[2] The neighbourhood was designed by architect Thomas Adams to provide housing for working-class families displaced by the Halifax Explosion in 1917.

[3] 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.

Today, the Hydrostone has become a gentrified area, sought after by young professionals and small families for its ample green space and proximity to shops and transit.

Recently, this newer generation has been buying and renovating the area's homes, pushing up property values and displacing longtime residents.

In 2011, the Canadian Institute of Planners named the Hydrostone the Second Greatest Neighbourhood in its inaugural Great Places in Canada contest.