The National War Memorial
The National War Memorial was unveiled and dedicated on July 1, 1924, at the east end of Water Street. The Great War Veterans’ Association and the Newfoundland Patriotic Association launched the campaign to have it established. They developed a committee to establish the design and undertake the fund-raising to pay for the proposed memorial.
The design was for a semi-circular, graduated plateau rising from the entrance stairway on Water Street to the cenotaph on Duckworth Street. Sidney Pierce and Ernest Churchill, both local contractors and veterans, prepared the concrete and laid the foundation.
The five figures were designed by two English sculptors, F.V. Blundstone (top and sides) and Gilbert Bayes (front), and were cast in bronze by E.J. Parlanti from London, England. These figures represent Newfoundland’s involvement in the war.
The Signal Hill
As St. John’s most popular landmark, Signal Hill recalls the town’s historic past and communications triumph, as well as offering coastal hikes and colourful performances against sweeping views overlooking the Atlantic. Signal Hill was the site of St. John’s harbour defences from the 17th century to the Second World War and where Guglielmo Marconi received the world’s first transatlantic wireless signal in 1901.