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Getting to Know St. Croix
Seven flags have flown over the island once called Ay-Ay by Indians, Santa Cruz by Columbus and Saint Croix by the French. Denmark bought it from France in 1733 as an agricultural colony, and the United States, in turn, bought all three islands for $25 million in 1917. Today, vast acres dotted with stone towers that used to be sugar mills are the last remaining witnesses of plantation days, when St. Croix bustled with international commerce.
At 28 miles in length and seven miles across at its widest, St. Croix is shaped like a shoe with its toe pointing east. Rent a car, book a safari van or arrange an open-air jeep tour to take full advantage of attractions you'll find from one end to the other.
A Regal Pair: Christiansted and Frederiksted
Named for Danish kings, St. Croix's two towns — Christiansted on the north shore and Frederiksted at the west end — share a wealth of history. Start at the waterfront lawn of the 7-acre Christiansted Historic Site overseen by the National Park Service to imagine colonial life in the 18th and 19th centuries.
At Fort Christiansvaern (1738), wander through solders' living quarters and ascend for a fine view of Christiansted Harbor framed by iron cannons that protected settlers against invasion. In the central grassy area, you can walk up the ?welcoming arms? staircase of the Danish Customs House (1844), although the building is not open for touring.
The Scale House (1856) has arched doors and a huge scale that colonists used to weigh sugar and bales of cotton before exporting goods on sailing ships docked along the wharf. A bookstore here offers a good selection of island information.
Facing the fort across Hospital Street are the Danish West India & Guinea Company warehouse compound (1749), where slave auctions were once held in a courtyard, and the Steeple Building (1753) at the corner of Company Street, St. Croix's first Lutheran church. Two blocks down King Street is Government House, originally two private homes that Denmark bought in 1771 to house an administrative base for the three islands before changing the capital to St. Thomas a century later.
After soaking up history, you can shop at small galleries and boutiques along Company Street, King Street, Strand Street and the cross streets that link them. Or stroll the boardwalk at the north end of town, relax in a waterfront restaurant and watch the seaplanes take off.
Peaceful Frederiksted has a deep-water harbor facing a row of stately Danish buildings that now greet cruise ships instead of trade schooners. Amid Strand Street's Danish-designed shady arcades, the Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts at No. 10 showcases the work of regional artists. In the blocks behind the waterfront, notice Victorian-style clapboard houses with gingerbread trim, rebuilt after the 1878 workers' revolt burned much of the town.
Walk a few blocks north along the water to see red Fort Frederik (1752), built by the Danes to prevent smuggling and now the most historic spot on the U.S. Virgin Islands. Governor-General Peter von Scholten mounted these ramparts to proclaim an end to slavery in the Danish West Indies and changed the character of the islands forever.
Near the West End
Whim Museum on Queen Mary Highway (Route 70) is a large restored 18th-century plantation with an antique-filled great house you can tour, as well as outbuildings and a sugar mill. At the historic Cruzan Rum Distillery, follow a guide through warehouses where rainwater and molasses are processed into rum and bottled for export. Taste samples before driving (carefully) to the nearby St. George Village Botanical Garden to wander through 16 acres planted with an array of exotic species amid plantation ruins.
In the dense tropical forest above Frederiksted on Route 76, visit the charming Lawaetz Museum furnished with a Danish farm family's antiques for insight into life in the first half of the 20th century. A few miles east at the Mt. Pellier Domino Club, it's traditional to buy a can of nonalcoholic brew for the famous ?beer-drinking pig. Watch him dispatch it — can and all — and enjoy a refreshment yourself.
Cruising the Coast
Head north on Route 69 to St. Croix's northwest coastline for some limin' time at palm-fringed Cane Bay, known for its beach bars, snorkeling and scuba diving. Drive east to the Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve, where Columbus sent his crew ashore in 1493 — a fine place for a kayaking ecotour. A hilltop visitor center provides a smashing view of the bay below (but may be closed while undergoing upgrades).
On the other side of Christiansted, at the Gallows Bay ferry dock, you can arrange a sunset cruise (from November through May) on the schooner Roseway, a 1925 tall ship now used for nonprofit educational programs.
Driving the dry northeast coast, you'll pass miles of cactus-studded hills to reach Point Udall, the easternmost point of the United States, topped by a Millennium Monument built in 1999. On the return trip, notice the Very Long Baseline Array, part of a system of radio-telescope antennas — and a turreted hilltop castle, the private residence of a contessa.
Cross the island at its narrowest point (Route 60) to cruise the south shore's hilly coastline, perhaps with a stopover at Divi Carina Bay, the only casino on the Virgin Islands.
Halfway along the south coast is the hard-to-miss Hovensa oil refinery, one of the largest in the Western Hemisphere. Above it midisland are the Sunny Isle Shopping Center and the entrance to the Melvin H. Evans Highway (Route 66), which leads back to the airport, Frederiksted and the west end attractions.
CARIBBEAN MUSEUM CENTER FOR THE ARTS
10 Strand St. & 62 King St., Frederiksted
340-772-2622 • info@cmcarts.orgm
www.cmcarts.org
beautiful historic property on the Frederiksted waterfront. The classic Danish architecture offers a perfect setting for spacious exhibition galleries, visiting artist in residence apartments, working art studios and classrooms, pottery studio, gift shop and beautiful courtyard. The Museum offers these wonderful facilities for both public and private performances and events.
DIVI CARINA BAY RESORT & CASINO
5035 Turner Hole, Christiansted
Resort: 877-773-9700, 340-773-9700 • www.divicarina.com
Casino: 340-773-PLAY (7529) • www.carinabay.com
Located on a quiet stretch of beach on St. Croix, Divi Carina Bay Beach Resort & Casino combines privacy and relaxation with modern style and amenities. Two hundred spacious beachfront guestrooms and deluxe hillside suites offer private balconies with stunning views. The resort features a PADI five-star dive operation, an 18-hole miniature golf course and driving range, and a full-service spa. Divi Casino offers gaming excitement including table games, live and video poker, a simulcast betting area, slot machines, a café and a showbar.
Find a complete list of activities, island tours and day trips, tour operators, charter boats for dive, snorkeling, fishing and swimming, golf and water sports - right here in our Activities Directory.
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