Downtown St. John's architecture has a distinct style. Starting originally as a fishing outpost for European fishermen, St. John's consisted mostly of the homes of fishermen, sheds, storage shacks, and wharves constructed out of wood. As the Industrial Revolution developed and new methods and materials for construction were introduced, and the cityscape changed as the city grew. The Great Fire of 1892 destroyed most of the downtown core, and most residential and other wood-frame buildings date from this period. The City's earliest suburbs in the area now known as Georgestown were not touched by the fire. thumb|Some houses in St. John's are painted in bright colours Built on hilly terrain and steep maze of residential streets, in St. John's is typically painted in bright colours, hence the nickname Jelly Bean Row for downtown row housing. However, downtown St. John’s wasn’t always as bright and colourful as it is today. The coal soot that blanketed St. John’s in much of the 19th and 20th centuries made light exterior paint colours impractical. Houses along downtown streets and lanes were mostly dark shades of green, red, brown, and grey. Bright colours were introduced in the 1970s when coal was no longer used."On working class houses, clapboard and trim were generally painted a single colour. Trim accent colours were typically found on more substantial homes. In the outports, white was still the most common house colour, often with a secondary trim colour." "Capital Colours"and "Lightening Up" Historic Paint.ca The city council has implemented strict heritage regulations in the downtown area, including restrictions on the height of buildings. These regulations have caused much controversy over the years. With the city experiencing an economic boom a lack of hotel rooms and office space has seen proposals put forward that do not meet the current height regulations. Heritage advocates argue the current regulations should be enforced while others believe the regulations should be relaxed to encourage economic development.
downtown st john's architecture has a distinct style starting originally as a fishing outpost for european fishermen st john's consisted mostly of the homes of fishermen sheds storage shacks and wharves constructed out of wood as the industrial revolution developed and new methods and materials for construction were introduced and the cityscape changed as the city grew the great fire of 1892 destroyed most of the downtown core and most residential and other wood-frame buildings date from this period the city's earliest suburbs in the area now known as georgestown were not touched by the fire thumb|some houses in st john's are painted in bright colours built on hilly terrain and steep maze of residential streets in st john's is typically painted in bright colours hence the nickname jelly bean row for downtown row housing however downtown st john’s wasn’t always as bright and colourful as it is today the coal soot that blanketed st john’s in much of the 19th and 20th centuries made light exterior paint colours impractical houses along downtown streets and lanes were mostly dark shades of green red brown and grey bright colours were introduced in the 1970s when coal was no longer used"on working class houses clapboard and trim were generally painted a single colour trim accent colours were typically found on more substantial homes in the outports white was still the most common house colour often with a secondary trim colour" "capital colours"and "lightening up" historic paintca the city council has implemented strict heritage regulations in the downtown area including restrictions on the height of buildings these regulations have caused much controversy over the years with the city experiencing an economic boom a lack of hotel rooms and office space has seen proposals put forward that do not meet the current height regulations heritage advocates argue the current regulations should be enforced while others believe the regulations should be relaxed to encourage economic development