Travel
Hamilton Bound!
The terms 'Hamilton, Ontario' and 'tourist destination' don't usually find themselves in the same sentence. That's just the way it is.
Nonetheless, having never tasted the metallic lips of Steeltown myself, I eventually yielded to my urge to 'discover'. I hopped on the GO Train for eighteen dollars return (so glamorous; I felt like I was on Canadian television in 2005) and made my way to that other city on the lake.
The obvious first stop was the Art Gallery of Hamilton. The building, though centrally located, is uninviting; it's one of those brutal 1970's concrete towers we have so many of in Toronto.
Once you get inside the gallery space is bright and modern, however. Admission to the second floor is free, so that's where I went; their Canadian collection is small but surprisingly striking and varied. Of course the second floor only took about half an hour of my day to peruse.
The highlight of my trip may have been the bizarre public monuments that line the downtown core. There was a huge statue dedicated to the founding fathers of southern Ontario: American Loyalists (trying its very best to make them sound daring and heroic), a large brass plaque commemorating the 'first birth control clinic' in Canada and a monument on Main street dedicated to 'accidental workplace fatalities' that I found kind of creepy.
I don't understand why it had to feature a patina'd man without a head clinging to the edge of rusty wall. I'm going to have nightmares about him tonight.
It's obvious the recession has battered the city; there were many large art deco buildings shuttered and closed to the public, not too mention regular storefronts.
My favourite abandoned building was a former vaudeville theatre which ran movies until 1989; it was closed after the local mall installed a multiplex.
All in all Steeltown is a rougher, rockier, more industrial version of Toronto. There isn't too much to see there on a day trip that you can't find at, say, St. Clair and Keele (they should rename that intersection 'Little Hamilton.')
Photos by Mr. Robin Sharp
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The Royal Conought (sp?) has actually been closed for years and years, waaaay before the recession. I should dig up some interior/roof shots and to an 'Ontario's Forgotten Landmarks' on it : D
jonathan@blogTO
The review kind of reminds me of reviews of Toronto by tourists who stay within a three block radius of The Sheraton because they assumed there was nothing worth seeing further from that and then say "Toronto is boring".
Ya, Lister is finally getting a redo; I miss that place in its state like maybe 8 years ago - since then it started to 'melt' - just became gross after a while, and not worth the stupid-hard trek to get inside... the Lyric theatre is pretty badass too, but is incredibly unsafe - and that's coming from me...haha.
Jonathan@blogTO
Some of the more glaring inaccuracies: the AGH (Art Gallery of Hamilton) is located within a wonderfully renovated (and decidedly non-Brutalist) space designed by Bruce Kuwabara: http://www.artgalleryofhamilton.on.ca/aa_index.php. Did the writer even look at/enter the art gallery? Also, as far as I know there are no "art deco buildings shuttered" in the downtown. While there are indeed shuttered buildings (the Lister Block and the Royal Connaught being prime examples), all Hamilton's Art Deco buildings are open and flourishing, such as the GO station, Liuna Station, and the old post office. The writer appears to have no idea what "Art Deco" constitutes at all.
Uhh...hello? The article explicitly says "once you get inside the gallery space is bright and modern"...that suggests to me that the author went inside the gallery.
Obviously my grasp on art deco is much firmer than yours on mid-century brutalism, which the gallery certainly is. The facade of this 'shuttered' Hamilton building looks pretty art deco to me...
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RrFTIiSH0qg/SdlH35ebHSI/AAAAAAAAAFY/Fu4ZRrpQwhI/s1600-h/Art+Deco+Closed.jpg
- Chicago's Pizza Restaurant
- Red Rockets Wings
- The Bruce Trail
- Hiking in Dundas
- Biking/roller blading along the harbour front
- Running up and down the escarpment stairs (@Chedoke Golf Course)
- Cheap drinks at Billy Bob's
- Live music @ Silante pub
This list turned out to be longer than I thought.. I guess I do miss Hamilton after all.
Downtown, on King William St just off of James St is a really cool co-op run café/restaurant/community space called the Skydragon center. ALWAYS worth a visit!
Before you get defensive - wouldn't you be pissed if I said: "Toronto is smaller, more pretentious version of New York or Chicago that's really insecure about its identity". Or how about, "Toronto is like Montreal, but without the beauty, art and joie-de-vivre".
Jim Curran on the CBC had the best line though - "Toronto...it's just down the road from Hamilton".
PS:
Come back for another visit and this time, bring your bike and go beyond the 6 block radius that surrounds the GO Station.
There were large omissions of some fantastic architecture photos that could have really helped with showing the beauty of Hamilton, instead of focusing on the boring "70's style" architecture that largely makes up the core of Hamilton (I agree they should be updated) you opted to use the photos of boarded up stores.
If you're an active person is any way, Hamilton has 100x more to offer you then Toronto. From its local rail trail bicycle trails, to escarpment hiking, to nearby cliffs, I could only hope for something as good within the T dot.
http://green.hyperdot.net/beautiful-hamilton
For those not familiar with the intersection of St. Clair and Keele, this is a pretty brutal statement. Apparently Hamilton consists of a McDonalds, a Home Depot, and a whole lot of traffic.
Thats kind of an Arsehole dig at that intersection/
"There isn't too much to see there on a day trip that you can't find at, say, St. Clair and Keele": Comments like that are why the rest of the country hates us. In what is a fairly well kept secret, There's actually a lot of natural beauty in and around the city. The Botanical gardens, Cootes Paradise, and Webster's falls immediately spring to mind. In addition, the west side of the city, the Westdale neighbourhood in particular, is quite charming and about as far away from Hamilton's grimy, industrial image as one can imagine. Next time, explore a bit further than the 3 blocks surrounding the bus station, and leave the attitude in Toronto.
Hamilton does have a lot to offer, and its waterfront shouldn't be missed in an article such as this one. Mac's campus isn't downtown and gets less traffic than U of T, which makes it more appealing for students. Let's not forget Hess either; which I always enjoyed more than Billy Bob's.
<a href="http://www.myspace.com/woodhands"; target="_blank">Woodhands</a> and <a href="http://www.godmademefunky.com"; target="_blank">God Made Me Funky</a> in one night. What more could you want?
Do your research!
Hamilton is a "secret" city, and compared to Toronto, sure it seems poor.
My Dog Joe is one of my favourite coffee shops in Canada.
Other than incredible real estate bargains, Hamilton is best discovered through the photographs of Flar on Urban Toronto:
http://www.urbantoronto.ca/showthread.php?t=8917
http://www.urbantoronto.ca/showthread.php?t=8367
Over 30 different neighbourhoods photographed by Flar, I highly recommend taking a look at them!
Plus Hess - love Hess.
T H E - C I T Y - I N - P I C T U R E S
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=168601
Tourism Hamilton could learn from this article. Maybe if there were more signage everywhere pointing to interesting features. I mean, the writer walked within a block of the Farmers Market maybe if she knew it was there the article would have been more positive. She didn't even go to the waterfront... or Hess Village or Princess Point or any of the dozens of waterfalls or lookouts...
vs the concrete jungle urban sprawl blob of a mess that would mean a life of hassesl to get anywhere is a decent amount of time. not much nature or scenery to be found in T.O. Unless you love the fresh feeling of just poured concrete.
I guess this is why the 400 is jammed on a friday evening in the summer.
enjoy that!!!
In case anyone is curious, here is the AGH: http://www.kpmbarchitects.com/index.asp?navid=30&;fid1=15&fid2=23
With all due respect to your grasp of all things brutal, your comment regarding the building’s aesthetics could easily be misconstrued. After all, the concrete tower that you find so objectionable is essentially invisible. From the project architect's notes:
"The opaque, fortress-like façade was transformed by a composition of boldly-scaled horizontal and vertical geometric planes defined by broad expanses of gold paneling, charcoal brick, and steel. The custom-fabricated gold corrugated steel panels consciously reference the city’s history as a steeltown, and differentiate the image of the AGH from its context of brutalist concrete and corporate office buildings."
Every city has their good qualities and to ignore those and not look beyond the obvious, you are depriving yourself of all life has to offer. We are not judgemental in Hamilton and we all get along despite differences in social classes. If you ever need a hand, want to talk to all walks of life and remain grounded despite the hustle and bustle of every day life...Come to Hamilton. Otherwise, all who live here in this hidden gem would be happy to keep it to ourselves.
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