The town in the city
 

HAMILTON NEIGHBOURHOODS:
Corktown • Durand • Central • Dundas • Locke St. South • Burlington • Stinson • Westdale • St. Clair • Keith • Landsdale
The Delta • Gibson • Jamesville • Concession Street • Durand North • Durand South • Old Dundas Houses • Hess Village • Barton Street
Ancaster • North Kirkendall • South Kirkendall • McMaster University • Downtown • The Bayfront • The North End • Kenilworth
Mountain Brow • Textile District • Strathcona • North Stipley • Flamborough • Beasley • Chedoke • Stoney Creek • The Beach Strip

HAMILTON FEATURES:
C I T Y _ L I G H T S • Stone Hamilton • Twilight of the Industrial Age • Twilight of the Industrial Age II
Stone in Dundas and Ancaster • Goodbye, Hamilton (from 43 floors up) • Dirty Brick • Day for Night
This broken down old city still manages to wake up every morning... • Everywhere, Ontario • < R - E - T - R - O >
HAMILTON | Scenes from the cutting room floor • S U B U R B I A ! • Everywhere, Ontario • Hamilton Rowhouses
< H E A V Y <> I N D U S T R Y > • Old Man Winter vs. Hamilton




North Kirkendall
Hamilton, Ontario


A tour of South Kirkendall can be found here: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=164446

Kirkendall is a large neighbourhood in southwest Hamilton which built up slowly over a long period. The oldest structures date from
roughly the 1840s while the most southerly streets were not filled until the 1920s. The slow development is a result of the difficult
terrain, the southern part of the neighbourhood being cut off by a deep ravine until nearly the turn of the century. The result is a
highly eclectic mix of residential and commercial buildings from many eras.

In this tour, we look at North Kirkendall (north of Aberdeen). This includes the modest older part of the neighbourhood as well as the
middle class townhouses that sprang up in the 1885-1910 period as streetcar service was extended along Herkimer Ave. Later, the
streetcar line was extended along Locke St. to serve the burgeoning commercial district. After the tram lines were removed in 1945,
the neighbourhood went into steep decline.

But the decline was not to last. The wide variety of houses--which include everything from tiny cottages to stately upper middle class
townhomes--as well as the charming old commercial district on Locke St. South have made the neighbourhood the focus of gentrification
over the past twenty years. With the return of the middle class, Kirkendall has come full circle.


A smattering of early cottages give North Kirkendall a small town feel.





It is likely that many of the early houses were built by their owners



Parapeted sidewalls with built in chimneys characterized early Hamilton homes.



Small Gothic Revival cottages like these are found throughout rural Ontario; this area was once on the outskirts of Hamilton.



A quick peak at Locke St. South, one of Hamilton's most vibrant shopping districts, with the Niagara Escarpment in the background.
I did a more extensive tour of Locke St. a couple years ago:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=135162



The older parts of the neighbourhood feature narrow streets, though most of the original structures have been replaced with 20th century
houses and apartments. On the left is Fanning Street, a tiny street with a few small houses.


Larger homes occupy the high ridge running through the neighbourhood.


A row of semi-detached cottages.


A rather simple but elegant Italianate home.


The next few pics show a variety of homes found in Kirkendall.






Old plank bridges cross the rail line, most of those remaining are pedestrian only.


Some later infill along the trench dug for the rail line:


A very tiny cottage. A much larger and newer house can be seen to the left.


Although this small rowhouse has been extensively modified, its old age is apparent from the rubblestone foundation visible at
the lower right.


These buildings on Locke date from the 1890s, as development moved southward.



Starting to see more houses from approximately the turn of the century as smaller, older houses were gradually replaced.








Now we're getting into the more substantial homes of the middle class streetcar suburb that emerged in the 1890s.



A mixture of architecture from the Victorian and Edwardian eras characterizes the streetscapes.





A real rarity in Hamilton: a Queen Anne style house made not of brick, but of wood! This is the Duplessis House, built in 1888.
Alledgedly, the wood was brought from France.



These are good examples of the Edwardian Classicism that characterizes the later architecture of Kirkendall. They share some
characteristics of the earlier Queen Anne style, such as the shingled gable, but overall show a return to classical design principles,
as evidenced by the roof and columns on the porches. Compare with the older houses below.



Asymmetrical semi-detached (double) houses are a common sight in Toronto's Annex neighbourhood, but relatively rare in Hamilton.


In Hamilton, the units are are usually mirror-images like this:










As we approach Aberdeen, larger homes begin to appear. Someday I will do a good tour of South Kirkendall, which is a
continuation of the mansion district that runs across much of lower Hamilton at the base of the escarpment.





Tiny cottages still dot the neighbourhood





There are several churches in Kirkendall.



Another view of Locke St. South


More modest homes dominate west of Locke St.


Variations of this basic early 1900s house design fill in the lots left over from Victorian times.




A small craftsman cottage





This old stone cottage is a reminder that this area was once the rural outskirts of Hamilton.


Renovations continue in the neighbourhood:



A classic Canadian winter scene at the HAAA grounds (Hamilton Amateur Athletic Association)
http://aas.ath.cx/threads/kirkendall2.jpg

This is one of my favourite Hamilton tours so far.

I have the privilege of seeing some of these homes every day on my commute.

Great tour. Your pictures and those home are beautiful. The neighborhood reminds me a lot of Capital Hill in Denver.

Great area. Great coverage, too!

Agreed.

Good tour. I like the commentary here and there; it helps to explain the neighborhood more. If Kirkendall was located on the outskirts of Hamilton, as the cottages and stone houses suggest, were the houses then facing in irregular directions, or was a grid laid out from the very start?

in many ways..pretty cool

Love your streetscape shots but really love how the citizen of Kirkendall care for and maintain their homes.

This does look a lot like Denver neighborhoods. Our Vics are brick like this, need them to be ableto survive big snow falls and hold in the warm air during the winters. Probably just like Canada.

^^brick definitely stays warm in the winter, they get really hot in the summer though.


The streets are still pretty much on a grid. The British generally surveyed and planned everything in straight lines. There was little left to chance in most of Ontario. If you find old winding roads or haphazard placement of buildings in Ontario, it is due to geography rather than organic development in most cases.

I agree that this has to be one of the better tours of Hamilton so far!! :tup: It's got quite a bit of character, not to mention brick!! Keep it up Flar!!

very nice.

Those houses look Cozy. Some of these Hamilton threads remind me of Pburgh.

Cool Photos.

Great tour and quite enjoyable, especially with the commentary.
Go brick go!

Wow! What a lovely neighbourhood and what a nice red brick houses!
Thanks for sharing your pics and information.

charming, thanks.

-

Great pics, as usual!


In addition to this most subdivisions in that time period were platted out years before any substantial development took place. The first houses would be oriented to streets that were little more than dirt paths in the early years.

That being said, there are occasionally some telltale signs of these early houses, such as bigger setbacks and the occasional double lot. On the rare occasion you will get something that is oriented off the grid axis. For example: http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&sourc...=19&iwloc=addr

Note the house setback and slightly off-kilter. It was built in 1870 while the surrounding houses were mainly built between 1910 and 1915.

Quite true, this neighbourhood being a prime example of a neighbourhood where the lots were not filled for many years.

Top notch.

Flar,

I absolutely adore the single story gothic revival cottages in this neighbourhood. It's my hope to one day return home and own one of these. You think you can still pick one up here for under $170,000?

Excellent work showcasing Hamilton's character :)