August 2026 - St. John's NL
Aug 25 Tuesday
For breakfast I had the BLT croissant which included an egg and melted cheese.
After breakfast we relaxed. We got an Uber to The Rooms. It is not far but St. John's streets are very steep, rising sharply from the harbor up into the surrounding hills with inclines reaching nearly 24% in some areas. And it was very humid! An Uber was needed.
On August 25, 2026, St. John's experienced quite a humid and muggy day, with local meteorologists noting it was one of the most "moist" and humid air masses of the summer. Relative humidity in St. John's reached a minimum extreme of 33% during the drier parts of the afternoon, while typical daily maximums climbed much higher towards near-saturation overnight and morning hours.
St. John's reached a maximum temperature of 27.6°C (81.7°F).
Local reports noted it was the warmest day of August and one of the most oppressive of the year.
Maximum Temperature: 27.6°C (81.7°F)Maximum Humidex (Feels Like): 37°C (99F).
By just 8:30 AM, it had already reached 24°C, feeling like 33°C.
Trust me, this is not normal temperatures for St. John's!
This is where we are heading, taken from our room. The Rooms and Basilica dominating the skyline on the left.
The Rooms is a cultural facility that houses the Art Gallery, Provincial Museum and the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland. It was opened in 2005 and sits on a hill overlooking St. John’s on the same location that was occupied by Fort Townshend. Together with the Basilica of St. John the Baptist , the two buildings dominate the skyline.
The name The Rooms and the building’s architecture refer to the simple gable-roofed sheds (called “fishing rooms”) that were commonly found at the waterline in Newfoundland’s fishing villages.
It was windy! That little blue sign tells you to hold on!
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I can't believe this is the only Christopher Pratt that I found, especially since Christopher Pratt and Mary Pratt are synonymous with Newfoundland art and Christopher actually served as the gallery’s very first curator.
The Rooms holds thousands of pieces in its permanent collection, including massive holdings of the Pratt family's work. However, public galleries do not have a permanent, unchanging wing for local masters. Instead, over 95% of their collection is safely stored in climate-controlled vaults beneath the building to protect the art from light damage and deterioration.
Incredible!
Another incredible viewpoint.
The permanent exhibition at The Rooms that beautifully links Ireland with Newfoundland is called Talamh An Éisc (The Fishing Ground).Talamh an Éisc (pronounced Tal-am-ah an Eshk) is the traditional Irish-Gaelic name for the island of Newfoundland. It literally translates to "The Land of the Fish"—the only place outside of Europe to have its own unique, centuries-old name in the Irish language.
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The cod liver oil feature in the Here, We Made a Home exhibition at The Rooms highlights the iconic Munn’s Genuine Cod Liver Oil brand, which was produced in Harbour Grace, Newfoundland.
Before modern pharmacy chains, a bottle of Munn’s Cod Liver Oil was a permanent fixture on the kitchen shelf of almost every house on the island. Because of the long, dark subarctic winters, Newfoundland children were highly susceptible to rickets (bone weakness caused by a lack of sunlight). Mothers administered a dreaded daily spoonful of the foul-tasting oil because it was a powerhouse source of natural Vitamins A and D.
The gallery also displays how cod oil wasn't just medicine; it was a fundamental raw material used to build and maintain the outport home. It was burned directly in small, forged iron lamps (known as "crusie" or "chill" lamps) to light up dark timber homes before electricity arrived.
The Famous Red Paint: To protect their houses, stages, and stores from severe Atlantic weather, settlers mixed raw, fermented cod liver oil with cheap red ochre powder. This created a cheap, highly durable, water-resistant stain that gave Newfoundland's coastlines its iconic historic red-ochre fishing stages.
The museum curators actually went on a public hunt to source vintage cans of Maple Leaf Potted Meat specifically to complete this glass-case display. Potted meat—a finely ground, seasoned spread of beef and pork—was a staple of the "outport pantry". Spread thick on a piece of hard bread or a fresh touton, it was a quick, high-calorie meal for workers heading out to the fishing grounds.
If you look at early printed newspaper advertisements from George Neal's wholesale business (dating back to the early 1900s), you will frequently see listings for "Potted Head" selling for about 10 cents a pound.Potted Head is a traditional meat jelly made from the boiled meat of a pig or cow's head, seasoned with spices, and set in its own natural gelatin. It was a incredibly popular cold meal slice in old St. John's, sold right alongside Libby's Special Plate Beef and family pork barrels at the Beck's Cove wharves.
Ron Hynes (1950–2015), affectionately known as "The Man of a Thousand Songs," is widely considered the ultimate godfather of Newfoundland songwriting.
The museum is hosting a dedicated tribute exhibition titled Between Time and Tide: Ron Hynes and His Songs on Level 4.5.
The Rooms Exhibition Highlights
The "Lost" Leather Jacket: The exhibit features Hynes' iconic black leather gig jacket. It was missing for over a decade and miraculously recovered by his nephew, Joel Thomas Hynes, just days before the exhibit opened.
Archival Listening Station: You can listen to the very first recording of his masterpiece, "Sonny's Dream," alongside completely unreleased tracks pulled directly from his private archives.
Click here to see the Hynes memorial from our 2022 trip, it also includes more photos of St. John's and the Irish Loop.
George Neal (1865–1936) was a prominent St. John's merchant who founded George Neal Limited in 1894, a major wholesale grocery, auctioneering, and shipping business located downtown at Beck's Cove. The company operated successfully for nearly a century until 1992.
Because George Neal Ltd. was deeply embedded in local trade, shipping, and early transportation (even co-managing the historic Bell Island ferry and beach tramway systems), The Rooms Provincial Archives holds iconic historical imagery related to the company. A well-known artifact in their public photography database is the vintage image of a George Neal Ltd. delivery truck parked on Water Street in front of Marshall Brothers.
See the clock? It is the actual game clock from the historic Newfoundland Arena (later famously known as the St. John’s Memorial Stadium).
The clock sitting on that display is not a reproduction—it is a massive, rescued piece of local sports history.
The Original "Arena": Built in 1937 on Pennywell Road, the Newfoundland Arena was the crown jewel of local sports, hosting legendary, packed hockey games between bitter rivals like the St. John's Capitals, the Guards, and the Feildians.
Prominent downtown merchants like George Neal Ltd. were major corporate sponsors of these early hockey leagues and teams. Their physical branding, delivery crates, and mercantile advertisements were plastered all over the arena boards and scoreboards.
Bob Cole—Canada’s most iconic hockey announcer—got his very first start broadcasting Senior Hockey games right under that exact clock at the Newfoundland Arena!Before he became a national treasure on Hockey Night in Canada, Bob Cole was a young man in St. John's.
In the late 1950s and 1960s, Cole sat in the broadcasting booth at the old Pennywell Road arena. He called high-stakes local games while staring directly at that timing clock to keep track of the periods.
During a fiercely contested local game, a stray clearing puck rocketed high into the air and smashed directly into the glass face of the clock hanging over center ice, shattering it. Bob Cole was calling the play live from his makeshift broadcast booth, and the sudden smash became one of the most memorable unscripted moments of his early career.
If you look very closely at the face of that clock sitting atop the George Neal display at The Rooms, you can actually see the physical remnants and markings of that classic hockey mishap.
Our hotel is on the far left, between the yellow and red tugs. And no, that is not a far walk at all.
Leaving The Rooms, we were going to the Basilica and then planned on walking back.
The Basilica-Cathedral of St. John the Baptist was built between 1839–1855 and sits on the highest ridge overlooking St. John’s city. St. John the Baptist is the mother church and symbol of Roman Catholicism in Newfoundland and the largest building project in Newfoundland history. It was also the largest church in North America, but today it’s the second-largest church in Canada after the Saint Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal. The Basilica Cathedral is one of the few buildings that survived the Great Fire of 1892.
A Catholic church is any building used for Christian worship, ranging from a small neighborhood parish to a large structure. A basilica is a special title given only by the Pope to a Catholic church that has unique historical, spiritual, or architectural importance.
Exterior Architecture & The Grounds
The Resurrection Gate (Lychgate): Added to the front lawn in 1857, this historic outdoor entry arch features a "triune portal" designed to welcome visitors.
The Twin Towers: The 46-meter limestone and granite towers contain a historic system of bells, including the massive, two-ton St. John Bell in the East Towe, which was cast in Dublin and won a gold medal at the 1850 Dublin Exhibition.
Sacred Art Highlights
The Dead Christ Sculpture: Located beneath the high altar inside the sanctuary, this celebrated white marble masterpiece was carved by renowned Irish sculptor John Hogan in 1854.
Sculpted out of a single flawless block of Carrara marble it depicts Christ immediately after being taken down from the cross. It is widely considered Hogan's greatest masterpiece and is famously the only version of this sculpture located outside of Ireland.
While the Basilica's building stone came directly from Dublin and Galway, the Stations of the Cross were commissioned and hand-carved out of linden wood in Bavaria, Germany. They were shipped across the Atlantic and installed along the nave walls, adding rich, deep-relief storytelling to the massive Romanesque interior.
To ensure aesthetic consistency across all 14 panels—despite being carved by a workshop of multiple different artisans—the master sculptor decreed that the face of Christ on every single station had to be carved by the exact same artist. The level of detail on the Roman armor, the weeping women, and the musculature of the figures makes it one of the finest wood-carving collections in North America.
Time to head down. Altogether we had spent three hours between the museum and church.
Oh, a distraction!
The Canadian Peacekeeping Monument. The surrounding park incorporates specific symbolic features, including a metal railing shaped like a dove, a stone courtyard floor with red brick detailing to symbolize spilled blood, and burning bushes that turn deep red during autumn.
The physical and religious landscape of St. John's has undergone a massive, painful transformation.While mainline Protestant denominations (like the United Church and Anglican Church) have faced gradual closures due to dwindling congregations and rising heating costs, the Roman Catholic Church in St. John's experienced a sudden, devastating structural collapse.The widespread closure and sale of Catholic churches in the city stem from a specific, tragic history.
The Supreme Court of Canada held the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John's "vicariously liable" for horrific, historical sexual and physical abuse committed by the Christian Brothers of Ireland at the Mount Cashel Orphanage.The Financial Toll: Faced with claims totaling tens of millions of dollars, the Archdiocese was forced to file for bankruptcy protection to raise the funds required to compensate the survivors.
Churches on the Auction Block: To pay out these court-ordered settlements, the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador approved the liquidation of church assets.
Over 40 properties were sold off in the initial waves alone, including 18 of the archdiocese’s 34 parish churches. Beloved local institutions like St. Patrick's, St. Pius X, and Mary, Queen of Peace were sold to private developers, community organizations, or real estate groups.
Even the historic Basilica Cathedral of St. John the Baptist (above)was sold. However, it was purchased for over $3 million by a dedicated local non-profit foundation specifically formed to keep it open as a functioning place of worship.
This is fully operational and actively holds regular worship services. Located at 16 Church Hill, it serves as the oldest Anglican parish in Canada.
The most famous "mummers tour" in St. John’s, NL is the annual Mummers Festival and Parade, a free two-week celebration held every winter. Rather than a commercial guided tour, it is a massive, participatory cultural event where locals and visitors dress up in disguise and fill the streets.
John suggested a beer, it was hot! at The Ship Inn, I was sceptical... It turned out to be a lovely, interesting pub.
John ordered a plate of fries, they were so good. And another link to Rob Hynes!
Located down Solomon’s Lane at 265 Duckworth Street, The Ship Pub is the long-standing "artists' bar" of St. John's. It serves as a historic sanctuary for local singer-songwriters, poets, and actors.
Ron Hynes performed countless times on The Ship's stage throughout his decades-long career. When he passed away in November 2015, the music community completely packed the pub for an emotional tribute night on the exact date he had originally been booked to play a solo show.
While we were there, a food walking tour came in. Then they were setting up for their trivia night.
Back at our corner, Duckworth and Hill O'Chips, the hotel's address is 2 Hill O'Chips.
Our final mission of the day and the week - Terry Fox Monument – We finally found the starting point of Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope on the northern side of Water Street. It’s not particularly well signed but worth the effort to find. In fact, it would be the only reason you would walk down here.
As an aside, we walked by the Fort William Station Condominiums (16–18 Water Street) generally costs between $450,000 and $650,000, depending heavily on the size of the unit and the directness of the harbor view.
Premium executive penthouses in the building (such as Unit 401) have been listed for $629,900. These include top-tier custom luxury finishes, multiple bedrooms, large balconies overlooking the Narrows, and underground garage parking stalls.
Based on the weather forecast we had decided this morning that we would eat at the hotel. Good thing, as it poured.
The food was delicious, mainly Italian, all made in house. John's pepperoni sourdough pizza. He loved it.
Everyone knows, I am not a pasta fan!! But this was beyond delicious. The pasta was perfect along with salmon, shrimps and scallops.
