St. John's, Newfoundland Canada

The City completed a Downtown Strategy for Economic Development and Heritage Preservation in 2001, seeking to accommodate new development while preserving the character of downtown. The Downtown Strategy won a national award for planning excellence from the Canadian Institute of Planners in 2002. A follow-up report is available:

Heritage Areas, Heritage Buildings, and Public Views (1.59 MB)

St. John's (http://www.stjohns.ca), the capital city of Newfoundland and Labrador, has over 100,000 residents. According to tradition, Venetian explorer Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot) sailed into the harbour on behalf of the English monarch on the feast day of St. John the Baptist, June 24, 1497. From its early days as a fishing station and small town, St. John's grew to become the administrative and commercial centre.

The city was ravaged by fires several times, the last being the Great Fire of 1892. Consequently, most older buildings date from that period, though a few go back to the early 1800s. In 1977, the St. John's Municipal Council proclaimed its heritage conservation area, one of the first in Canada, and set up its Heritage Advisory Committee. The area was expanded in 1984 and 2004. It now encompasses 271 hectares (670 acres) and approximately 6,000 properties.