Neighbourhoods
The City of Fredericton is bisected by the Saint John River. This has created two distinctive regions of the city characterized as the "Northside" and the "Southside".
The Southside is characterized by a downtown core consisting of provincial government departments, historical buildings, and numerous business establishments, banks, and law firms. Downtown also hosts many of the city's cultural attractions such as The Playhouse, the Fredericton Region Museum (formerly the York-Sunbury Museum), and the Beaverbrook Art Gallery. Many notable historical buildings are also located in or near downtown, including many grand Victorian-era residences, the New Brunswick Legislative Building, and Christ Church Cathedral. South of downtown, the city's elevation rises along a sloping hill (part of the river valley feature of the city).
"The Hill", as it is called, includes an area known as "College Hill", where the adjoining campuses of the University of New Brunswick and St. Thomas University are located, slightly southeast of the downtown area.
Southwest of the universities on the crest of the hill near the highway interchange between Route 8 and Route 7 is the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital.
East of the universities is the Skyline Acres/Southwood Park area, consisting of a core of older established suburbs, and newer more affluent areas such as Poets Hill.
Occupying the hill southwest of downtown is Odell Park, a large preserved forest area. Its trails and wooded areas are a favourite for hiking, jogging, dog walking, and cross-country skiing for city residents. Odell Park borders on the Fredericton Botanic Garden. West of the park and garden is Hanwell Road, Golf Club Road, and Silverwood neighbourhoods consisting largely of suburban residences.
South of the "Hill Area", where it plateaus, is a sizeable shopping district consisting of two malls—The Fredericton Uptown Centre (formerly the Fredericton Mall) and The Regent Mall—as well as numerous other retail outlets. The Uptown Centre decided to follow the American trend of eliminating indoor passageways between retail outlets; this has also resulted in the closure of many of its smaller independent outlets.
The city's "northside" consists of several boroughs which were at one time separate communities. These include Devon, Nashwaaksis, Marysville and Barker's Point. These communities are largely suburban neighbourhoods and retail outlets. Main Street (in Nashwaaksis) which becomes Union Street in Devon, runs along the northern bank of the St. John River. It includes numerous retail outlets as well as an eclectic array of businesses including IT firms, law firms, and real estate agents. Also located on the Northside is the Brookside Mall, a retail mall anchored by Sobeys, Zellers, Alcool NB Liquor and a Lawton Drugs store as well as government offices. A new retail "power centre" development including Canadian Tire/Marks Work Warehouse, Kent Building Supplies and a Wal-Mart, is located at Two-Nations Crossing. Willie O'Ree Place - a new multi-million dollar hockey complex - opened in the same area in 2007.
The northside is also home to the Saint Mary's First Nation Aboriginal reserve, which includes a community centre and a shopping centre. During the Christmas season, the neighbourhood has some of the most spectacular and creative decorations in the city.
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