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Expropriation of New Gower Street

Colour streetscape of three three storey row houses. From left to right the signs above the main entrances and shop windows are City Television; A. E. Andrews; and AE Andrews. The left house is the biggest with four windows on the second floor, a dormer window on the third floor, and a chimney. The middle house has three windows on the second floor and a dormer window on the third floor. The right house has three windows on the second floor. The homes are shades of red and grey. There is another chimney between the middle and right houses.

Photo: AE Andrews store on New Gower Street in St. John’s. Source: Terri Andrews, and Carol Reade.

Recorded audio interview with Lorraine Michael completed by Dale Jarvis of Heritage NL.

TRANSCRIPT:
I mean this is one of the sad things about what happened in the 1960s with regard to the slum that was behind New Gower Street, those people – the people in the slums shopped in the stores on New Gower Street, and it wasn’t only Lebanese stores. I mean, I want to recognize that. I mean, for us, almost all of our families had stores on New Gower Street. But you also had you know like – people like Greg Malone, his grandfather had a big store on New Gower Street.

You know, New Gower Street was really important to the life of the people who lived all around that area, you know all the stores. And so, just like all the others they were, you know my grandfather’s clientele as well, and they knew people well. And, you know, if people needed to get something and not be able to pay for it, then you know, you would be able to pay for it when you were ready to pay for it.

And when I say the sad thing about the 1960s, when the expropriation of New Gower Street took place, was that when those people were moved out of the slums. And God knows the slums had to go. I mean, I’m not saying the slums shouldn’t have gone, but nobody thought about what are they going to do when all of the sudden they’re living up on Cashin Avenue. Where are the stores up there? No buses or anything. They were used to just coming down New Gower Street going in the store. If they needed credit they got credit, et cetera. And the same way I think some of them went to Empire Avenue as well, where there’s Newfoundland housing built.

So, for the merchants they lost their businesses, and a way of life for us. There was a whole community was destroyed. But so did the people who lived in the slums as well, you know, there’s a sad part of the history of St. Johns that does not get told.