{"id":23344,"date":"2020-12-06T17:25:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-06T17:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cekan.ca\/regional\/architectural-gems-in-the-city-of-hamilton\/"},"modified":"2022-11-28T20:07:15","modified_gmt":"2022-11-28T20:07:15","slug":"architectural-gems-in-the-city-of-hamilton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cekan.ca\/hamilton\/architectural-gems-in-the-city-of-hamilton\/","title":{"rendered":"Architectural gems in the city of Hamilton"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a newcomer to the city of Hamilton, I\u2019ve already come across my fair share of people who (still) look down on the city. Whilst many acknowledge its recent improvements, some people still can\u2019t part ways with the adjective ugly<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Most often, people will be referring to the view of the city from the Skyway. And granted, the factories that fill your view aren\u2019t the prettiest to look at. Also within the city center there are certain buildings, corners, streets or parks that often get a bad review. Once again, the word ugly <\/em>often comes up when these are being discussed.<\/p>\n

It appears that many buildings \u2013 both past and present \u2013 are not actively being registered by the residents and the visitors of our city. To not make this mistake myself (can\u2019t say I wasn\u2019t at fault for doing the same thing when I still lived in Amsterdam, the Netherlands), I sat down for a chat with a friend of mine who works for Hamilton-based architecture firm dpai architecture inc<\/em><\/a>. She was able to point me in the direction of some interesting buildings in our very own city, giving me a small history lesson along the way and even teaching me a thing of two about architecture.<\/p>\n

After our talk I walked home through the city center and immediately saw the city in a different light, partly thanks to the following buildings and their history.<\/p>\n

Old Hamilton City Hall<\/h2>\n

This first architectural gem of Hamilton is unfortunately no longer to be found in the city\u2019s skyline, but its history is worth knowing. It\u2019s one of the many historical buildings that Hamilton has lost throughout the years. Some people hold the view that the city, primarily back in the 1950s through to the 1970s, did not respect its heritage and that historically significant buildings were too easily replaced with new ones. These new structures were built in a style popular in that specific era, without regard to the city\u2019s past.<\/p>\n

The Old City Hall, previously on the corner of James Street North and King William Street, served its purpose from 1888 to 1960 and is definitely one of those buildings that has made way for a more modern counterpart. This classic French Romanesque building, with big arches and a prominent clock tower, stood high above its surroundings, serving its purpose of being the city\u2019s central point.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, as the years passed, the Old City Hall had to endure a lot of criticism though. In 1929, in an editorial in The Spectator, the building was described as being \u201cantiquated and inadequate\u201d. In 1944 the label \u201cfire trap\u201d was put on it. And later in 1947 it was deemed “dangerous, obsolete and too small to accommodate the expanded functions of the civic administration\u201d.<\/p>\n

The building ultimately collapsed (figuratively speaking) under the criticism, leading to its closure on October 28th, 1960 and its demolition in June 1961.<\/p>\n

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Old Hamilton City Hall (Copyright \u00a9 2006 Hamilton Public Library)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Not far from where the original building stood, you can nowadays still get a glance of history. When you\u2019re on the corner of James Street North and York Street, you can look up and you\u2019ll see the original clock from Old City Hall. Put into storage after the demolition, it was taken out in 1990 when Cadillac-Fairview included it in the construction of their new Eaton Centre mall.<\/p>\n

The location is nowadays known as City Centre, but it still proudly holds the clock up.<\/p>\n\n

New Hamilton City Hall<\/h2>\n

On Monday, October 31st 1960, the Hamilton municipal employees were welcomed to their new office. Just a weekend after the closure of the Old City Hall, its replacement opened its doors at 71 Main Street West.<\/p>\n

A number that was deliberately chosen, as an homage to the old location. For the construction of the new structure, a large number of buildings had to make way, opening up all uneven numbers between 55 and 105.<\/p>\n

The city decided upon number 71, as a reflection of the number of years that the Old City Hall was in use.<\/p>\n

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Opening Day at New City Hall (Copyright \u00a9 2006 Hamilton Public Library)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A lot of deliberation \u2013 not just about the address \u2013 went into the construction of the New City Hall, with some suggestions being more realistic and constructive than others.\u00a0Take Mayor Lloyd Douglas Jackson\u2019s suggestion for example: he hoped to have the council chamber from Old City Hall moved completely into the new location.<\/p>\n

In a discussion with architect Stanley Roscoe, the mayor has been credited to have said: “All I want from you is whether it’s feasible. Never mind whether it’s wise”.<\/p>\n

Mr. Roscoe countered by saying it was feasible, but added: “No good modern architect would do it.” The mayor\u2019s threat to go out and find an architect who wasn\u2019t good and modern was rendered mute when weeks later the old council chamber literally crumbed to pieces, when plaster started falling from the walls.<\/p>\n\n

Hamilton\u2019s New City Hall ultimately got designed in the international style of architecture, also known as rationalist architecture. This style \u2013 stemming from the 1920s and 1930s \u2013 rose to prominence in Canada and the USA after World War II. And while it started off as a unique new style, it quickly became very common, with its rectangular footprint, simple cubic form and windows creating a grid like structure.<\/p>\n

Even in Hamilton you don\u2019t have to look far to find a second landmark in the same style: 100 King Street West (formerly known as Stelco Tower), across the street from MacNab Transit Terminal, was completed in 1972 and falls in the same architectural category.<\/p>\n

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New City Hall (Copyright \u00a9 2017 cmh2315fl, Flickr)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hate it or love it \u2013 which can apply to both the architectural style and City Hall itself \u2013 in 2005, the City Council gave New City Hall the label heritage structure<\/em>. One of the specified elements that helped it gain this title are the Italian glass tile mosaics, which run across the entire width of the building, just above the ground floor windows.<\/p>\n\n

Hamilton Central Library and the Farmers\u2019 Market<\/h2>\n

Not far from the previous two buildings, another interesting Hamilton structure can be found. One building, in which we find two city-defining institutions.<\/p>\n

The history of the first part \u2013 the Hamilton Central Library<\/a> \u2013 dates back to 1890, when the first building with this title opened its doors on the north side of Main Street West.<\/p>\n

In 1913 it got replaced by a new main library of the city, which served its purpose until 1980. It was at that moment that the Central Library opened its doors at the current location, on York Boulevard.<\/p>\n

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Central Library (Copyright \u00a9 2007 Hamilton Public Library)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The history of the second part of this structure \u2013 the Hamilton Farmers\u2019 Market<\/a> \u2013 is slightly more extensive than that of its neighbour.<\/p>\n

All the way back in 1837 was the first instance of a farmers’ market in Hamilton, close to its current location. Over time, various structures have served as market halls, including a former building on James Street North, where it shared space with the City Council (shown below).<\/p>\n

When this hall got consumed by a fire in 1917, the open-air portion of the market grew in size and remained immensely busy. So much so that it was considered the largest open-air market in Canada for the first half of the 20th century.<\/p>\n

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Market (Copyright \u00a9 2007 Hamilton Public Library)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The market was put under more and more pressure from increased car traffic throughout the city as the 1950s rolled along. Blocking the street for market stalls three days a week simply wasn\u2019t sustainable anymore.<\/p>\n

Slowly the market stalls decreased in number and by the 1960s the market had significantly shrunk its footprint. It was at that point in time that the city began working on a large urban renewal plan, focused on the block between King, Bay, York, and James Street. This plan included a spot for the Farmers\u2019 Market, which moved into the facilities it still shares with the Public Library back in 1980.<\/p>\n\n

When you wander past the Public Library and Farmers\u2019 Market nowadays, your view will be slightly different than it was in 1980 and even up to 2010. This is thanks to a major renovation, led by dpai architecture<\/em>, which was completed in 2011.<\/p>\n

On the outside you\u2019ll find fine detailing on the facade, including lots of glass, which was done to assist the reconnection of the buildings with its surrounding urban environment.<\/p>\n

More recently the walkway along the front entrance of the Farmers\u2019 Market welcomed the displaying of Dave Hind\u2019s artwork \u201cRaising the Barn\u201d, which has helped to elevate the market to becoming a popular destination, both for Hamiltonians and visitors.<\/p>\n

On the inside of both buildings, dpai architecture<\/em> performed a lot of work as well. In the Farmers\u2019 Market much of it took place behind the scenes, focusing on heating, ventilation, lighting and plumbing.<\/p>\n

Both buildings however also benefited from major reorganization efforts, which in the case of the Public Library can be seen in the increase in public spaces, the reorganized and enhanced collections, as well as the increased internet access for its visitors.<\/p>\n\n

So much more to see<\/h2>\n

My focus for now was set on just three buildings, in a fairly small radius of each other. However, if you want to see more unique, classic, modern and\/or eye-opening architecture, Hamilton has more than enough to offer you.<\/p>\n

If you like classic buildings, the newly renovated Lister Block (28 James St N) might be worth a visit. Or wander over to the Whitehern Historic House and Garden<\/a> (41 Jackson St W) on a sunny day and take a seat in the garden while gazing over at the Victorian-era house.<\/p>\n

More into modern architecture? Maybe Mohawk\u2019s Joyce Centre for Partnership & Innovation<\/a> \u2013 on its Fennell Ave W campus \u2013 is the place for you. This building is Hamilton\u2019s first zero-carbon institutional building and also one of the largest in our country. It has already won countless awards, including the 2019 Canada Award of Excellence for Innovation in Architecture, awarded by the Royal Architectural Institute \u2014 the first such award for a Hamilton project.<\/p>\n

Even if you\u2019re not interested in a specific building, I have one final piece of advice for you: look up (whilst still looking ahead to traffic and fellow pedestrians obviously).<\/p>\n

If you haven\u2019t before, I can assure you that you\u2019ll be surprised by some details on buildings, all across the city. You\u2019ll quickly come to see the rich architectural history of our city and if you\u2019re among the people that still like to use the term ugly <\/em>when describing Hamilton, I\u2019m pretty sure you\u2019ll stop doing so fairly soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As a newcomer to the city of Hamilton, I\u2019ve already come across my fair share of people who (still) look down on the city. Whilst many acknowledge its recent improvements, some people still can\u2019t ...","protected":false},"author":196,"featured_media":23351,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8066],"tags":[408,3224,19,617,1813,20,2176],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cekan.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Hamilton-Farmers-Market-vintage.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cekan.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23344"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cekan.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cekan.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cekan.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/196"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cekan.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23344"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cekan.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23344\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23350,"href":"https:\/\/cekan.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23344\/revisions\/23350"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cekan.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cekan.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cekan.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cekan.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}