing’s new taproom is a celebration of Halifax history.

The Oxford, located in a former beauty salon and attached to the historic theatre after which it’s named, officially opens Friday on Quinpool Rd. featuring a small-batch brewery, taproom, and retail space.

“This space is jaw-droppingly beautiful. There’s so much character here, and there’s so much history, and we’re thrilled to be able to be the ones to bring that alive and celebrate it,” said Brian Titus, Garrison president, during a media preview in the taproom Thursday morning.

Bright sun filters through the large front windows of the space, spilling over hand-painted tables featuring movie quotes, a vintage 1970 Triumph motorcycle on display, and a large neon Oxford sign across the exposed brick of one wall.

The process around bringing the brewery to life began last December, Titus said, when Garrison become an “anchor” tenant of the property next door to East Peak Climbing — currently renovating the original theatre space into a climbing gym.

Theoretically, Titus said the Nanco Group landlords could have torn down the historic building (which opened in 1937) to make way for new development, but that would have been a “big blow” to the area to see a wrecking ball crash through those walls.

Instead, Titus said he signed a 10-year lease for the space which he intends to renew again and again — so with Garrison and the gym in place “this building’s never going to go.”

Although Titus said they didn’t “save” the theatre property per se, there was a slight sense that time was running out.

“We’re part of a process that will make sure that this building stays here for a long time.”

The taproom sits in the old Elegant Touch beauty salon space, which Titus said was locally owned for decades by a woman who recently retired. They exposed the original brick walls and 14-foot wooden ceilings during renovations, and also created a retail space in the former Halifax Passport Photo location which has since moved.

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Titus is aiming to fill the taproom with Halifax memorabilia and local references, and many Oxford souvenirs have already found their way over — including the theatre’s original Century model movie projector which Titus discovered by chance on Kijiji.

The person who was selling it had managed to snag the projector when it was clear the Oxford was being shut down in 2017, Titus said, and stored it for a couple of years.

“That was a huge score,” Titus said, adding that ultimately it will be displayed on a wall bearing the Century model name and surrounded by other projectors to “tie into that history.”

They have also saved the theatre’s projection room door, which bears the names and graffiti from anyone who worked as a projector operator over the decades, as well as those in the local film industry dropping into the Oxford for movie premieres. It was a local tradition for those people to sign the door, Titus said, so they’ve mounted it behind Plexiglas in the brewery to freeze it in time.

For fans of the original cosy Tom’s Little Havana space on Doyle Street which moved to Birmingham Street before rebranding for good this spring, Titus has salvaged “quite a few” familiar pieces for the taproom including their booths, and a framed cigar painting.

“(They were) one of our original accounts, so fond memories for me, but fond memories for a lot of people,” Titus said.

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There’s also an upstairs space with couches, chairs, local art and a dart board. Titus hopes that space will be used by community groups, rented out for holiday parties, or used on a daily basis by students doing their homework.

That space houses one of the silver statues which stood on either side of the theatre’s big screen, as well as original wooden pews from the Christian Science Church torn down at the corner of Inglis and South Park streets.

Titus noted that church, an 1895 building, also was the source for stained glass above the taproom’s front door and some hanging lights.

By walking down the taproom’s hallway and glancing into the handful of bathrooms and dish room, a word puzzle will also reveal itself: black letters spell out ‘The Home of Morse’s Teas’ a few letters at a time.

The Morse’s Teas building is a historic downtown building that gets its name from the local company that called it home for over 70 years. Its iconic sign was painted over in 2012.

“We wanted to celebrate not just the building, and not just Quinpool, but really sort of Halifax,” Titus said.

Titus said they’ll also eventually be putting out a call for unique pieces of Haligonian history to display in the brewery, for anyone who might have a unique trinket sitting in their garage.

The taproom is not licensed as a bar or restaurant, which means people can bring their dogs or kids since they won’t be offering spirits or food in-house. Instead, patrons can bring in food from the many nearby restaurants including King of Donair next door.

The tap list will feature a regular lineup of Garrison beers available at their original Seaport location as well as smaller, more experimental offerings made on-site in their 100-litre brewery, said brewmaster Daniel Girard.

For their first small-batch beer, Girard said he’s leaning toward a hoppy IPA, and although he hasn’t picked the specific hops yet he’s thinking about Loral and Bravo varieties.

The Oxford is also hopefully the “first of many” new developments and businesses on Quinpool now that the first half of the Centre Plan (a long-awaited set of land-use planning documents) has been passed by council, Titus said.

Many are already in the works, including projects replacing a McDonald’s and a pizza joint on Quinpool Rd. with apartments and commercial space, as well as the 25-storey Willow Tree development.

“There are millions and millions of dollars that are going to get sunk into this street,” Titus said.

“We need to reset what people’s expectations are of this street, and make them see it as something other than perhaps just what it is. It’s great to celebrate the past, but if you lock yourself in a box and you can’t change, that’s a problem.”

The Oxford taproom officially opens Friday at noon. After that, regular hours for both the taproom and retail store will be Sunday to Thursday from noon to 10 p.m., and noon to 12 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

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