It would be very hard to ever visit St. John's and not be at least very aware of this place and how it towers above the city and dominates the skyline. Until The Rooms ( http://www.yelp.ca/biz/the-rooms-st-johns#hrid:BOEii0rmuyMcfdkSKbZt4g ) was built, there was nothing else like it.
The cathedral is huge. The grounds on which it stands are huge. Many can recount for you the story of how the early residents of the city, when told they could have as much land as they could fence in a day for their church, banded together to complete the monumental task.
The stone gates frame the city. http://www.yelp.ca/biz_photos/TezG4Qybjty7qPJXV73ySw?select=OV4YfMszIWYPMj7JjDbJiQ#3Bzjzab462DEOaMUxpsOnQ
Beautiful statues and art. http://www.yelp.ca/biz_photos/TezG4Qybjty7qPJXV73ySw?select=OV4YfMszIWYPMj7JjDbJiQ#61QGdaDw-tDEYXBeDjnk_Q
Many could tell stories of their experiences there or how moved they were by the art and the history. When I go by there I am always reminded of how someone I knew, had an accident and was killed plowing into the stone wall that encloses part of the grounds. And how once I was driving by here after the accident and I let my attention stray while contemplating that horrific event, and I had an accident myself.
For some visiting this place is a moving event which makes them consider history, faith, suffering and salvation in religious terms. For me it is the same thing, but without the religion. read more