Downtown St. John's

Downtown St. John's
—  Neighbourhood  —
Downtown St. John's seen from Signal Hill
Country	Canada
Province	Newfoundland and Labrador
City	St. John's
Ward	2
Government
- Administrative body	St. John's City Council
- Councilor	Frank Galgay
Population
- Total	10,025
Website	http://downtownstjohns.com/

Downtown St. John's is the historic core and central business district of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Located north of St. John's harbour, it is the business, entertainment, and tourism centre with office buildings, hotels, restaurants, and other services.

The historic boundaries of downtown St. John's is usually thought to start at the harbour extend north to Duckworth Street and is bounded by Springdale Street in the west and Empire Avenue in the east. In recent years the boundaries of downtown have extended further north and usually take in Military Road or sometimes even as far as Empire Avenue, this may also be referred to as the greater downtown area.

Features

City of St. John's and The Basilica of St. John The Baptist

Business and offices

Downtown St. John's is the central business district for the city and is the centre of the oil and gas industry in Eastern Canada. ExxonMobil Canada has its headquarters in the Cabot Building on New Gower Street, as well Chevron, Statoil and Suncor Energy along with other oil and gas companies have major operations downtown.^[1][2] Fortis Inc. have their headquarters in the Fortis Building on Water Street and they own and operate several of the office buildings and hotels downtown.^[3] All of the Big Five Canadian banks have operations in the downtown core as well.

Historic buildings

St. John's is the oldest city in North America,^{[citation needed]} which has meant that many buildings throughout the city, specifically in the downtown core, have been designated by either the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada or the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador as Historic Places.^[4]

Shopping

Downtown features some of the finest shopping in the city available with fashionable clothing boutiques for men and women, and unique specialty stores. Art galleries, bookstores and music stores featuring the work of local artists are scattered throughout the downtown area.^[5]

Nightlife

The internationally renowned George Street is located downtown, as the focal point of the city's nightlife, the short street is populated mainly by bars and pubs. It is believed that George Street has the most pubs and bars per square foot of any street in North America, and it is known to have bars that are open later than most others throughout Canada.

George Street, St. John's

The street is the venue for an annual Mardi Gras celebration in October. However, the largest celebration on George Street is the six-night George Street Festival which occurs at the end of July or early August and typically concludes on the Tuesday night before the Royal St. John's Regatta, which is set for the first Wednesday in August. The festival is rumoured to be the largest of its kind in North America with over 120,000 people making their way through the streets during the six-day period.

Entertainment

The Mile One Centre is located in downtown St. John's. It is the main sports and entertainment centre in the city and one of the finest entertainment centres in Canada. Built in 2001, it has been the home of the St. John's Maple Leafs and the St. John's Fog Devils, and it also plays host to many of the concerts that visit the city. In April 2010 Mile One as well as George Street hosted the Juno Awards for the second time.^[6]

The Downtown Busker Festival is an annual event held in August. The festival is the only one of its kind in the province and features local talent as well as national and international performers.^[7]

Culture

Downtown St. John's is home to The Rooms, Newfoundland and Labrador's cultural facility, which unites the Provincial Museum, the Provincial Art Gallery and the Provincial Archives all under one roof.^[8] The A1C postal code in the downtown area is known to have one of the highest concentrations of artists in the Canada. ^[9]

Downtown St. John's

Accommodations

The Delta Hotel on New Gower Street

Many of the hotels located in the city of St. John's are located in the downtown area, with many major hotel chains as well as local establishments maintaining a location there.

List of hotels

• Battery Hotel & Suites
• City Hostel
• Courtyard by Marriott St. John's^[10]
• Delta St. John's Hotel^[11]
• Duckworth B&B
• Ryan Mansion^[12]
• Quality Hotel – Harbourview^[13]
• Sheraton Hotel Newfoundland^[14]
• Spa At The Monastery And Suites

Government

Municipal

Downtown St. John's is the home of the St. John's City Council Chamber at city hall. Offices for the mayor, city councillors, and additional staff are also located in city hall.^[15]

Federal

The Newfoundland and Labrador office for the regional federal minister is located downtown, as well many Federal Government departments and agencies are also located downtown in different buildings including: the Sir Humphrey Gilbert Building and the John Cabot Building.

Demographic

There are 10,025 people living in the downtown area. 52.5% are less than 35 years of age. 36.6% are between the ages of 36–64 and 10.4% are over the age of 64. The average age is 35.9 years and there are 4060 private households.

Water Street (2005)

Duckworth Street

See also

St. John's portal

• St. John's
• Newfoundland and Labrador

External links

• Downtown St. John's

References

1. ^ ExxonMobil Canada moving to St. John's
2. ^ Suncor Energy Contacts
3. ^ Fortis Properties – Property Profile
4. ^ Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador. Heritagefoundation.ca. Retrieved on 2010-11-26.
5. ^ Shopping - Downtown St. John's
6. ^ 2010 Junos set for St. John's. CBC News January 22, 2010
7. ^ busker busker – Downtown St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. Downtownstjohns.com. Retrieved on 2010-11-26.
8. ^ The Rooms. Therooms.ca. Retrieved on 2010-11-26.
9. ^ The Rock's capital is rockin' again
10. ^ "Courtyard St. John's Newfoundland". Marriott. http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/yytcy-courtyard-st-johns-newfoundland/. Retrieved 24 July 2011. 
11. ^ "Delta St. John's Hotel and Conference Centre". Delta Hotels and Resorts. http://www.deltahotels.com/hotels/hotels.php?hotelId=7/. Retrieved 24 July 2011. 
12. ^ Ryan Mansion
13. ^ Hotels, Rooms, Reservations – Choice Hotels Canada. Choicehotels.ca. Retrieved on 2010-11-26.
14. ^ "Sheraton Hotel Newfoundland". Sheraton Hotels and Resorts. http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=3455. Retrieved 24 July 2011. 
15. ^ http://www.stjohns.ca/cityhall/index.jsp