Bridgetown

Bridgetown
Chamberlain Bridge spanning the Careenage, Bridgetown
The location of Bridgetown (the red star)
Coordinates: 13.0947° N 59.6175° W
Country	Barbados
Parish	Saint Michael
Established	1628
Area
- City	15.0 sq mi (38.8 km²)
Population (2006)
- Metro	96,578
HDI (2006)	0.971 – high

The City of Bridgetown is the capital and largest city of the nation of Barbados. The Bridgetown port is located on the southwestern coast of the island along Carlisle Bay. Established by the British in 1628, Bridgetown is a West Indies tourist destination, and acts as an important financial, informatics and convention centre in the Caribbean region.

Geography

Suburbs of Bridgetown with the harbour in the background

View from National Heroes Square.

Bridgetown is located on a built-up coastal strip that stretches for several miles on each side of the town. The city's centre was originally a swamp, which was drained and filled-in to make way for city's early development.

Barbados has a tropical climate, with mostly sunny and fair weather. Temperatures in January range from 69.8°F (21°C) to 82.4°F (28°C), and in July from 73.4°F (23°C) to 86°F (30°C). The heat is tempered by the prevailing cool northeast tradewinds. The dry season occurs from January to June, and the hurricane season extends from June to October, although hurricanes usually miss Barbados. Instead, there are spectacular tropical rainstorms, which are short, heavy, and dry up quickly. Total mean annual rainfall is 32.6 inches 829.8mm).

The Careenage and Constitution rivers provides Bridgetown with direct access from medium sized yachts or small craft boats. Although moderately shallow, the Careenage divides Bridgetown into two. During the rainy season, the Constitution River flows into the Careenage area and acts as an outflow for thestorm drainage network. A marina is located directly in front of the parliament buildings.

The smaller Constitution River feeding into the west coast lies about a half kilometer south of the large harbour. The Careenage is just large enough for pleasure craft or fishing boats and has two main bridges near the city center which span the shallow Careenage.

The city of Bridgetown, and the wider Greater Bridgetown area, cover around 15 square miles (39 square kilometers). The Central Bank, Treasury Building, and National Insurance Building dominate the skyline.

The main street is Broad St, which runs, parallel to the Careenage, directly through the centre of the city, past the Parliament Buildings, and is clustered with stores, restaurants, banks, and other services. Bay St is another major traffic artery into the city. The Spring Garden Highway, which lies to the west of the city, plays host to over 85,000 bystanders and participants in the annual Grand Kadooment Carnival Parade.

Ribbon development stretches inland and along the coasts. Numerous businesses have relocated to suburban malls.

History

Although the island was totally abandoned or uninhabited when the British landed there, one of the few traces of indigenous pre-existence on the island was a primitive bridge constructed over the Careenage area's swamp at the centre of Bridgetown. It was suspected that this bridge was created by a people indigenous to the Caribbean known as the Arawak. Upon finding the structure the British settlers began to call what is now the Bridgetown area, Indian Bridge. It is widely believed that the Arawaks were driven from Barbados to the neighbouring island of Saint Lucia, during an invasion by another people indigenous to the region known as the Caribs. Eventually after 1654 when a new bridge was constructed over the Careenage by the British, the area became known as The Town of Saint Michael and later as Bridgetown, and the final name stuck.

The British established Bridgetown after their settlement at James Town.

Bridgetown is the only city outside continental North America that George Washington visited. (George Washington House, the actual house where he stayed, is now part of the Garrison Historic Area)

From 1800 until 1885 Bridgetown served as the main seat of Government for the former British colonies of the Windward Islands. During this period the resident Governor of Barbados also served as the Colonial head of the Windward Islands. After the Government of Barbados officially exited from the Windward Island union in 1885, the seat was moved from Bridgetown to St. George's on the neighbouring island of Grenada.

Barbados has been governed by the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) for the last thirteen years, commonly called the "Owen Arthur Administration". Prime Minister Owen S. Arthur was chosen from among leaders around the globe to deliver the William Wilberforce lecture on the 200th Anniversary of the Abolition of the Atlantic Slave Trade.

Amongst the breathtaking landscapes, and the fresh look of the city; Barbados attracts many investors from various fields. The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup tournament attracted thousands of visitors to the island and was a very prosperous event. The final match was played on Saturday April 28, 2007.

Government

Formerly, the Town of Saint Michael the city of Bridgetown, and the Greater Bridgetown area occupy most of the parish of Saint Michael. Parts of the Greater Bridgetown area lie along the borders of the neighbouring parishes Christ Church and St. James.

Economy

Bridgetown downtown.

Since achieving independence in 1966, the island nation of Barbados has transformed itself from a low-income economy dependent upon sugar production, into an upper-middle-income economy based on tourism and the offshore sector. Barbados went into a deep recession in the 1990s after three years of steady decline brought on by fundamental macroeconomic imbalances. After a painful readjustment process, the economy began to grow again in 1993. Growth rates have averaged between three and five percent since then.

Bridgetown serves as a principal centre of commercial activity in Barbados, as well as a central hub for the island's public transport system. Many of the ministries and departments of the island's government are located within the Greater Bridgetown area.

Per capita GDP, rank Financial and business services sector Tourism Manufacturing Transport: Road, rail, air, sea

Barbados' main exports are Sugar, rum, and molasses. The island is also involved in other industries namely tourism and the offshore sector.

Stock exchange

• Barbados Stock Exchange (BSE)

The City of Bridgetown also has a well regulated stock exchange with securities of Barbadian and regional Caribbean companies.

Business/specifics

Business: Banks are open 8am-3pm, Hours: Monday to Thursday, and 8am-5pm on Fridays.

Utilities and local services

Today Bridgetown is a fully modern and thriving city, with access to many modern services including a piped water supply (said to be naturally among the purest in the world), electricity, natural gas supply, cutting-edge telecommunications, wireless services, internet cafes, and a good overall infrastructure. The city is also served by an impressive conference facility known as the Sherbourne Conference Centre.

• Electricity - Barbados Light and Power Company Ltd. (BL&P)
• Natural Gas - National Petroleum Corporation
• Water - Barbados Water Authority (BWA)

• Telecommunications - Cable and Wireless(Incumbent), Cariaccess Communications, Digicel, FreeMotion, Sunbeach, TeleBarbados, WIISCOM
• Television - CBC TV 8, Multi-Choice TV (Barbados), DirecTV
• Radio - List of radio stations in Barbados
• Barbadian media

Transportation

The city has access to daily flights via the island's Airport the Sir Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) located on the ABC Highway/Highway 7 in Seawell, Christ Church. The city of Bridgetown and New York City in the United States, were the only cities in the western hemisphere to be served by regularly scheduled British Airways Concorde flights. Additionally, the GAIA has been chosen as one of only four global display sites for the retired supersonic aircraft. The Airport is currently in the final stages of an expansion project, which will also include the construction of an aviation museum to house the retired Concorde aircraft.

All seven of Barbados's primary Highways begin close to the City of Bridgetown, in the Parish of Saint Michael. They all fan out to the north, south and east to other parts of the island. Driving is done of the left-hand side of the road with a speed limit of 60 km/h (around 38 miles per hour) in built-up areas. The speed limit on the ABC Highway is generally 80 km/h (50 mph) except in built-up areas. Water transport is regulated by the Barbados Port Authority.

Public buses

Public buses that head northward to destinations such as Holetown and Speightstown, and to some locations in St. Michael including the University of the West Indies - (Cave Hill Campus), leave from the Princess Alice Bus Terminal which lies to the west of the city centre. Buses for points east and south leave from the Fairchild Street Bus Terminal, which is on the eastern edge of the city centre, near to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH).

Route taxis

Route taxis are privately owned mini vans that are a cross between taxis and buses. They follow certain routes around the island. You can easily flag one of these down and for a low fare they'll take you pretty much anywhere.

The Bridgetown Port (or "Deep Water Harbour" as its also known) is the major port of entry for cruise and cargo ships docking in Barbados. The Deep Water Harbour lies a short distance across Carlisle Bay northwest of the Careenage Canal. The port acts as one of the major shipping and transhipment hubs for the entire Eastern Caribbean.

Demographics

Bridgetown's metropolitan population was 96,578 in 2006.

For a city of its size, the Greater Bridgetown area is home to several prestigious educational institutions. The city serves as the seat of one of the three campuses of the University of the West Indies in the northern suburb of Cave Hill. The campus sits on a bluff offering a spectacular view of Bridgetown and its port. The Barbados Community College is located three miles east of the Central Business District in a suburb known as "The Ivy", while the sprawling campus of the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic is located just beyond the eastern limits of the city in a suburb known as "The Pine". In addition, the city houses such distinguished secondary schools as Harrison College, Combermere and The St.Michael School.

Of interest=

Colourful Bridgetown street.

The Public Buildings or parliament, which stand at the heart of the city directly north of Heroes Square, house the third oldest continuous parliament in the British Commonwealth. Indeed, at one point in the city's early history, Bridgetown was the most important city of all British possessions in the New World due to the city's easterly location in the Caribbean region.

The City of Bridgetown also played host to the 1994 United Nations Global Conference on Sustainable Development of Small Islands States. Bridgetown has branches of some of the largest banks in the world and English-speaking Caribbean and is internationally recognised as an emerging financial domicile. The city is currently experiencing a phenomenal spurt of redevelopment in preparation for the 2007 World Cricket Cup Finals to be held at the historic Kensington Oval. The Oval is being renovated to a state-of-the-art sports facility that will accommodate 30,000 spectators. Live viewership for the 2007 event is estimated to be in the region of two billion people.

Other sites of interest include:

• National Heroes Square (formerly Trafalgar Square) and Fountain Garden [1]

Parliament Building

Nelson Statue

• Parliament Buildings of Barbados
• The Cathedral Church of Saint Michaels and All Angels
• The St. Mary's Anglican Church
• The St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Cathedral
• The Jewish Synagogue
• The Pelican Village and Craft Centre
• Queen's Park
• The Nelson Statue
• The Barbados Museum
• Kensington Oval (site of the 2007 Cricket World Cup final)
• Carlisle Bay Beach
• Cheapside market
• The Tom Adams Financial Complex
• The Frank Collymore Hall of the Performing Arts
• The Cathedral Plaza
• The Cave Shepherd Department Store (No.10 Broad Street)
• The Sagicor Building (lower Broad Street)
• The Cheapside Gardens
• The Red Light District
• Sagicor Plaza
• The Garrison Savannah and National Historic Area
• The Hilton Hotel

Attractions: Pierhead Development Complex

Re-development

• In 2004 the capital of Bridgetown celebrated its 375th Anniversary of Establishment, and did so with a year long calendar of events and twinning agreements with Bridgetown, Nova Scotia, Canada, and with Wilmington in North Carolina, United States.

See also

• Demographics of Barbados
• List of cities in Barbados
• Parishes of Barbados
• Transportation in Barbados

External links

• Historical info of Bridgetown - Barbados postal service
• Deep Water Harbour Port
• Bridgetown Cruise Terminals
• Map overview of Bridgetown
• Overview of Bridgetown
• Aerial view over Bridgetown's centre
• Detailed map of Bridgetown
• The Importance of Bridgetown in the New world - The UNESCO World Heritage Centre website
• The City of Bridgetown to be revamped (Tuesday, May 30, 2006) - Barbados Advocate Newspaper
• Square on target (Tuesday, January 2, 2007) - Barbados Nation Newspaper
• Then & Now - Swinging into history (Sunday, July 24th, 2005) - Barbados Nation Newspaper

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