A Place for Everyone
Wednesday, July 15, 2026
(Halifax, N.S.) - Raymond Taavel Park, a corner pocket park located at Barrington and Inglis streets in Downtown Halifax just got brighter, with the installation of A Place for Everyone, a playful installation of colourful structures that form a bench, tables, and a light beacon.
Funded by the Downtown Halifax Business Commission (DHBC)’s ‘Gritty to Pretty’ grant program and conceptualized by OSO planning + design (with engagement from the ElderBerries of Atlantic Canada, and Friends of Raymond Taavel Park), A Place for Everyone was inspired by Tanya Davis’s poem written in 2013 “for Raymond, and for all of the Raymonds, which is to say: for everyone.”
“This new infrastructure celebrates the 2SLGBTQIA+ stories that continue to shape Halifax,” says Jen Frail, Project Coordinator, OSO planning + design. “The bench idea (and design) emerged from community engagement sessions and is a tribute to the hope and love it takes to build a kinder, safer, more compassionate city together.”
OSO planning + design were awarded the $20,000 grant as part of DHBC’s special ‘10 Years of Gritty to Pretty’ programming last June. The original callout asked for applications from groups (or individuals) that showed ways they could add creativity, vibrancy and queer joy to Raymond Taavel Park.
“We are very happy with the results,” says Jonathan Goldson, DHBC’s Placemaking Manager. “The park is now illuminated at night, making it safer, and it is now a place for community gathering, and play, for years to come.”
Since 2015, DHBC has supported over 50 local artists through the ‘Gritty to Pretty’ grant program, investing over $500,000 into community-driven public art. To learn more, click here.