A view along Water Street, St. John’s, Newfoundland.
St. John’s, Newfoundland:
A Hilly Harbor Town Perched on the Eastern Edge of the Continent
The dramatically beautiful harbor town of St. John’s – the capital city of Newfoundland and Labrador and the oldest city in North America – is located on the northeast coast of the Avalon Peninsula in southeastern Newfoundland, and its perch overlooking the Atlantic Ocean brings visitors to the very edge of the continent. It is a city renowned for its northern hospitality: the denizens of “The Rock” (as Newfoundland is affectionately known) love visitors and welcome them year-round, adding an open-arms charm to what is already a spectacular destination of striking views, hiking trails, salty history, and attractions.
Windswept Signal Hill combines all of those attributes: this National Park site sits atop a serpentine road and overlooks the city’s mile-long harbor and its basin – dubbed The Narrows – which at one point is a mere 200 yards of water. The titular “signal” in this hill’s name comes from Guglielmo Marconi, he of wireless fame, who in 1901 received the first wireless signal from Europe. The hill itself was conducive: it’s a high promontory, very nearly the easternmost point land in North America, and its colorful sandstone cliffs contain no iron to interfere with electromagnetic current traveling from 1,250 miles away.
The Signal Hill National Historic Site.
For centuries, the French and English fought over St. John’s, a natural fortress and stunning port. Although its codfish supply is now virtually depleted, the city was a major source of fish for much of its history: indeed the Bristol Company Adventurers established it as a fishing station in 1503.
The city’s history is evident in the local patois, with words like “streel” (unkempt person) and “misky” (wet and foggy) having morphed from centuries-old English expressions into a vocabulary that is unique to these islanders: call it Newfoundlandese. The Newfoundland dialect, too, is unmistakable, its lilting brogue undiluted due in part to the province’s relative isolation.
George Street after dark.
Until 1949, when Newfoundland united with Canada, becoming its 10th province, St. John's, which today has a population of just over 100,000, was the capital of the last Anglo-Saxon, English-speaking British colony in North America – a true oddity. Although examples of its Victorian-era, British architecture remain, the city has come close to destruction on several occasions, thanks to at least five raging fires over the course of its tumultuous history.
When explorer Jacques Cartier pejoratively dismissed Newfoundland “the land God gave to Cain,” he might have been thinking of the many pedestrian hills that challenge endurance and lung capacity (there are very few taxis in St. John’s, lots of walking). One such slope – Garrison Hill – is so steep it has steps, rather than a sidewalk, and, with a flourish that would make Cartier blush, Carter’s Hill is also known as Burst Heart Hill. The streets that line the city are dotted by brightly painted, colorful wooden houses, each different from the next.
An iceberg near the Narrows at St. John’s Harbour.
Of the buildings that survived the Great Fire of 1892 (which was started when, legend has it, Tommy Fitzpatrick dropped his pipe while working in a barn), the Murray Premises, a mercantile complex and – dating from the early 19th century – the city’s oldest stone building, has been transformed into a national historic site. Also of architectural interest, a former canning factory is now the site of the Christina Parker Fine Art Gallery. And along Duckworth Street, many Victorian buildings have been restored and are now the site of many one-of-a-kind shops. (Also on Duckworth Street is the War Memorial, erected following World War I, a stunning sculpture of a foot soldier, sailor, and cavalryman.)
And in the “architectural curio” category, St. John’s boasts an original nickelodeon (“The Nickel”), which is now part of St. Patrick’s Hall in the Benevolent Irish Society building: the charming movie theater still has its original wooden seats intact.
Throughout the Atlantic Canadian provinces, live music is central to the culture, and nowhere is that more true than on George Street in St. John’s. Home to more bars per square foot than any other street in North America, George, which is closed to vehicular traffic during the evening, is decorated with restoration buildings that are transformed into pubs with names like the Black Dog, Rob Roy, and Lottie’s Place. These purveyors of fine malted barley & hops (and, it must be said, Screetch, a powerful rum named for the reaction it’s likely to produce) also traffic in thrilling live music – mostly made by fiddle, accordion, guitar, all in the service of the jigs and reels that make St. John’s such a vibrant and musical town. The downtown also has a bandshell for summer performances.
The lighthouse at Cape Spear.
The city is also home to myriad restaurants whose character and cuisine and convivial staff make dining in the city a near-constant delight. The Stonehouse Renaissance, for example, is a 19th-century stone house, and its Labrador caribou and cod tongue are rightly famous. Another local favorite is the Cellar Restaurant, located on Water Street, which features fresh seafood, pasta, and lamb, as well as an extensive wine list.
Whale- and iceberg-watching make for a dramatic way to spend a day on the water, and there are many charters that cater to such tastes. Also nearby: a world-renowned marine research laboratory (shaped like a sea anemone) – the Ocean Sciences Center – which is operated in conjunction with Memorial University and open for public tours between June 1 and Labor Day; and the Memorial University of Newfoundland Botanical Garden, a 110-acre nature reserve and nature trail, which is open from May through November.
Other worthy excursions include: Quidi Vidi Lake, a startlingly picturesque cove with a few age-old houses and a wonderful restaurant; a drive along the Southern Shore to outports like Ferryland, Witless Bay, and Aquaforte – quaint villages where time seems to have slowed, if not stopped altogether; and, a must, Cape Spear, now a National Park, which provides a magnificent ocean vista and is notably the easternmost point of land in North America.
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