Recognized Federal Heritage Building · 1914–1916McGregor Street Armoury515 Machray Avenue
Photo: Amakuha · CC BY 4.01historic place on the registers
History of St. John's · Canada’s heritage registers
An older town: 75% of St. John's’s homes predate 1961
The typical town has 18%: St. John's has 4.3 times the share. On the registers, the town counts 1 historic place. For every 10,000 residents that makes 1.2, ahead of 80% of Canadian towns. It is McGregor Street Armoury, a recognized federal heritage building begun in 1914.
Historic places
1
1.2 per 10,000 residents
Highest designations
0
National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings
Other federal designations
1
Recognized buildings, railway stations, lighthouses
Oldest building
1914
the first construction date on its record
Homes built before 1961
75%
typical town: 18%
The map
Where St. John's’s history is
Every place on the registers inside the town, by its designation.
Other federal designations
Hover a dot for its name; tap one to open its page.
The 1, by tier
1 Other federal designations
The federal directory kept by Parks Canada supplies most of these places; provincial and municipal lists outside Québec aren’t open data, so only the ones Wikidata documents with an article appear.
Points from Wikidata (Parks Canada’s files carry none) and from Québec’s register, as mapped there.
Other federal designations
One more federal designation in St. John's
Recognized Federal Heritage Buildings, heritage railway stations and lighthouses. Each one opens its own page.
Around the town
28 designated places lie within 5 km of St. John's
North St. Boniface, South Portage and Broadway-Assiniboine hold most of them, among 10 towns. Battle of Seven Oaks, 1 km off, is the nearest of 21 top-tier places. The record reaches back to 1738 with “Forts Rouge, Garry and Gibraltar”, 4.2 km away.
The 12 nearest, within 5 km
| Cathedral of St. JohnProvincial heritage site · 700 m away, in Luxton |
| Battle of Seven OaksNational Historic Site · 1816 · 1 km away, in Seven Oaks |
| Seven Oaks House MuseumListed historical resource · 1952 · 1.1 km away, in Seven Oaks |
| Ukrainian Labour TempleNational Historic Site · 1918–1920 · 1.5 km away, in William Whyte |
| Ross House MuseumListed historical resource · 1947 · 2.1 km away, in North Point Douglas |
| Canadian Pacific Railway Station (Winnipeg)National Historic Site · 1904–1907 · 2.4 km away, in North St. Boniface |
| Ukrainian Cultural and Educational CentreListed historical resource · 1944 · 2.8 km away, in North St. Boniface |
| Pantages Playhouse TheatreNational Historic Site · 1913–1915 · 3 km away, in North St. Boniface |
| Former Union Bank Building and AnnexNational Historic Site · 1903–1905 · 3.1 km away, in West Alexander |
| Royal Manitoba Theatre CentreNational Historic Site · 1969–1971 · 3.1 km away, in North St. Boniface |
| Confederation BuildingNational Historic Site · 1912–1913 · 3.1 km away, in North St. Boniface |
| Exchange DistrictNational Historic Site · 1880–1914 · 3.1 km away, in West Alexander |
Homes by age
St. John's added few homes from 2016 to 2021: 0.8%, where most towns have 4.1%
Count back from today and half of St. John's’s homes are older than 1961. Homes built from 1981 to 2000 make up just 3% of St. John's’s, against 23% in the typical town. Only 1.2% of St. John's’s homes were built from 2001 to 2015, less than the typical town’s 15%.
75%
Before 1961
15%
1961–80
3%
1981–2000
1.2%
2001–15
0.8%
2016–21
St. John'sTypical town
2021 Census, private dwellings by period of construction (Statistics Canada); the typical town is the middle Canadian town of 2,500 or more.
Towns its size
St. John's has the 2nd most of 16 towns its size
Towns of 8,400 to 8,500 residents, by places on the registers.
St. John's1
Only Lac-Beauport has more. Their median is 0. For 10, the registers list nothing.
Neighbours
St. John's and its neighbours
| Town | People | Places | Highest | Oldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's | 8,492 | 1 | 0 | 1914 |
| Luxton | 3,047 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Inkster-Faraday | 3,700 | 0 | 0 | — |
| William Whyte | 11,432 | 1 | 1 | 1918 |
| Seven Oaks | 3,244 | 2 | 1 | 1816 |
| Jefferson | 11,524 | 0 | 0 | — |
| North Point Douglas | 2,670 | 1 | 0 | 1947 |
In brief
St. John's in brief
Older stock first: 75% of homes in St. John's were standing by 1961, against 18% in the typical town. In all there are 1 historic place. Only one of the 16 towns nearest its size has more historic places. Beyond that, its designation dates from 1994.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The federal register. Every federal designation is in Parks Canada’s directory, and the Canadian Register of Historic Places gives most of them a bilingual statement of significance.
- Protection. Being on these registers doesn’t mean a building can’t change. Federal designation commemorates; protection is provincial or municipal, and those lists aren’t open here.
- Provincial and municipal lists. Only Wikidata gives open access to listings on provincial and municipal registers outside Québec; without an article such a place is counted but not paged.
- People and events. Parks Canada’s open file gives its national historic persons no place. A town’s page names one only when the person was born there (matched by name and both life years) or one of its own historic places carries the name and its record speaks of them; national historic events stay off.
- The grade. History is described, not graded, for every Canadian town.
- Map points. Federal places get their map points from Wikidata, since Parks Canada’s files carry none; they are as mapped there.
- The tiers. Three tiers: the top for National Historic Sites, classified federal buildings and Québec’s classements, a second for the other federal designations, a third for provincial and municipal listings.
Questions about St. John's’s history
How old are the homes in St. John's?
Before 1961: 75% of its homes; the typical town has 18%.
How many historic places does St. John's have on the registers?
The registers list 1 historic place inside St. John's.
What is the oldest building in St. John's?
McGregor Street Armoury (Recognized Federal Heritage Building): the first construction date on its record is 1914.
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada (Parks Canada).
Sources: Parks Canada, Directory of Federal Heritage Designations · Canadian Register of Historic Places (federal extract) · Wikidata (CC0) for map points, other names and articles · Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (homes by period of construction). Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).