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Georgetown, Guyana

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Central & South American
Geography

   Georgetown, estimated population 250,000 ( 1998), is the capital and
   largest city of Guyana, located in the Demerara-Mahaica region. It is
   situated on the Atlantic Ocean coast at the mouth of the Demerara River
   and is nicknamed 'Garden City of the Caribbean.' Georgetown is located
   at 6°48′N 58°10′W. The city serves primarily as a retail and
   administrative centre. It also serves as a financial services centre.

History

   The city of Georgetown began as a small town in the 18th century.
   Originally, the capital of the Demerara-Essequibo colony was located on
   Borselen Island in the Demerara River under the administration of the
   Dutch. When the colony was captured by the British in 1781,
   Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Kingston chose the mouth of the Demerara
   River for the establishment of a town which was situated between
   Plantations Werk-en-rust and Vlissengen.

   It was the French who developed this town and made it their capital
   city when they captured the colony in 1782. The French called the
   capital La Nouvelle Ville. They established stringent regulations for
   private building in an attempt to guard against the dangers of flood
   and fire. Buildings were to have brick foundations, kitchens were to be
   tiled and set apart, and no thatch was to be used. Brickdam, the first
   paved road, was built by the French, and was known then as Middle Dam.

   When the town was restored to the Dutch in 1784, it was renamed
   Stabroek after Nicolaas Geelvinck, Lord of Stabroek, and President of
   the Dutch West India Company. Eventually the town expanded and covered
   the estates of Vlissengen, La Bourgade and Eve Leary to the North, and
   Werk-en-rust and La Repentir to the South.

   It was renamed Georgetown on 29 April 1812 in honour of King George
   III. On 5 May 1812 an ordinance was passed to the effect that the town
   formerly called Stabroek, with districts extending from La Penitence to
   the bridges in Kingston and entering upon the road to the military
   camps, shall be called Georgetown.

   The ordinance provided that the various districts of Georgetown shall
   be known by their own names. The supervision of Georgetown was to be
   done by a committee chosen by the Governor and Court of Policy.
   Estimates of expenditure were to be prepared.

   By 1806 the owner of Vlissingen asked to be exempted from the
   responsibility of maintaining the road which is now called Camp Street,
   but the Court refused the request. In 1810 the maintenance of the roads
   in the area called Georgetown cost 11,000 guilders per annum.

   The governing body of Georgetown was once a Board of Police. The Board
   of Police was chosen by the governor and the Court of Policy. It came
   into existence as the result of disputes among various organisations
   which controlled the districts.

   The Board met monthly but what was discussed is not on the records
   between 1825 and 1837. Newspapers in the colony were prohibited by law
   from reporting public matters.

   The post of Commisary of Police was not regarded as important. People
   elected to the Board invariably declined to attend meetings and never
   gave reasons for their refusal.

   It was, therefore, decided that individuals elected to the Board were
   bound to serve for two years, or suffer a penalty of 1,000 guilders.

   The Board of Police was abolished when an ordinance was passed to
   establish a Mayor and Town Council.
   Kingston, Georgetown in the 19th century
   Enlarge
   Kingston, Georgetown in the 19th century

   Georgetown gained official city status on 24 August 1842 during the
   reign of Queen Victoria.

   The names of Georgetown's wards and streets reflect the influence of
   the Dutch, French and English who administered the town at different
   periods of history.

   Cummingsburg was originally named Plantation La Bourgade by its first
   owner, Jacques Salignac. It was laid out in streets and building lots
   by its second proprietor, Thomas Cuming, a Scotsman, after whom it is
   named. He made a presentation of the Militia Parade Ground and
   Promenade Gardens to the town as a gift. It is noteworthy that
   Carmichael Street was named after General Hugh Lyle Carmichael who
   served as Governor from 1812 to 1813. He died in March 1813 and was
   buried in the Officers' Cemetery, Eve Leary.

   Water Street was so called because it ran along the riverside and
   formed the original river dam. High Street formed the leading road from
   the East Bank to the East Coast of Demerara. The part of High Street
   that ran through Cummingsburg was called Main Street. Camp Street
   received its name because it was the road which led to the camp or
   garrison at the northern end of the city. Kingston got its name from
   King George of England. It was part of Plantation Eve Leary which was
   named after the wife or daughter of its owner, Cornelis Leary. Some of
   the streets of Kingston have military names because the garrison used
   to be located there, e.g. Parade Street, Barrack Street and Fort
   Street.

   Lacytown was another leasehold portion of Plantation Vlissengen. L.M.
   Hill claims that it was named after General Sir De Lacy Evans, a
   Crimean war hero. However, James Rodway claims that it was named after
   George Lacy who bought part of the plantation from R.B. Daly,
   representative of Vlissengen. The owner of Vlissengen was Joseph
   Bourda, Member of the Court of Policy. After his son and heir
   disappeared at sea, the government claimed the property under the
   authority of the Vlissengen Ordinance of 1876. A new district of Bourda
   was laid out and Lacytown was improved by the Board of Vlissengen
   Commissioners.

   Bourda Street and the ward of Bourda were named after Joseph Bourda,
   Member of the Court of Policy and former owner of Pln. Vlissengen. It
   was laid out by the Commissioner of Vlissengen in 1879. The Bourda
   Cemetery holds the remains of many old citizens of Georgetown. Only
   those persons who owned family vaults or burial rights in the enclosed
   ground used it.

   Alberttown is part of what was formerly called Pln. Thomas and was laid
   out in 1847. It was named after Prince Albert, husband of Queen
   Victoria of England. Albert Street was named after him as well. Light
   Street is named after Sir Henry Light who served as Governor from 1840
   to 1848.

   Queenstown was laid out in 1887. It was originally part of Plantation
   Thomas with an area of 108 acres. The land was bought from Mr Quintin
   Hogg in 1887 by the Town Council. The ward was named in honour of Queen
   Victoria who celebrated her Jubilee that year. Forshaw Street was named
   after George Anderson Forshaw, solicitor and Mayor of Georgetown. Peter
   Rose Street was named after Peter Rose, an influential Member of the
   Court of Policy in the 1840s. Irving Street was named after Sir Henry
   Irving who served as Governor from 1882 to 1887.

   Werk-en-rust developed on the old Dutch estate of Werk-en-rust which
   means 'Work and Rest'. The first public burial ground was laid out in
   this area where the St Phillips churchyard lies. This used to be known
   as the Chinese quarter of Georgetown. A tramway used to run through
   Water Street, Werk-en-rust. Bishop Street is named after Bishop Austin,
   the first Anglican Bishop of Guiana, 1842 to 1892. Smyth Street is
   named after Major-General Sir James Carmichael Smyth who served as
   Governor from 1833 to 1838. The Mayor and Town Council of Georgetown
   was incorporated in 1837 under his administration. Wortmanville was
   incorporated into the city in 1902. It was named after a planter called
   Henry Wortman.

   Charlestown was built on the front lands of Plantation Le Repentir and
   was named after Charles, Duke of Brunswick, who died in 1806. The
   proprietor of Le Repentir and La Penitence was Pierre Louis de Saffon,
   who came to Guiana to seek asylum after killing his brother by
   accident. He died in 1784 and left a legacy for the De Saffon Trust
   which would maintain and educate ten orphan children until the age of
   sixteen. These orphans inherited his estate. He was buried on his
   estate next to the Church of St Saviour. Saffon Street was named after
   him.

   In 1945 a large fire (The Great Fire) broke out in the city causing
   widespread damage.

   By the late 20th century the city of Georgetown had expanded to include
   the village of Lodge, Alexander Village, East, West, North and South
   Ruimveldt, Roxanne Burnham Gardens, Kitty, Campbellville, Subryanville,
   Bel Air, Prashad Nagar, and Lamaha Gardens. The city extended from
   Cummings Lodge on the East Coast of Demerara to Agricola on the East
   Bank of Demerara.

   Some street names were changed after Guyana gained independence. Murray
   Street was changed to Quamina Street in honour of the respected slave
   deacon whose son, Jack Gladstone, led the 1823 slave rebellion. Kelly's
   Dam was extended and renamed Carifesta Avenue to commemorate the
   Caribbean Festival of Arts which was held in Guyana in 1972. The part
   of Vlissengen Road extending from the Seawall to Lamaha Street was
   renamed J.B. Singh Drive. Part of High Street was renamed Avenue of the
   Republic when Guyana became a Republic.

   More recently another section of High Street was renamed the Cheddi B.
   Jagan Drive in honour of the late president. Part of D'Urban Street was
   renamed Joseph Pollydore Street after the popular trade unionist. New
   roads were created such as Mandela Avenue, Homestretch Avenue, and
   Aubrey Barker Road. Mandela Avenue was named after the indomitable
   freedom fighter, Nelson Mandela, the former President of South Africa.
   Homestretch Avenue was so named because it was built on the former
   horse-racing ground at D'Urban Park in front of the pavilion which now
   houses the Ministry of Housing.

The Capital City

   Parliament Building, Georgetown, Guyana
   Enlarge
   Parliament Building, Georgetown, Guyana

   Georgetown is the seat of the central Government of Guyana. All
   Executive Departments are located in the city. Parliament Building,
   Guyana, Guyana's Legislative Building, is also found in Georgetown and
   so is the Court of Appeals, Guyana's highest judicial court.

   The Official residence of the Head of State as well as the Head of
   Government are both located in Guyana's only city. Georgetown is the
   capital city as well as the economic powerhouse of Guyana.

   It is a Sister City of St. Louis. Missouri, USA.

Economy

   Georgetown is Guyana's largest city and it contains a good portion of
   the major businesses. It is an important city for Guyana and the
   Caribbean. Within the metro area there is the CARICOM headquarters
   which is the centre of the Caribbean government. Georgetown also is
   home to a seaport that is rapidly expanding. The city is seeing a major
   boom in construction and very strong economic growth. Georgetown's
   airport, Cheddi Jagan International Airport is a hub for BWIA or
   locally known as ""bwee"".

   Closer to the city is Ogle Airport, where a major expansion project is
   taken place currently. The new airport will handle inter-Caricom
   flights to connect the CARICOM states quicker with the headquarters.
   The city has many highway projects under construction such as the East
   Coast Highway which was completed in 2005, it is four lanes wide. This
   city accounts for a large portion of Guyana's GDP and it also is the
   centre of major commercial business.

Construction boom

   Like most Caribbean nations, Guyana is preparing for the ICC Cricket
   World Cup. Georgetown is experiencing a large boom in construction.
   Here are some "major projects":
     * Providence Stadium, Providence (a few miles south)
     * Buddy's Hotel and Resort, Providence
     * East Bank Highway (Four Lanes)
     * Georgetown Centre Shopping Mall
     * Providence Mall
     * Greater Georgetown Conference Centre
     * Georgetown Seawall
     * Repavement of all roads
     * Georgetown Beach
     * Repairing Demerara Harbour Bridge
     * A new high span bridge across the Demerara River

   Businesses include: Demerara sugar, timber, bauxite, gold, and diamonds
   are exported through Georgetown's harbour.

   List of businesses headquartered in Georgetown:
     * Bank of Guyana
     * Weiting and Richter
     * N.Osman Investments
     * Western Union Guyana Ltd
     * Grace Kennedy Remitence Service
     * Money Gram Guyana
     * Scotia Bank Guyana
     * KFC
     * Laparkan Group of Companies
     * Gafoors Group of Companies
     * Sprint 151
     * Guyana Telephone & Telegraph Company
     * Guyana Power & Light
     * Guyana Water Inc
     * Guyana Net
     * U-Mobile
     * St.Joseph's Mercy Hospital
     * KPMG Guyana
     * National Milling Company of Guyana
     * Le Mederien Pegasus Hotel
     * The Tower Hotel
     * Courts Guyana Ltd
     * Guyana Stores
     * John Lewis Styles
     * Giftland
     * National Communications Network
     * British Sky Broadcasting (Sky TV)

Transportation

   Georgetown is serviced by a ferry, the Demerara Harbour Bridge and many
   newly constructed highways.

   The government is working to rehabilate all roads in the country to
   help transport people better than ever before. Guyana is preparing for
   the ICC West Indies 2007 World Cup. This is a major opportunity for
   this nation to develop a strong tourism industry like its fellow
   CARICOM sisters.

Mass Transport

   Most of West Coast, East Bank, East Coast and Berbice, Guyana are
   served by numerous buses. Also taxis serve almost everywhere along the
   coast, primarily (in large numbers) Georgetown.

Politics

   Executive- Georgetown is politically governed by a Mayor. The Mayor's
   office includes several supporting agencies and divisions including the
   offices of the Deputy Mayor, City Clerk and City Engineer. The Mayor's
   office also supervises the city constables, who are city police with
   special duties. The current mayor of Georgetown is former cabinet
   minister Hamilton Green. The Mayor is officially given the honour 'His
   Worship'. The Mayor's office space is housed at City Hall on Avenue of
   the Republic.

   Legislative- The City Council is the legislative branch of the city
   government.

   Judiciary- The Georgetown Magistrate Court has judicial responsibility
   for the Georgetown Magisterial Distict.

Performing arts

   Georgetown's theatre scene is dominantly concentrated on the stages of
   the National Cultural Centre.
   Victoria Law Courts
   Enlarge
   Victoria Law Courts

Points of interest

   Georgetown is laid out in a N-S, E-W grid, interlaced with canals
   protected by kokers built by the Dutch and later the British that
   provide drainage to a city that lies 13 feet below high-tide level. A
   long sea wall helps prevent flooding. The city has an abundance of
   tree-lined streets and avenues and contains many wooden colonial
   buildings and markets.

   Most of the main buildings are centred around the western region of the
   town. Around the western-central area is Independence Square and
   Promenade Gardens, the Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology, the National
   Library (built by Andrew Carnegie), the Bank of Guyana, the National
   Museum of Guyana and State House (built 1852) where the President
   resides, and St. George's Anglican Cathedral. There are many churches,
   mosques and mandirs in Georgetown.

   The Georgetown Cenotaph, at Main and Church Streets, was built in 1923.
   It is the site of Remembrance Day (Remembrance Sunday) services in
   November each year.

   To the south of this region is where the neo- Gothic City Hall ( 1889)
   is to be found, as well as the Victoria Law Courts ( 1887), the
   Parliament Building ( 1829- 1834), the large Stabroek Market ( 1792)
   containing the prominent cast-iron clock tower that dominates the city
   sky line, the Roman Catholic Brickdam Cathedral, City Engineer House,
   the Magistrate's Court, St. Andrew's Kirk ( 1818) and Independence
   Arch.

   The northern area of the city near the Atlantic coast contains Fort
   William Frederick, a park and the Umana Yana, a conical thatched
   building built by Wai-Wai Amerindians using traditional techniques. It
   was built for the 1972 Non-Aligned Foreign Ministers Conference. The
   Georgetown Light House is a famous landmark.

   The City is protected from the Atlantic Ocean by the Georgetown
   Seawall.

   Georgetown is the seat of the University of Georgetown and the
   Caribbean Community ( CARICOM) Secretariat. The University of Guyana is
   located in Turkeyen, on the city's outskirts.

Regions of Georgetown

   Colonial era building
   Enlarge
   Colonial era building

   Georgetown has expanded dramatically through the years and may be
   divided into three Geographical regions:

   Georgetown - referring to Central Georgetown includes the Business
   district as well as the seat of the Federal Government.

   Greater Georgetown - contains some of the most expensive and luxurious
   metropolitan neighbourhoods. Bel Air, Bel Air Park, Bel Air Gardens,
   Lamaha Gardens, Prashad Nagar and Bel Air Springs are well known as
   places for the rich and powerful. Most residents here are high ranking
   executives or government officials. These close gated neighbourhoods of
   the city are mostly concentrated in the northeastern part towards
   Greater Georgetown and the Atlantic. Greater Georgetown contains some
   notable places such as:
     * The University of Guyana (Headquarters)
     * The Cyril Potter College of Education
     * The Caribbean Community Secretariat (Headquarters of CARICOM)
     * The Guyana International Conference Centre
     * Ocean View International Hotel
     * Guyana Sugar Corporation (Headquarters of the country's largest
       corporation)
     * Ogle Airport (Guyana's local air transport facility)

   South Georgetown - incorporated communities of neighbourhoods along the
   eastern bank of the Demerara River such as Sophia, Roxanne Burnham
   Gardens, Albouystown, Guyhoc Park and Agricola. This is a well known
   and highly regarded poor area of the city. Some places like Houston
   Estates, Ruimvelt and Thirst Park have retained high levels of
   affluence.

City neighbourhoods

   Laluni St, Queenstown, Georgetown. 2006
   Enlarge
   Laluni St, Queenstown, Georgetown. 2006

   Known for its historic importance, Georgetown remains the
   administrative centre for the central Government.

   North of Georgetown lies Main Street, where the Head of State's
   official residence can be found along with several other important
   Government buildings including the Ministry of Finance. East of
   Georgetown stretches towards the Avenue of the Republic where
   Georgetown's City Hall building is located as well as the magestic
   world famous St. Georges building. Also on the East side is Brickdam
   which is the single most concentrated area of Executive departments and
   agencies. The Ministries of Health, Education, Home Affairs, Housing
   and Water are all located on Brickdam.

   West of Stabroek Market is the Port of Georgetown, the largest and
   busiest shipping point in Guyana. Stabroek Market itself contains the
   Ministry of Labour as well as the Ministry of Human Services and Social
   Security. It is also the host facility for the equally famous Stabroek
   markets.
     * Regent Street - known as Georgetown's premier shopping district. It
       is said that if you don't find it on Regent Street, you won't find
       it anywhere else in Georgetown.

     * Sheriff Street - this is Guyana's main entertainment hot spot. It
       contains most of the city's clubs, bars and restaurants. It is said
       to be the only street in Georgetown that never sleeps.

Demographics

   Georgetown is diverse with many people of different races residing
   here. It is home to about 250,000 people, which translates to 32% of
   Guyana's population. Greater Georgetown contains some of nation's
   wealthiest neighbourhoods. However, there are still people living in
   poverty. The neighbourhood pictured above is an example of a poorer
   section of Laluni in Georgetown.

Suburbs

   Suburban Georgetown is comprised of Greater Georgetown and Uptown
   Georgetown and contains the following suburbs of the city :
     * Republic Park
     * Nandy Park
     * Providence
     * Felicity
     * Bel Air
     * Vreed en Hoop
     * Kingston

Travel

   Georgetown is served by the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, 41 km
   south of the city. International flights/connections from New York,
   Miami, Bridgetown, Port of Spain and Paramaribo are routine. There is
   also a regular coach service between Georgetown and Boa Vista in
   Brazil, and ready travel to Paramaribo, Suriname via a ferry crossing
   on the Courantyne River. There are many hotels in the city, including:
   Blue Wave Apartments, Brandsville's Apartments, Campala Hotel, Cara
   Inn, Cara Lodge, Cara Suites, Florentine's Hotel, Friends Apartment
   Hotel, Grand Coastal Hotels (two locations), Hotel Arizante, Hotel
   Glow, Hotel Tower, Le Méridien Pegasus Hotel, Main Street Plaza, New
   Tropicana Hotel, Plaza Hotel, lima Guest House and Woodbine
   International Hotel.

Utilities

     * Power is suppied by the state-owned and controlled Guyana Power and
       Light.
     * Water and solid waste disposal is handled by state-owned and
       foreign managed Guyana Water Incorporated.
     * Telephone and high-speed Internet access are supplied by U.S.-owned
       Guyana Telephone & Telegraph Company.
     * Satellite television services are offered by Sky Digital Networks
       (Guyana) Inc.

Sister cities

   Georgetown has one sister city, as designated by Sister Cities
   International:
     * United States - St Louis (United States)

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