The Heart of the City

Thursday – July 29, 2010

Day one in Kingston was truly something else. Thanks to Jim’s advice we left with plenty of time and needed every minute of it in order to find his place near the University of Technology campus. The day started with a trip to the city center, old Kingston. Set up on traditional grid pattern by the harbor the city center houses many of Kingston’s older buildings, at least the ones that survived the earthquake of 1912. The offices of the Jamaica National Heritage Trust at the old Headquarter House were the first stop. Then we walked down to the National Library, and Institute of Jamaica, finally winding up on the waterfront of Kingston Harbor and the National Gallery. So many amazing buildings and sights but you can see that years of neglect, gang warfare, and the flight of the middle class up the hill to New Kingston has taken its toll on this older part of the city. After a great day in downtown it was time to head back up to UTech through the labyrinth of streets to Old Hope Road.