An 1865-95 Neighbourhood

[the dude]

rad tour. i'd live there fer shizzle.

speaking of old wooden homes, the city's oldest is on mary between cannon and barton. it's a beauty.

[flar]

Some interesting info about this house and the Stinson neighbourhood, the neighbourhood has more history than I thought:

The substantial stone residence at 90 Stinson Street was built in 1863 for Frederick W. Fearman and was later enlarged in 1875 and 1890. Today, with its prominent, three-storey entrance tower marking the head of East Avenue South, this commanding Victorian mansion stands out as an important neighbourhood landmark and as one of the city’s finest stone mansions erected in the pre-Confederation era.

When constructed, the home was situated on an acre of land near the southeast limits of the city, almost a mile from its centre. The house occupied a scenic location at the foot of the mountain, with a vista overlooking the open fields to the bay beyond. By the 1890s, urban development had spread eastward, encompassing the Fearman property, and transforming the area into a prosperous residential neighbourhood. The entrance lane to 90 Stinson Street had by then become a tree-lined avenue of stately Victorian homes. This vista up East Avenue toward the dominating entrance tower of the Fearman home (a feature which enhances the impact of both streetscape and mansion) is one of the few examples left in the city of a once-prevalent Victorian urban form

In the late nineteenth century, major public buildings were situated in the immediate area: in 1876, the Hamilton Boys Home, featuring a central clock tower, was located one block east of the Fearman House on Stinson Street; in 1895 the Stinson Street School was erected five blocks to the east; and in the following year the new Central Collegiate Institute, an extraordinary, monumental structure resembling Toronto’s old City Hall, dominated the neighbourhood from its site one block to the west at Victoria and Hunter Streets. Today, Stinson Street School and the Fearman House are the primary monuments which recall the neighbourhood’s heyday at the turn of the century.

-from Hamilton's Heritage, Volume 5

[raisethehammer]

yup...awesome building...I've been in it. it's been restored beautifully.

[flar]

Thanks for the replies

It's too bad so much stuff from this era was destroyed, at least there are still quite a few old houses left in this neighbourhood.

Looks like an entire block was wiped out where these apartments are, I wonder what used to be there?

[JackStraw]

Totally rockin!

[James Bond Agent 007]

Just goes to show, they don't build 'em like they used to.

[TinChelseaNYC]

Your pics of Ontario's cities are gorgeous. I had no idea how charming so many of Ontario's cities were before I started seeing your stuff. Thanks!

[Hozay]

Interesting, Toronto and Hamilton are so close together but the Victorian houses here are a lot different than the ones in Toronto (at least the annex).

[Kingofthehill]

The details in the craftmanship are just short of amazing!

Have any older buildings been converted to lofts yet in Hamilton/Ontario?

[flar]

Originally Posted by Hozay

Interesting, Toronto and Hamilton are so close together but the Victorian houses here are a lot different than the ones in Toronto (at least the annex).

Yes, I noticed this too. The Annex is not equivalent to Stinson though: they were built around the same time but the Annex has many large houses while Stinson is middle class with just a few big houses. I noticed Romanesque features on many homes in the Annex, this is relatively rare in Hamilton. I don't know Toronto residential well enough to say if Toronto houses generally are different than Hamilton houses, but I suspect they are. On the other hand, I did see a few houses in the Annex that were nearly identical to houses I've seen in Hamilton. I know Hamilton has a huge variety of styles, I'm sure Toronto does too. I did a tour of Corktown, which is the neighbourhood directly west of Stinson, it looks completely different than Stinson, with a lot more typical Hamilton rowhouses. Check it out: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=138983

Originally Posted by Kingofthehill

The details in the craftmanship are just short of amazing!

Have any older buildings been converted to lofts yet in Hamilton/Ontario?

There are some loft conversions in Hamilton, but there could be a ton more with all the old industrial buildings here.

[tjh1]

I'd live there in a heartbeat!

[matt602]

Originally Posted by Kingofthehill

The details in the craftmanship are just short of amazing!

Have any older buildings been converted to lofts yet in Hamilton/Ontario?

Not nearly as many as there should be. A lot of the buildings with potential for loft space are sitting abandoned or have already been failed loft conversions. Others have been converted to uses that just aren't suitable and most of them have been demolished to make way for parking lots.

[HamiltonHoods]

Flar why didnt you take pics of the little brown building across the street from the fist pic on Erie street? theres about 7 buildings on Stinson. 3 story browns bricks. They used to be really bad in the 80's.

[Patachou]

very nice

[Jibba]

Great hood; a most-excellent documentation.

[mrherodotus]

Hamilton never fails to please.

[flar]

^^thanks!

Originally Posted by HamiltonHoods

Flar why didnt you take pics of the little brown building across the street from the fist pic on Erie street? theres about 7 buildings on Stinson. 3 story browns bricks. They used to be really bad in the 80's.

The tour was looking at the older buildings in the neighbourhood, but I posted a shot of the buildings you're thinking of above.

Originally Posted by flar

Thanks for the replies

It's too bad so much stuff from this era was destroyed, at least there are still quite a few old houses left in this neighbourhood.

Looks like an entire block was wiped out where these apartments are, I wonder what used to be there?

I found out what used to be there:

(photo from The Grand Old Buildings of Hamilton by Brian Henley)

It was a high school (Central Collegiate Institute) built in 1896. Unfortunately it was destroyed by a fire in 1946.