"Old St. John's" a St. John's Travel Page by crummey

St. John's is the capitol of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the province's seat of government and the centre of education; with both Memorial University and College of the North Atlantic situated there.

St. John's is an old settlement with permanent structures being recorded there as early as the late 1500's. Although the settlement is quite old there are few buildings more than 150 years old.

The city has a long history of fires sweeping through it and if you are there for any length of time, it is likely you will see some sort of fire in the east end, the old section of the city; A section renowned for it's rows of aging wooden attached houses.

St. John's, and all of Newfoundland, has a strong identity with much culture, heritage and pride. However, like most all of Newfoundland it is cronically under-employed. That has led to slow yet continuous exodus of youth. The names Twillingate Street Campbell River BC, Newfoundland NJ and Newfoundland PA all testify to this fact of history.

And the exodus continues. They say that "if you do not put 2000 miles between Newfoundland and wherever you are then you do not know what it means to be a true Newfoundlander."

It is also said that Newfoundland is a great place to skip stones, drink home brew, play darts in the shed and to sleep with other mens wives.

It is erie how true both of these statements can be.

Newfoundland is a grand and wonderful place. But to gain secure, permanent and meaningful employment can be hard.

If you visit St. John's you will probably be enchanted by the attitude of the people inhabiting this port town. On one hand they appear rather xenophobic and parochial. While on the other exceedingly welcoming and hospitable to all sorts of strangers, either from the fishing ships that bearth there or the people who are brought to this city by chance or design.

A visitor to St. John's should check out the Roman Catholic Bascilica, and Fort Amherst light house. It is also recommended that the visitor see THE SHIP INN situated on Duckworth Street.

On almost any weeknight or on the weekend, The Ship Inn is a warm, cozy, family oriented bar. They serve lunches and have live entertainment from the many talented local artists.

The Colonial Building was Newfoundland's seat of government. The stone for it was imported from Waterford, Ireland. In its time, it had been where the government debated war , taxes, enfranchising women and confederation. It has also been the sight of demonstrations, armed robberies, riots and festivals.