A small museum with artifacts and information about the original inhabitants of the island, the Arawak (or Taino) Indians.
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Once known as the "Richest and wickedest city in the world", Port Royal was a notorious pirate haven in the 17th century. The most famous privateer (basically a pirate, but licensed by the British crown) who operated from Port Royal was Sir Henry Morgan who plundered Spanish vessels travelling in the Caribbean and even sacked Panama City. The city prospered as the pirates gathered riches, but a strong earthquake struck the area in 1692 sinking many ships in the harbour, killing many people, and leaving much of the city under the sea. Some claimed the quake was God's punishment for the evildoers of Port Royal. This disaster helped to establish Kingston as the new capital, and many of the survivors moved to Kingston. Although most of the buildings at the port today are not the original buildings, the walls of Fort Charles have been preserved since the rebuilding two years after the earthquake, Saint Peter's Church built in the early 18th century, and the ruins of Fort Rocky remain. There is also a museum to learn more about the history and see artifacts from its heyday. The site was listed as a in 2025.
In the southern corner of Kingston's most (in)famous neighbourhood there's a museum where you can learn about the district, and the musicians behind the style of music that was born there in the 1960s – reggae.
The museum features artwork by Jamaicans from throughout its history, from the native Taino Indians through the colonial period to works by modern artists. The gallery hosts its annual National Visual Arts Exhibition, which began in 1963 as a way to promote post-colonial art and to showcase the works of rising artists from Jamaica. Entrance fees are waved during the exhibition period.
Offers free concerts occasionally in the summer and during the Christmas. The six-acre park includes fountains and public art. The park is known for the large sculpture Redemption Song at the park's main entrance.Redemption Song, which takes its name from Bob Marley's song of the same name, is an 11-ft-high (approximately 3 m) bronze sculpture by Jamaican artist Laura Facey. The sculpture features a male and female figure gazing to the skies – symbolic of their triumphant rise from the horrors of slavery. The statue was unveiled in July 2003, in time for the park's first anniversary. The park is in New Kingston, opened on 31 July 2002, the day before Emancipation Day. Prime Minister P.J. Patterson's address to open the park he acknowledged that the park is a commemoration of the end of slavery. Even though the park doesn't provide food and drink, except ice-cream, restaurants and cafés are nearby.
Former parade ground with a colourful history. In 1694 a fortification was built on this place, with the guns aimed at the harbour. It was torn down in 1870 and the place was turned into a parade ground, named Victoria Park after the queen. A statue of Queen Victoria was placed here, in addition to a gallows. In 1977 the park got its current name, and the queen's statue was joined by statues of Alexander Bustamante and Norman Manley. In the end of the 1980s the parade grounds were remodelled into a park.
The massive white and blue theatre building north of the William Grant Park is definitely an eyecatcher. The neoclassical building is the third theater building standing on this place and was gifted to the city by rum magnate Colonel Charles J. Ward in 1912. The theatre is a national heritage site and has more than 800 seats with its interior hardly changed since its inauguration. However, not much else has been renovated either, and the building is in a quite bad condition. The population of downtown do not really have a relationship to the cultural side of this building whereas the richer inhabitants avoid the surroundings at nighttime.