In the lanes of old St. John's
As an exceptionally old city by North American standards, St. John's (the capital of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador) has an abundance of winding, nonsensical lanes.
They range from wide, pedestrian-only streets, to paved pathways between homes, to simple gravel trails cutting across steep cliffs.
This morning - August 29, 2012 - I went for a walk in the rain, drizzle and fog just to show you some of these lanes, a few of every type. I hope you enjoy!
First, you need the proper music to enjoy these lanes. I recommend this cheesy, awful classic:
• Video Link
And now, let's begin.
I'll start with an example of one of the larger, downtown lanes. Many of these would be wide enough to carry vehicles if not for the steep hills/stairs.
This, for example, is McMurdo's Lane. Note that the downtown lanes aren't deserted but often have entrances to businesses. Generally, the hills are steep enough that the business on the first floor of any given building will have its main entrance on the street the building faces. However, businesses on the second and third floors will instead of their main entrances in the lanes or facing the next street uphill.
It's fun and interesting to, for example, enter a bar at ground level on one side, walk to the other side of the bar to look out the window, and be four floors above the street below, without ever going up a single stair.
When the lanes are adjacent to green space, they can be very romantic:
And here is an example of a simpler downtown lane, which is basically just a alley that's actually used:
And now an example of a typical residential lane. These lanes are actually used by vehicles and pedestrians. Sometimes drivers have to fold their side-view mirrors down just to make it through, but they do.
There are many such residential lanes, and they range in size and attractiveness:
And many, of course, are not used and become typical North American alleys, full of trash. This lane is between a building currently being converted into condos and a home:
Most the lanes that end up like this one aren't through-lanes, meaning you can go in them, but the only way to leave is to come back out the way you came. Those, obviously, enjoy no common pedestrian use and are therefore dirty catch-all areas.
Many of the buildings downtown have metal fire escapes in their lanes. These are almost never barricaded, of course, so locals and tourists can climb up almost to the roof of buildings such as the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador. It's terrifying, but offers spectacular views of the city.
I'll share this picture to demonstrate, even though I took it on a similarly foggy day several weeks ago. I'm about half-way up the metal fire escape of the Supreme Court building (to my left). I was afraid to go farther but I can up as high as the building rises to my left. You have to remember that the ground below drops away as steeply as the metal fire escape rises, so after just a few stairs you're already high enough that it would be fatal to fall.
And that's your tour of the many types of lanes in St. John's. I hope you enjoyed it!
September 3, 2012
Pathway by
SignalHillHiker, on Flickr