Hamilton: Is it really that bad?

[flar]

When I first moved to Hamilton 5 years ago after living in London for 7 years, I didn't like it. London is a nice city and I enjoyed living there. I figured Hamilton was similar to London in terms of its size, cultural, entertainment and shopping options. I had a lot of preconceptions about Hamilton, as most do, having heard that it was dirty and dangerous. As I explored Hamilton, I kept finding more and more; the city is filled with history, incredible and unique neighbourhoods, hidden architectural gems and amazing communities. I discovered that Hamilton is actually quite a bit larger than I thought and offered a lot more of a big city experience than London had. If I was pleasantly surprised by the urban experience, I was even more surprised by the natural beauty of the city and its parks.

The real thrill of exploring Hamilton comes from the fact that so little is known about it. Few people even within Hamilton look beyond the industry and decay. As everyone knows, Hamilton is overshadowed by Toronto, which means there is very little media exposure and hardly any national presence compared to other Canadian cities of its size. This is what has spurred me to photograph so much of the city, to get the word out and show the things about Hamilton that most cities would be proud of but go unnoticed here.

Thanks for looking, here are links to some of my other phototours of Hamilton. The good, the bad, the fascinating:

Old school suburbia: A profile of one of Canada's first and finest suburbs

Twilight of the Industrial Age

Spring in the Valley: Dundas, ON

Another incredible Hamilton neighbourhood: Kirkendall

The Hammer Lives!

A leisurely stroll through the inner city

A Crazy Melange of Imagery from Hamilton

"possibly the largest concentration of early 20C mansions in Canada"

Five Miles of Grit: A long walk down Barton St. in Hamilton

Old Man Winter vs. Hamilton

"The largest fabric and textile district in Canada"

Conquer and rule or serve and lose, suffer or triumph, be the anvil or THE HAMMER

[boden]

Here's a shot of the same building that I took about a month ago when I visited Hamilton. I loved the place by the way.

[Border City Boy]

Great shots! I love the Hammer. Probably one of Ontario's most underated cities.

[go_leafs_go02]

I'm a student transplant, and definitely haven't fallen in love with the city after 3 months. I'm from London. like flar, but I just can't get myself to like it. I find it disappointing, gritty and sub-par in alot of areas.


I find the natural beauty of the escarpment to be amazing. I think the city has more potential than almost any other place in Ontario. It's proximity to Toronto, it's location with the escarpment and the Burlington Bay could be enhanced so much.

I'm pretty much wishing for the replacement of the steel mills with beautiful bay-side communities with condos. It honestly would be one of the most beautiful places to live. I would rather live on that bay looking towards Dundas and Aldershot than living on Lake Ontario looking across into empty water. So much potential with Hamilton, just I've been reading, and there seems to be no real desire to improve the city when it could be done. And from what I read, that's a general consensus of alot of Hamiltonians.

[raisethehammer]

hey goleafsgo...where in the Hammer are you living?? what would you like to find that would make life here a little more enjoyable for you? maybe we can help.

[go_leafs_go02]

Originally Posted by raisethehammer

hey goleafsgo...where in the Hammer are you living?? what would you like to find that would make life here a little more enjoyable for you? maybe we can help.

oh i'm a student, i'm going to mohawk college for transportation engineering. I live out close to the meadowlands, in a house with a few guys (I'm only 19) and am close to the Stone Church & Upper Paradise intersection.

I don't have a car, so I use the HSR for everything. that involves usually going from my house to Mohawk (Fennell campus) to downtown on occasion. I've been done King Street to Eastgate a few times. I have driven down the Linc/Red Hill alot, and been to Limeridge a bunch of times, and I just don't find it attractive.

I am in transportation engineering, which I stated before, so that has a major influence on how I look at the city, and how it's constructed. I see shoddy, run down roads with poor infrastructure in alot of areas, particularly in drainage and snow removal, so that sticks out a lot. And I compare it far too much to London which is where I call home.

I've read through alot of this forum in the past few days, quite interesting.

[raisethehammer]

haha...I don't find any of those areas attractive either. lol. what are you looking for? certain type of vibe or urban neighbourhoods or specific suburban-type areas??
Hamilton, keep in mind, is an old, large urban centre....provincial downloading has meant we've been stretched to the limit each year at budget time trying to take care of our own (and Toronto's) homeless and social needs.
we've actually improved snow removal and summertime garden/park maintanence in the past few years so things were worse 5,6 years ago.
Have you ever been to Westdale, Locke South, James North, Hess Village, West Harbour parks and Williams Coffee Pub, Ottawa St North, Concession St etc.... those are usually the places I tell newcomers to check out...gives you a good feel for the city and the unique culture here. Places like Meadowlands and Limeridge are everywhere (including London) so you can't get a good feel for the city based on that.
Go for a walk at Sam Lawrence Park along the Mountain Brow or check out the Dundas Peak hiking trail.

[go_leafs_go02]

Originally Posted by raisethehammer

haha...I don't find any of those areas attractive either. lol. what are you looking for? certain type of vibe or urban neighbourhoods or specific suburban-type areas??
Hamilton, keep in mind, is an old, large urban centre....provincial downloading has meant we've been stretched to the limit each year at budget time trying to take care of our own (and Toronto's) homeless and social needs.
we've actually improved snow removal and summertime garden/park maintanence in the past few years so things were worse 5,6 years ago.
Have you ever been to Westdale, Locke South, James North, Hess Village, West Harbour parks and Williams Coffee Pub, Ottawa St North, Concession St etc.... those are usually the places I tell newcomers to check out...gives you a good feel for the city and the unique culture here. Places like Meadowlands and Limeridge are everywhere (including London) so you can't get a good feel for the city based on that.
Go for a walk at Sam Lawrence Park along the Mountain Brow or check out the Dundas Peak hiking trail.

Thanks for those tips. Winter is blah for me. I hate winter. I know even in September, I did alot more exploring of the city with one of my friends who I live with, cause it was warmer. We biked around and walked to the Mountain brow on occasion. Looks so amazing, especially at night.

One thing I noticed is that the makeup of London and Hamilton are different. London was formed well on white-collar industry of health and business mainly. hamilton is a steel, blue-collar town through and through.

downloading doesn't help either, for sure, I know the consequences can be seen in many areas.

I'm more one of just seeing aesthetic cleanliness and neatness, and am not not really one for like cultural vibes. Where the grass is green and lush, concrete is un-cracked and void of weeds, buildings look presentable, clean, bright and orderly. From what I hear, Hamilton lacks bylaw enforcement on private property standards, and that's noticable.

I don't want to come across like a douche who is constantly negative, but from what I see/know of Hamilton at present, I don't have that great of a positive opinion of it.

but I love the HSR and the current transit system there overall. Very consistent, good service times more-or-less and they run from 5 AM to 1 AM in most areas. (can't say that about London)

[DC83]

Welcome to the forum, man. But most importantly, Welcome to the Hammer!!
#1 problem is, you're not exploring the city with a Hamiltonian who cares about the city.
I've given a bunch of my out of town friends (and even some Hamiltonians) tours of downtown and other areas, and have completely changed their minds.
You need to understand Hamilton to appreciate it!

Originally Posted by go_leafs_go02

I'm more one of just seeing aesthetic cleanliness and neatness, and am not not really one for like cultural vibes. Where the grass is green and lush, concrete is un-cracked and void of weeds, buildings look presentable, clean, bright and orderly. From what I hear, Hamilton lacks bylaw enforcement on private property standards, and that's noticable.

To be honest, dude, I dunno WHERE you're going to find a city like that, esp in the Golden Horseshoe Area. Look at Buffalo, St Catharines, Hamilton, Toronto... Hell, consider the whole Rustbelt (Cleveland, Pittsburgh, etc).
No city in this area will look like Phoenix or Charleston... it's all part of our heritage!!! You need to understand THAT to appreciate as well.

Toronto has just as many cracked sidewalks, graffitotagged bldgs and weeds as Hamilton (or Kitchener-Waterloo, or Cambridge, or Gurlph, etc)... it's just masked by Bay Street.

We should definatetly set up a downtown-tour forum-meet after the chaos we call "Holidays" are over. There's tons to do/see/expereince.

You'll love Hamilton, and will prolly be just as addicted to it as the rest of us in no time!! I think there's something in the air & water... besides pollutants...
hahaha

[SteelTown]

^ Once London Tap House opens I was thinking perhaps we could all meet then. Or wait until the spring and get the rooftop patio.

[raisethehammer]

I have a good friend who moved here from London a few years ago (hmmm, lot of you London folks bailing for the greener pastures eh?? lol) and at first had a similar thought of Hamilton as you do. He was used to everything being new, clean, fresh etc....he tells me there's only a street or two in downtown London that looks old. Surrounding areas outside of downtown London are all neat and clean..and from my few trips there, he's right.
Toronto is WAY worse than Hamilton for cracked roads, old rundown buildings, properties and graffiti. That IS part of the culture, believe it or not.
I just returned from NYC earlier this summer. Amazing. Awesome city and had way more graffiti, broken infrastructure, potholes, fire hydrants blasting away for no reason in the middle of the day, stuff dripping on you everywhere you walk, homeless everywhere.... it's all part of the city experience.
You might find what you're looking for in Mississuaga, but you won't find a real city there. We should do a meet-up and tour of the hotspots for some newcomers.
My bud from London absolutely loves this city now....says when he goes back to London he finds it so small and boring feeling.
Not trying to bash London...they are different cities though. I think most from London always assume that Hamilton is just a slightly bigger version of London. As you're finding out, that's not the case. I'm glad to hear you're exploring the city...too many peopel sit on their duffs and complain.
Keep up the exploration and who knows, maybe we'll rub off on you someday.
Cheers

[matt602]

A bit off topic but I'd totally be down for a London Tap House SSP Hamilton meet. Would be awesome.

[highwater]

Originally Posted by flar

The real thrill of exploring Hamilton comes from the fact that so little is known about it. Few people even within Hamilton look beyond the industry and decay. As everyone knows, Hamilton is overshadowed by Toronto, which means there is very little media exposure and hardly any national presence compared to other Canadian cities of its size. This is what has spurred me to photograph so much of the city, to get the word out and show the things about Hamilton that most cities would be proud of but go unnoticed here.

Thanks for looking, here are links to some of my other phototours of Hamilton. The good, the bad, the fascinating:

Flar, been meaning for a while to tell you how much I love your photo essays. Even though I'm already a Hamiltonphile, you have still opened my eyes to some of the wonders of this town. I've been sending your pics to some of the out-of-town doubters and ex-Hamiltonians I know. They should use your pics to promote Hamilton to all the CANMET employees. Many thanks for all you work. (Nice shot of my car in your Westdale essay!)

[raisethehammer]

Originally Posted by highwater

Flar, been meaning for a while to tell you how much I love your photo essays. Even though I'm already a Hamiltonphile, you have still opened my eyes to some of the wonders of this town. I've been sending your pics to some of the out-of-town doubters and ex-Hamiltonians I know. They should use your pics to promote Hamilton to all the CANMET employees. Many thanks for all you work. (Nice shot of my car in your Westdale essay!)

I concur...Flar's stuff should be used in luring new businesses, residents and tourists. It's not the corny $500,000 shots used in tourism magazines with a cute little family all laughing till it hurts for no apparent reason.
You photos are best I've ever seen of this town....I don't know how you're going to keep it up in 2008, but I'm sure you will

[chris k]

Yeah perhaps you should contact the tourist board and give them it as an offer.... maybe even make a buck or two.

I think they could perhaps put a couple randomn photos up at the airport to lure people on connecting flights or on HSR buses to get the people in out own city more actively involved in celebrating thier culture.

Just a couple cheap suggestions not involving billboards or expensive advertising space. But if they have the budget, why not go for it.

[flar]

Thanks guys. I doubt the tourism people would use my stuff, they'd rather pay someone to professionally photograph some models staring off into space. I actually chatted with a guy CANMET paid to photograph Hamilton. I gave him some suggestions on places to shoot. Hopefully he got some good shots, he was a bit pressed for time.

[DC83]

Originally Posted by flar

Thanks guys. I doubt the tourism people would use my stuff, they'd rather pay someone to professionally photograph some models staring off into space.

Like this one:


http://tourismhamilton.com/

hahaha I know it's kinda small, but why would they use that as the COVER of the Hamilton Tourism Guide? Would anyone who wasn't Hamiltonian understand that it's a exhibit at the AGH?? No, they'd prolly think it's just another run down vehicle in the city's east end hahaha

And are those ppl actually there? I'm pretty sure they're photoshopped in! hahaha