National Museum

THE NATIONAL MUSEUM is located in what used to be the Treasury Building. It is also the home of the St. Christopher National Trust. Once situated on the Basseterre Bay front, the building is now at the meeting point of Basseterre and the reclaimed land of Port Zante. The Treasury actually moved to the corner of Church Street and Central Street in 1996 and the National Museum gradually moved in. In 1857 St. Kitts had a new treasury building probably constructed of wood and which included a light house. £600 had been allocated for the project. Before returning the remaining sum to the Treasury, the Committee of Public Buildings bought a clock and placed it on the north side of the building facing Fort Street then deposited the balance of £9 10. 6. It was left over from the project. However in December of that same year money had to be found again for the construction of a privy at the Treasury Building.

The Circus

The Circus is the hub of Basseterre. It is a recognised landmark and a popular meeting place. The Circus owes its origins to the fire that destroyed Basseterre on July 4th, 1867. The whole town east of West Square street was devastated. The inefficiencies of the fire department were, at least in part, responsible for the magnitude of the disaster. When Basseterre was rebuilt, it was decided to make its streets easier for the fire truck to navigate. Among the new arrangements were the widening of Fort Street and the laying down of the Circus. In 1883 a memorial to Thomas Berkeley was placed at its centre. Because it contained a fountain and a clock, and it was erected on a platform which quickly became a seating area, it encouraged the gathering of people in the Circus.