Editing Port of Spain (section)

=== Parks ===
==== Queen's Park Savannah ====

[[File:CompletedWaterfrontPOS.JPG|thumb|The Port of Spain International Waterfront Centre, 2009]]
[[File:QPSpicfromhilton23.jpg|thumb|Queen's Park Savannah]]

Port of Spain's largest open space—and the world's largest traffic [[roundabout]]—is the [[Queen's Park Savannah]], known colloquially simply as "the Savannah". It occupies about {{convert|260|acre|ha|sigfig=2|order=flip}}<ref>Agostini, Keifel A. (21 September 1997) [https://web.archive.org/web/20060116073703/http://www.nalis.gov.tt/Places/Places_Queen%27sParkSav1.html Queens Park Savannah: Save Our Savannah.] ''[[Trinidad and Tobago Express|Sunday Express]]''.</ref> of level land, and the distance around the perimeter is about {{convert|2.2|mi|1|abbr=on|order=flip}}. Once sugar land, it was bought by the town council in 1817 from the Peschier family (except for a small parcel near its centre that served as the Peschier cemetery, which remains in private hands).

At first it was used as a vast cattle pasture in what was then the town's suburbs, but by the middle of the 19th century it had become established as a park. Until the early 1990s, horse racing was held frequently at the Savannah race track, and it also contains several [[cricket]], [[association football|football]] and [[Rugby football|rugby]] pitches. Apart from a ring of trees round its perimeter, the Savannah was never really landscaped, except for the small area in its northwest corner called the Hollows, a former reservoir now drained and planted with flowering shrubs.

[[File:Botanic Gardens Trinidad 2006-03-22.JPG|thumb|Royal Botanic Gardens]]

Immediately north of the Savannah—also the northern limit of the city of Port of Spain—are the [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Trinidad|Royal Botanic Gardens]], the [[Emperor Valley Zoo]], [[President's House, Trinidad and Tobago|President's House]] (recently abandoned after one end fell down), the official residence of the prime minister, and Queen's Hall, the city's major performing arts venue. Lady Chancellor Road, which ascends the hills overlooking the Savannah, is one of Port of Spain's most exclusive residential areas and is the current home of former West Indies cricketer and record breaking batsman, Brian Lara.

On the Savannah's southern side is the Grand Stand, formerly used for viewing horse races, now used for various cultural events, most notably [[Trinidad and Tobago Carnival|Carnival]], when a temporary North Stand and raised stage are constructed in front of the Grand Stand, creating the "Big Yard", Carnival's central location since the early 20th century (previously, the main viewing area for Carnival was in downtown Port of Spain). From this location the Parade of Bands is broadcast live to the nation on Carnival Monday and Tuesday; it is also the venue for the [[Calypso Monarch]] and Carnival King and Queen Competitions and the finals of the Panorama [[steelpan]] competition. The architecturally soothing arches and curves of the Port of Spain National Academy for the Performing Arts dominate the south boundary of the Savannah between the green trimmed landmarks of Memorial Park (in remembrance of fallen soldiers during World Wars I and II) and the gingerbread styled, limestone built, colourful splendour of the Knowsley Ministry of Foreign Affairs Building.

The western edge of the Savannah, along Maraval Road, is the location of the Magnificent Seven, a group of late Victorian and Edwardian buildings built in an eccentric and flamboyant variety of styles. These are the recently well restored [[Queen's Royal College]]; the residences of the Anglican bishop and the Roman Catholic archbishop; Whitehall, once a private residence, then the office of the prime minister from 1963 to 2010; Mille Fleurs, once a private residence, is undergoing full restoration as a public museum and headquarters for the National Heritage Trust and was sold to the Government in 1979; Roomor, an ornate black-and-white château-like building that remains a private residence; and Stollmeyer's Castle, a turreted house supposedly modelled on [[Balmoral Castle]]. The slow pace of building restorations over the years remains a concern.<ref>Kalifa Clyne (26 March 2012). [http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2012-03-26/govt-focuses-magnificent-seven-president%E2%80%99s-house Govt focuses on Magnificent Seven, President’s House] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120329021123/http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2012-03-26/govt-focuses-magnificent-seven-president%E2%80%99s-house |date=29 March 2012 }}. ''The Trinidad Guardian''. Retrieved 24 August 2012.</ref>