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While I was in Hamilton I didn't take my "big camera" (Nikon D7000) out, I just used my point and shoot Samsung ES80. I did intend on taking a couple walks with the "big camera" but I didn't have the time due to the nature of my visit to Hamilton (medical purposes).
So continuing from where we left off, these are photos from a trip my mom and I took to the Art Gallery of Hamilton (no AGO, but still a really nice little art gallery). They had an exhibit showing various proposals for the city that never happened, everything from subdivisions to building proposals, which was pretty cool. There was also a
Ken Danby exhibit at the time, and an exhibit of
The Last Folio by Slovak-Canadian photographer Yuri Dojc which focused on an abandoned Jewish village in Slovakia where his family originated. Had I not waited so long to post this thread I could have encouraged you to see it, as it was on display until May 14th. I didn't take any photos inside (I tend to focus more on the artists work than my own and almost always forget that I'm holding a camera when I'm in a museum) but if you're ever in Hamilton, I highly recommend the AGH. It's not very big but we managed to spend around 3 hours there.
http://www.artgalleryofhamilton.com/index-orig.php
These photos were taken in the Irving Zucker Sculpture Garden, located between the gallery and city hall, which is also quite interesting and pleasant to sit in (as it was a sunny, warm day when we visited).
We did plan on visiting more of Hamilton (everyone recommended the botanical gardens) but time and health were a constraint.
If I had to make one criticism of this particular area in the next photo, which is outside of the art gallery, it would have to be that it's a bit difficult to navigate, with a lot of fences, locked doors and stairs. There was a lot of "I think this is the way back—oh, no, it isn't". But it was quite clean—the whole city was much more tidy than I had been led to believe by Hamilton's reputation.
To the right is the art gallery, and to the left is the Hamilton Convention Centre. (There was some sort of wedding exhibit going on that week?) IIRC, there is a street underneath this:
These next few photos are quite memorable. It wasn't until people saw me taking photos of this that they stopped to appreciate what I imagine is a fairly common sight on King Street:
So the photos so far were all from the second day there; I didn't notice it until after I started the photo thread that my camera had the wrong year (2015 instead of 2016) and the photos were organized a little bit out of order.
This next set of photos was taken on the third day we were in Hamilton, while my mom was undergoing surgery. I wandered around downtown for about an hour with my camera taking photos of buildings that caught my eye to pass the time instead of sitting in the waiting room.
These first few photos were taken on James Street, which is the main north-south corridor in Hamilton, and is quintessentially Hamilton. I didn't take any photos but I did walk most of it (between the two GO stations) at night on the Thursday or Friday night we were there, and there was a lot going on. I wanted to steal just a block of it to bring it home and show people in Thunder Bay what a city could be.
I like graffiti and uncommissioned art on buildings, it makes up a significant portion of what I photograph. I found this one particularly funny; I think she'll be fine.
Hamilton City Centre is a three storey, mostly empty indoor mall that was originally built for the city's Eaton's store. (Eaton's was a Canadian department store, it went bankrupt in 1998). The inside decor (and I went at night!
There will be photos later on!) is that wonderful subdued-yet-tacky aesthetic that was popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and it's all lit with thousands of little incandescent bulbs.
Dan Bell would love it.
This is the Lister Block, a beautiful Chicago School structure faced in decorative brick and (I believe) terra cotta.
It was almost demolished after sitting vacant for many years but was recently renovated. The crane in the background is for new construction going up beside it.
Pivot right, and you can see that Hamilton is still very much a rough, gritty city. There is a lot of potential in these buildings to establish a great, vibrant neighbourhood and hopefully the next time I visit they'll be in better condition.
Travel south a couple blocks and we get to the office tower district.
Dozens of city blocks were demolished to develop Jackson Square and the City Hall/Art Gallery part of downtown Hamilton. A portion of their city nearly as large as my city's entire downtown, gone in a decade for "urban renewal".
The smaller building on the right is being converted into a satellite campus of McMaster University, the largest in Hamilton and one of the best in Canada.
A statue of HM Queen Victoria, because Canada.
Examples of art deco aren't particularly common in Canada. We had our own style in Canada that was contemporary at the time which was a homegrown blend of beaux arts and art deco that, while very representative of Canadian culture at the time, is less ostentatious and less fun. We were, at the time, a more patient and risk averse country.
This is the Pigott Building. More on it shortly.
These next two photos show off that more conservative flavour of beaux arts/art deco we favoured in Canada. They do bridge the gap between classic and modern architecture quite well, and on a small scale make for some very tasteful buildings.
This Romanesque building on the left is quite showy by comparison:
Gore Park (the greenspace shown in the last few photos) was being reorganized while I was there. The whole area, like much of Hamilton, is rough but transitioning to a cleaner, more refined area, good or bad. The architectural variety is nice.
Closer to Main Street and city hall, the building become grander. This was the point where Hamilton stopped feeling familiar to me; it got bigger.
The Pigott Building is one of the finest examples of art deco in all of Canada.
I don't know for sure if that's Tyndall Stone but I assume it is. A very Canadian building material.
I regret not getting a photo of that church. I intended to, but didn't make it back to that particular area.
The building in the distance here is Landmark Tower, an apartment building which is also Hamilton's tallest high rise.
This is now a courthouse, but was originally Hamilton's Carnegie Library.
I found this church to be kind of silly looking.
Contrasting all of this is Hamilton's modern City Hall. Though it's only about 20 to 40 years younger than most of these buildings, it stands out with its international style architecture. Like the Pigott Building, it is one of the best examples of its architectural style in Canada, and it was recently restored by the city in a manner that respected that architectural heritage as much as possible, at least on the outside. I knew that if I was going to photograph only one building while I was in Hamilton, it would be this one.
We don't have sycamore trees in Thunder Bay, so I had to go up and touch them.
I love the tiles between the windows on the lower portion of the building.
Council chambers overlook the plaza in front. The audience sits in tiered seating to either side and the council meets at a round table in the centre, overlooking the city they govern.
Across from city hall, you can see the art gallery and Commonwealth Square.
It took me a while to find out what this monument was called. It's apparently called the Ukrainian Settlement Monument. I can't find anything specific though. More sycamore trees! They're neat.
David Braley Health Sciences Centre, part of McMaster University, is the newest building in this civic amenities complex.
I found the weathered copper treatment on the façade really interesting. I think most of us can agree that verdigris is a pleasing colour to look at.
These last few photos show a bit of something that I wasn't able to capture well while I was in Hamilton: the escarpment. The city is split into two parts by the Niagara Escarpment, with one half of the city about 150 feet higher than the other half.
It makes commuting between the two parts a bit of a challenge, since opportunities to connect the two parts by road are limited. This street is called the Sherman Cut. You can see why:
This is the view of the city from that bridge in the distance:
It's a really nice view at night. The Juravinski Hospital (should you ever go there) has a great view of the city, as it's located on the edge of the escarpment.
I'll leave you with
a panoramic view from the hotel hallway.
The next set (I'm hoping to post it on Saturday) will feature a couple night time shots of Hamilton, and some more of Toronto.