Bannerman Park was officially opened in 1891. Sir Alexander Bannerman, Governor of the Colony of Newfoundland from 1857 to 1864, donated the land to create the park.
Today, the park is surrounded by historic buildings and Victorian bed and breakfasts, as well as Bannerman Park Suites. It contains a public swimming pool, playground, a baseball diamond, a skating rink in the winter and many large grassy and gardened areas.
Signal Hill was home to the final battle of the Seven Years War in North America in 1762, known as the Battle of Signal Hill, in which the French surrendered St. John’s to a British force under the command of Lt. Colonel William Amherst. Lt. Colonel Amherst renamed what was then known as “The Lookout” as “Signal Hill,” because of the signalling that took place upon its summit from its flagmast.
Construction of the Cabot Tower on Signal Hill began in 1897 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee and the 400th anniversary of John Cabot’s landfall. The tower became home to a Marconi wireless station.
Nowadays, Signal Hill and Cabot Tower are two of the key tourist attractions in St. John’s and hundreds of people walk the trails around Signal Hill every day in the summer months.
The Johnson Geo Centre is a geological interpretation centre located on Signal Hill. Most of the centre is located underground, in an excavated glacial formation that shows the exposed bedrock of the hill. The museum is named for philanthropist Paul Johnson and opened in 2002.
No trip to Signal Hill is complete without a trip to the Geo Centre to see why Newfoundland is affectionately referred to as “The Rock.”
The Rooms is a cultural facility in St. John’s. The facility opened in 2005 and houses the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Provincial Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The facility was constructed on a hill overlooking the port city, at a historic location once occupied by Fort Townshend. The building can be seen from almost any point in St. John’s and at one of the highest points in the building, one can sit down to a delicious meal in The Rooms Cafe and enjoy the unrivalled view of the St. John’s Harbour.
The Basilica-Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in St. John’s is the metropolitan cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John’s, Newfoundland and the mother church and symbol of Roman Catholicism in Newfoundland.
The Basilica-Cathedral was the largest building project to its date in Newfoundland history. Construction lasted from the excavation of the ground in May 1839, through the laying of the cornerstone in May 1841, until the completion and consecration on September 9, 1855. At this time, it was one of the largest church buildings in North America.
George Street is a two-block long, pedestrian-only street in St. John’s that houses nothing but bars, pubs and restaurants. The street has the most bars and pubs per square foot of any street in North America, and is known to have bars that are open later than most others throughout Canada.
The street is the venue for an annual Mardi Gras celebration at the end of October and the George Street Festival, which occurs over six nights in early August.
