Crow's Nest named place of national historic significance

A historic bar in downtown St. John's is being named a place of national historic significance.

The Crow's Nest Officers' Club, established on Jan. 27, 1942, became well-known among naval officers based in St. John's as a place to gather during the Battle of the Atlantic in the Second World War. 

The club was originally named the 'Seagoing Officers' Club.' 

We see our jobs as stewards of the place, and in line with preservation, education and commemoration, it just enhances and confirms that- Crow's Nest President Tony Dearness

On Friday, Senator David Wells unveiled a Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada plaque at a special ceremony held on Signal Hill in St. John's.

Crow's Nest Club President Tony Dearness said in the last seven decades, not a lot has changed inside the club. 

"We have done extensive renovations a couple of years ago, removed all the gunshield art from the walls and the badges and that sort of thing, and replaced the walls. And now we've got them all back up, but it looks the same as it did at the end of the war," Dearness told the St. John's Morning Show on Friday. 

Dearness said past-president Gary Green submitted an application for consideration to the historic sites board some time ago.  

"It took a little bit of working and going back-and-forth, but after a period of time, they agreed it was a significant historical site and gave us the award. There is a panel, which reviews all the criteria. I can't say what all those were, but certainly we met them. It was quite a vigorous process because we had a couple of site visits, where people came down from Ottawa and looked at different things and we did a couple of presentations."

Dearness said the Crow's Nest holds an important place in the history of the city.

"I think it's a continuing part of what we think about ourselves and we can project that to the community. We see our jobs as stewards of the place, and in line with preservation, education and commemoration, it just enhances and confirms that."

The club is known for containing a large collection of military memorabilia, including a periscope from a German U-Boat, which was captured in Bay Bulls in 1945.