Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ers,andby1949mostofthemineshadclosed.Surprisingly,novisibletracesofthemining
boomremaininNanaimo,asidefromamuseum(builtontopofthemostproductivemine)
accurately depicting those times and a sturdy fort (now a museum) built in 1853 in case of
a native attack.
Nanaimo was officially incorporated in 1874, which makes it the province's third-old-
est town. When the coal mines closed, forestry and fishing became mainstays of the city.
Today Nanaimo is also a major deep-sea shipping port.
Downtown Nanaimo lies in a wide bowl sloping down to the waterfront, where forward
thinking by early town planners has left wide expanses of parkland. Down near the water,
the Civic Arena building makes a good place to park your car and go exploring on foot.
Right in front of the Civic Arena is
Swy-A-Lana Lagoon,
a unique artificially-construc-
ted tidal lagoon full of interesting marinelife. A promenade leads south from the lagoon to
a bustling downtown marina filled with commercial fishing boats and leisure craft. Beside
the marina is a distinctive mastlike sculpture that provides foot access to a tiered devel-
opment with various viewpoints. Up in downtown proper, many historical buildings still
stand, most around the corner of Front and Church Streets and along Commercial Street.
Look for hotels dating to last century, the Francis Rattenbury-designed courthouse, and
variousoldcommercialbuildings.UpFitzwilliamStreetarethe1893St.Andrew'sChurch
and the 1883 railway station.
