Saint John, New Brunswick is a city with an interesting and rich history. In recent years, Saint John has been experiencing a bit of a boom, due to energy initiatives that are taking place and it’s interesting to see the city thriving and excited about its future. A recent book by Brenda Peters-McDermott, Urban Renewal Saint John: A City Transformed features photos that document the progression that the city experienced through urban renewal from the 1950s to the 1980s. Below are some photos from the book.

I was born and raised in Saint John, which has long been known as the industrial hub of New Brunswick, but Saint John is so much more than an industrial city. Looking at the unique history of the city, there’s so much that we have to offer. Canada’s oldest incorporated city, and the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, Saint John is located on the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. Saint John was discovered in 1604, and boasts one of Canada’s sixteen Martello Towers . It also boasts North America’s oldest city market, which has a ceiling designed similar to the hull of a ship. With numerous historic homes and remarkable architecture such as The Gothic Arches, wandering the streets of uptown Saint John is a treasure trove of aesthetic pleasures. Pictures of Saint John’s City Market and the Gothic Arches are below.

Below is a piece of a documentary by Hemmings House Pictures about the challenges of homelessness in the city. This documentary also discusses current issues of poverty surrounding some of the lower income project housing that was built during the urban development of the 1940s. Hemmings House Pictures is an award winning film and television production company based out of Saint John, New Brunswick and Halifax, Nova Scotia. They have done numerous documentaries and videos for local artists and concerts or festivals. Samples of more of their work are available online .

In 1877, the city had a devastating fire that tragically destroyed over 1612 structures including churches, banks, hotels and most public building. Making news worldwide, many residents were displaced but the community banded together and rebuilt most of what is now the uptown area, although many heritage buildings are still intact. Adam Mowery , a local musician has a song “the port city is burning.” In fact, the city boasts many local musicians and artists such as Hospital Grade , The Wooden Wives, Jessica Rhaye and so many others. The local art/music scene has so much reciprocity, love and so many people who believe in Saint John, are invested in making it a great place to live and recognize that a city is what you make of it, and they are doing everything to ensure that “Johners” can be proud to call the port city their home.

Saint John is also the birthplace of Stompin’ Tom Connors (musician) and Donald Sutherland (actor) among other celebrities.

With Barack Obama’s U.S Presidential win, history has been made . Here is a photo montage, which captures the fight for voting rights for African-Americans to today. Obama’s win caused me to reflect on a documentary that I had seen about six years ago.

Growing up in the Maritimes, it took a Non-Maritimer to introduce me to the documentary Remember Africville , which opened my eyes to a piece of Nova Scotia’s history. Around the time of the American Revolution , approximately 3000 Black persons moved to Nova Scotia. Their settlement was not easy and according to the Nova Scotia museum website, their descendants still struggle today for employment, access to education and human rights. There is more information about Nova Scotia’s Black loyalists online.

Remember Africville is a documentary, produced by the National Film Board , that is pieced together from archived photos and film. Africville was a small community in the north end of Halifax, Nova Scotia that was founded in 1840 by former slaves who escaped slavery during the American Revolution and the War of 1812. Inhabited by approximately 400 people, the community of Africville was a place where the residents were able to live in privacy and away from racism.
Below is a photo of Africville by photojournalist Bob Brooks :

As urban development progressed, the city neglected to provide Africville with running water, sewage, electricity or fire or police protection. In fact, the city saw Africville as a dumping ground, literally moving the city dump to the edge of Africville, among one of the many problems that the city forced upon this community. When the residents petitioned the city for amenities that, by this time, were considered standard, they were told it would be considered but it never was. By the mid 1900s, Africville was seen as very problematic for the city of Halifax. In 1964, as part of an urban renewal program, the city decided to relocate the residents of Africville into project housing, such as Uniacke Square , around Halifax, effectively disbanding the community of Africville. None of the families or landowners had a choice, their compensation was minimal if at all and they were forced out as bulldozers razed the community to the ground.

Remember Africville , made from archived photos and films, was created in 1991 and it speaks to lawmakers and former residents and descendants of Africville. The film won the Moonsnail Award for Best Documentary at the Atlantic Film Festival , and more than that helped to get the story of Africville out to the world. Although perhaps one of the most severe cases of racial discrimination in Canada’s history , many Canadians still haven’t heard about Africville. CBC has created an archive of radio and television footage devoted to telling the story of Africville.

Below is a snippet of Remember Africville .