St. John’s

We’ve recently returned from a holiday in Newfoundland, Canada’s newest province, having joined us in 1949. Our first stop was St. John’s the provincial capital and largest city (population 112,000). Any visit to St. John’s must include some of its best known landmarks, Signal Hill, the Battery, Jellybean Row, Fort Amherst and Quidi Vidi to name but a few.

Today’s photos will include scenes from each of these locations.

The first picture was taken from Signal Hill just after sunrise, looking south along the Atlantic coast. In the middle of the scene is Fort Amherst. Fort Amherst is a neighbourhood located on the southern side of the Narrows, the entrance to St. John’s harbour. Apart from some family dwellings, Fort Amherst consists of a man-made harbour, a lighthouse and the remains of gun emplacements built during World War II to defend against German U-boats. The original fortifications at Fort Amherst, built in the 1770s, are no longer visible. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1951. The first lighthouse in Newfoundland was built at Fort Amherst in 1810. The current lighthouse (no longer active) was built in 1951.

This scene, photographed from the Fort Amherst side of the Narrows, shows the harbour and the city in the distance.

Moving along the narrows toward the city, I took this next picture of a residential neighbourhood known as the Battery. Perched on the side of a cliff, it’s known for its colourful homes.

The Battery is not the only neighbourhood in St. John’s known for its colourful homes. Located on the north side of downtown St. John’s is Jellybean Row. As the name suggests, this area’s buildings are multi-coloured row-houses. The “official” story behind the colourful homes in St. John’s is that the vibrant colours enabled sailors and fisherman to better see their homes as they sailed into the harbour, often enveloped in heavy fog.

Today’s final photograph was taken at Quidi Vidi, a neighbourhood within the city of St. John’s. It was once an historic fishing village; today, it’s a mostly a tourist attraction, a very pretty one. This picture was taken in the harbour area which honours its heritage.