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- The Great Pontack (also known as Great Pontac, Pontack Inn, Pontiac Inn, Pontack Hotel, Pontack House, Pontac Tavern) was a large three-story building, erected by the Hon. John Butler (and run by John Willis ), previous to 1754, at the corner of Duke and Water Streets in Halifax, Nova Scotia. (Present-day sites of the Waterside Centre and the Pontac House at the Historic Properties (Halifax).)It was named after the famous Pontack Club in London. The first resident professional company in Canada was , believed to have performed at The Great Pontack, Halifax, in the summer and fall of 1768. (A lively garrison and amateur theatrical tradition emerged in the Maritimes, among these was a romantic comedy called Acadius: or, Love in a Calm, the first recorded English Canadian play, performed in Halifax in 1774.) The most famous event to take place at the establishment was on May 24, 1758, when James Wolfe, who was headquartered on Hollis Street, Halifax, threw a party at the Great Pontack prior to departing for the Siege of Louisbourg (1758). Wolfe and his men purchased 70 bottles of Madeira wine, 50 bottles of claret and 25 bottles of brandy. Four days later, on May 29 the invasion fleet departed. Wolfe returned to his headquarters in Halifax and the Great Pontack before his Battle of the Plains of Abraham. The building housed auctions, dramatic productions, balls and civic ceremonies. The building contained a slaughter-house, ballroom, public conveniences, bakers, butchers’ stalls and stabling. It was the principal hotel in Halifax. On the first floor was the kitchen. There were several assembly rooms on the second floor. There was also a large veranda which encompassed the four sides of the building off the second floor. (en)
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- The Great Pontack (also known as Great Pontac, Pontack Inn, Pontiac Inn, Pontack Hotel, Pontack House, Pontac Tavern) was a large three-story building, erected by the Hon. John Butler (and run by John Willis ), previous to 1754, at the corner of Duke and Water Streets in Halifax, Nova Scotia. (Present-day sites of the Waterside Centre and the Pontac House at the Historic Properties (Halifax).)It was named after the famous Pontack Club in London. The first resident professional company in Canada was , believed to have performed at The Great Pontack, Halifax, in the summer and fall of 1768. (A lively garrison and amateur theatrical tradition emerged in the Maritimes, among these was a romantic comedy called Acadius: or, Love in a Calm, the first recorded English Canadian play, performed in H (en)
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