The city of Fredericton operates a single
visitor centre, in City Hall. It is located in the lobby of city hall and is manned from late April to late October each year. It is replete with local information and locals who can impart still further information. The building itself is a tourist attraction (see below), making it the first stop on many tourists' tours of the city.
Actually, for the bikers and hikers, there is a second visitor centre in Fredericton, the
Fredericton Trails Visitor Centre across the old railway bridge in north Fredericton. It is at or near the trailheads for five different walking trails.
The oldest city hall in Atlantic Canada still in use as such, the building was designed by architects McKean and Fairweather, a very prolific design firm of St. John, NB, the principals of which were
John Thomas Charles McKean (1840-1911) and
G. Ernest Fairweather (1850-1920).
Fredericton has had rather bad luck with its city halls, as three previous ones, all built on this site, had, each in its turn, succumbed to fire. Built in the Second Empire style, the building was given a tall (115 foot) square centre clock tower and metal roofed steeple, ending in a flat top with decorative iron work and ornate finials on each corner. Standing on a tall stone block foundation, the building was given generous amounts of stone trim, including multiple beltlines, stone dentils at the cornice and multiple keystones over the arched third story windows.
Oddly, for a building of the latter part of the nineteenth century, this city hall had a market in its basement until 1951. Also, the second floor was occupied by a large auditorium, known as the "
Opera House", until 1940, when council chambers were moved upstairs, occupying the Opera House.
Located at the corner of Queen and Street and York Street, Fredericton’s City Hall is the oldest City Hall still in use in the Maritime provinces. Visitors to the building can tour the Council Chamber where a series of tapestries, ‘The Last 200 Years’, are permanently displayed. Produced in honour of Fredericton’s 200th birthday (1985) as Capital of New Brunswick, two local artists - Mrs. Gertrude Duffie and Dr. Ivan H. Crowell - created a unique series of 27 colorful tapestries depicting Fredericton’s history, based on Dr. W. Austin Squires’ book. A Visitor Information Centre operates from mid-May to mid-October in the front lobby.
Notes
Hours for Council Chamber / Tapestry Tours: Mid-May through mid-October daily: French tours 3pm; English tours 3:30pm. Note: By appointment for remainder of the year. Special events take place from time to time in the council chambers, which may result in public tours being cancelled. Groups are asked to book ahead. For information call (506) 460-2129.
From Tourism Fredericton