Saint James is a district of Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. Port of Spain's last major municipal expansion occurred in 1938, when the St. James district north of Woodbrook and west of St. Clair was incorporated into the city limits. In the late 19th century, Indian indentured labourers on nearby sugar estates established houses here, and St. James gradually became the centre of Port of Spain's Indian population, with many streets named after cities and districts in British India. Western Main Road, the area's major thoroughfare, has long been the city's main nightlife district, sometimes nicknamed "the city that never sleeps".
Long Circular Road, which curves north from Western Main Road then east to meet Maraval Road, forms part of the city boundary. Its "circle" encloses Flagstaff Hill, a small rise with the US ambassador's residence at its summit, which lends its name to an area of apartment buildings at its southern foot.
South of St. James and near the seashore at Invaders Bay is Mucurapo, a mostly residential district which also contains the city's second-largest cemetery.
History
St. James became part of the city of Port of Spain in 1938. Until 1992, the Civil Aviation Training Centre (CATC), now a unit of the Trinidad and Tobago Civil Aviation Authority, was located along Long Circular Road in St. James. Originally known as the Peru Estate, St. James was a sugar cane estate that harboured some of the first East Indian indentured settlers who travelled by ships like the Fatel Razak and SS Ganges from Uttar Pradesh via Kolkata.
Streets in St. James
Many of the streets of St. James were named after the "older names" of South Asian places, such as Agra, Baroda (Vadodara), Benares (Varanasi), Bengal, Bombay (Mumbai), Calcutta (Kolkata), Cawnpore (Kanpur), Delhi, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Madras (Chennai), Nepaul (Nepal), Nizam, and Patna.
There are also streets that are named after English persons or places, such as Clarence Street, where an Anglican church and school are located.
Other persons and characters are represented in the naming of streets of St. James, such as Salazzar which is located close to the Police Station, Church St., Kathleen St., Romeo St., Coronation St., Avenue First, Mucurapo Road and Ethel Street.
Military cemetery, crematorium, and other cemeteries
Within the boundaries of St. James are a military cemetery, two other cemeteries and a crematorium.
According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which shows on its website photos of the military cemetery in St James and a list of the deceased persons from World Wars I and II, there are 40 casualties from World War I and II (whose names are listed at Memorial Park, off Queen's Park Savannah).
In recent times, the military cemetery has been used to bury persons who have died in the service of Trinidad and Tobago who were members of the Defense Force, or the Army or the Coast Guard, to name a few of the services which protect and serve the country.
According to "BURIAL GROUNDS, CEMETERIES & CREMATION SITES (TRINIDAD) Arranged by Ward/District", the names of the two other cemeteries which are located in St. James are as follows:
Western Cemetery, George Cabral Circular, Terre Brulee, St. James (This cemetery can be accessed from George Cabral Street, off WMR), and Mucurapo Cemetery, Panka Street, St. James.
According to the records available to the public, there is one famous person who has been buried at Western Cemetery: former president of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (from 1987 to 1997) Noor Hassanali.
Woodbrook Cemetery, Mucurapo Road, St. James. (This cemetery can be accessed off Panka Street, St. James.)
There are public records on some "eighty seven (87) persons who were buried at Mucurapo Cemetery over the years, some as early as 1936 - Ms Leonora Prince." Perhaps one of the largest number of deaths in a single year are the "Whitlocks, where the parents and 3 children who were missionaries returning to Africa died in the same year".
The Crematorium is close to the Military Cemetery, Flagstaff Villas and Long Circular Mall on Long Circular Road. It was established around the 1980s, and was one of the first formal cremation sites in the country; most people were familiar with the Hindu community's practice of burning bodies at Caroni and later at Waterloo.
Culture
Fast food restaurants and other options
The largest Pizza Hut in the world is located in Saint James on Tragarete Road.