The Rooms facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
The Rooms

Established	2005
Location	9 Bonaventure Avenue St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador A1C 5P9
Type	Art Gallery, the Provincial Archives and the Provincial Museum.
Visitors	87,083 (2017)

The Rooms is a special building in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It opened in 2005. Inside, you'll find three important places: an art gallery, a museum, and the provincial archives. It's built on a hill with a great view of the city. This spot was once home to an old fort called Fort Townshend.

Discovering The Rooms' Past

Why is it Called "The Rooms"?

The name "The Rooms" is a nod to Newfoundland's history. It refers to the simple sheds that fishermen used to have along the water. These sheds, often with pointed roofs, were called "fishing rooms." The building's design also looks a bit like these old sheds.

What Was Fort Townshend?

The Rooms, as viewed from Signal Hill

The Rooms stands on a very old and important spot. This land was once home to Fort Townshend. This fort was built in the 1700s to protect Britain's fishing interests in the area. It was a huge, star-shaped fort, one of the biggest British forts in North America.

Archaeologists and historians were worried when The Rooms was being planned. They knew the fort was buried underground. After the British soldiers left in 1870, the site became home to the police and later the fire department. In 1951, this site became a National Historic Site of Canada.

Today, you can learn about this history when you visit The Rooms. Before construction, careful research was done. This makes sure that the site can still be studied in the future.

Exploring the Fort Outside

In 2013, The Rooms decided to create an outdoor area. This space makes it safer and easier to visit. It also helps remember the history of Fort Townshend. The shape of the old fort is marked on the ground with special stones. These stones light up a pathway. This path is part of a bigger walking trail called the Grand Concourse. The outdoor area was finished in 2014.

What You Can Find Inside The Rooms

A stuffed Newfoundland wolf in the museum division of The Rooms

The Rooms officially opened on June 29, 2005. From inside, you get amazing views of downtown St. John's, the harbour, and Signal Hill. The Rooms is home to the provincial archives, art gallery, and museum. Each of these is a separate part of The Rooms.

The Archives: Preserving History

The Archives are located on the third floor of The Rooms. Their main job is to keep important government records safe. These records have lasting value for legal, financial, or research reasons. The Archives also collect documents from private people if they are important to the history of Newfoundland and Labrador.

You can look up information from the Archives online.

The Art Gallery: See Amazing Art

Display and circulation spaces

The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery is the top public art gallery in the province. It focuses on showing and collecting contemporary art. It has a huge space for its permanent collections and for art shows that travel here. Since 2005, the gallery has put on about 15 exhibitions each year. These shows include everything from new digital art to old Renaissance printmaking.

The gallery shows new art from all over Canada and the world. But it especially focuses on artists from Newfoundland and Labrador. The gallery manages several art collections. Together, these are called the "Permanent Collections." They include over 7,000 pieces of art. Most of this art is Canadian and was created after 1960. A lot of the art is from Newfoundland and Labrador. You can see works by famous artists like Christopher Pratt and Mary Pratt.

The Museum: Explore Nature and Culture

Original Newfoundland Museum building at 285 Duckworth Street

The Provincial Museum tells the story of Newfoundland and Labrador's nature and culture. You can see displays of animals and plants from the tundra and bog areas. There are also displays about the Indigenous people who lived here long ago. Other exhibits cover the city's British military past and the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary. You can also learn about the culture and contributions of the area's Irish fishermen. The museum also has changing exhibits on different parts of the province's history, nature, and culture.

The original Newfoundland Museum was in a beautiful brick building on Duckworth Street. This old building is now a protected heritage site.

Where to Find The Rooms

The Rooms (north face), St. John's, Newfoundland

The address for The Rooms is 9 Bonaventure Avenue in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Working with Others

The Museum works with other groups. These include the CMA, the CHIN, and the Virtual Museum of Canada.