Hamilton, ON: Hamilton Beach

[xzmattzx]

Hamilton Beach is a neighborhood of Hamilton, located along the shore of Lake Ontario. Hamilton Beach is surrounded on three sides by water, with Burlington Bay on the other side from Lake Ontario, and the artificial Burlington Bay Canal connecting the two. The strip of land that Hamilton Beach is located on was formed over time in a way similar to the barrier islands of the Atlantic coastline.

Hamilton Beach's setting provided an opportunity for the people of Hamilton to escape the heat of the city during the summer. Summer cottages were few until 1876, when the Hamilton & Northwestern Railway first provided service to the beach community. The resort community continued to grow in the late 1800s when an electric streetcar was built to the beach strip in 1896, making the community even more popular, as people with more moderate incomes could then afford to travel there for trips. Hotels and resorts boomed, and other entities began there, such as the Royal Hamilton Yacht Club in 1892, and the Canal Amusement Park in 1903. The yacht club eventually burned in 1915, and the amusement park operated until 1978.

In the 1920s, the community began to become more permanent, with cottages being winterized. With this, the area established a communal identity and looked after its own interests. This culminated in the 1970s, when the City of Hamilton proposed and attempted to buy all of the houses and lots in order to level the beach strip and create a large waterfront park. Residents fought the measure, and Hamilton has backed away from the idea for the long term.


Downtown Hamilton can be seen through the haze on the other side of Burlington Bay, behind the smokestacks and piles of coal.



The outlines of Hamilton's highrises can also be seen from Eastport Drive.



The highrises of the North End and Strathcona are some that particularly stand out across the bay.



Hamilton's industrial sector are prominent on the Burlington Bay waterfront. The ArcelorMittal Dofasco Works take up much of the frontage on the south side of the bay to allow for shipping.



The Burlington Canal Lift Bridge, which carries Eastport Drive across the Burlington Canal. The bridge was built in 1962 and originally had railroad tracks alongside vehicular lanes.



The Burlington Canal Lift Bridge goes over the Burlington Bay Canal. The canal was completed in 1832 and was part of a plan to provide uninterrupted naivgation from Lake Erie to the Atlantic Ocean. The canal turned Burlington Bay into a harbor at the head of Lake Ontario.



The Burlington Bay James N. Allan Skyway, with the Burlington Canal Lift Bridge in the background. The Skyway was built in 1958 after the previous bridge was destroyed in 1952. The Skyway was paired in 1985.



The Burlington Canal Main Lighthouse is located next to the Burlington Canal Lift Bridge. The lighthouse was built in 1858 to replace an earlier wooden lighthouse that had burned down. The light guided ships to Burlington Bay, which served as a harbor for Hamilton.



Next to the Burlington Canal Main Lighthouse is the lightkeeper's house, which was built in 1857.



The Burlington Canal Pier Lighthouse, on the end of the southern pier of the Burlington Bay Canal. The lighthouse was built in 1909 and originally served as the rear light of a range light system.



A lighttower on the northern pier for the canal, also helping ships navigate to the channel. The tower was built in 1939.



Toronto can be seen from the Burlington Bay Canal pier, like in this view from underneath the lift bridge.



Looking towards Toronto, with the Burlington Canal Pier Lighthouse to the left.



Clear days allow for great views of Toronto from all along the lakefront of Hamilton.



The Burligton Canal Pier Lighthouse, with a Petro-Canada pipeline pier in Oakville in the center and Toronto to the right.



The skyline of Burlington can be seen west of the Burlington Bay Canal.



Looking east down the beach towards Stoney Creek.



The Shoreliner and Bayliner condominium buildings, on Green Road in the Stoney Creek area, can be seen in the distance. Beyond Stoney Creek is the Niagara Escarpment.



Houses on an extension of Beach Boulevard.



New houses on Beach Boulevard.



Dieppe Veterans Memorial Park, on Beach Boulevard.



The park and memorial were dedicated in 2003 to recognize the sacrifice made by the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry.



Behind the houses on Beach Boulevard and the side streets along the lake are sand dunes like this, then the beach. Here, Toronto can be seen in the distance.



Houses on Beach Boulevard.



A house on Beach Boulevard.



A house on Beach Boulevard.



A Victorian house on Beach Boulevard.



This type of house is becoming more common as people move to the neighborhood permanently. The style recalls the Victorian past of the neighborhood and the romantic image of the beach.



A house on Beach Boulevard.



Houses on Beach Boulevard.



Houses on Dunraven Avenue.



A house on Beach Boulevard.



A convenience store on Beach Boulevard.



Houses on Rembe Avenue.



Living Word Covenant Community Church, on Beach Boulevard.



Houses on Beach Boulevard.



A house on Beach Boulevard.



Houses on Beach Boulevard.



The Castle Waterburg house on Beach Boulevard.



A house on Lagoon Avenue.



A house on Lakeside Avenue.



Houses on Bayside Avenue.



Houses on Beach Boulevard.



The Lakeland Centre, on Van Wagners Beach Road. The complex features a pool, bistro, and small observation tower.



The neon sign for Hutch's On The Beach, on Van Wagners Beach Road. The eatery has been operating since 1946 and is known for its standard fare such as hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, milkshakes, and fish and chips.

[softee]

Love those shots of Toronto across the Bay.

[Expat]

I love places like this. The tiny ivy-covered cottage is calling my name.

[ShadowMaster]

Not so long ago I was viewing this area on GoogleMaps, thanks for this thread XZ!

I did not know that Toronto was visible from Hamilton. What's the travel time via automobile ? I am assuming about 1 hour.

[ColDayMan]

You love you some Canada!!!

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by ShadowMaster

Not so long ago I was viewing this area on GoogleMaps, thanks for this thread XZ!

I did not know that Toronto was visible from Hamilton. What's the travel time via automobile ? I am assuming about 1 hour.

If you're already on the expressway, it can take as little as half an hour without traffic. Downtown to Downtown is maybe 45 minutes to an hour on a normal day, based on my driving experience.

Since you were looking at this area already, you might eb interested in more pictures of the neighborhood. Flar did a great job covering the feel of the neighborhood (I think I did a decent job covering the historical standpoint). His thread made me want to see this area for myself a couple years ago.

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=156809

If you like that and you like water, you'll like his pictures of Hamilton Harbour as well.

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=154207

[Expat]

It looks like they have a lot of overhead wires on Beach Boulevard. Or behind the houses on Beach Blvd. It would be nice if they could move those. It is a shame to have them on the beach.

Do those houses back up to the beach? Is the beach public?

[ShadowMaster]

Thanks for the input and the Links, XZ! Not a too time consuming ride between the cities along Lake Ontario then, would make an easy and yet fun multi city trip.

[stepper77]

I've always enjoyed threads of Hamilton. This is no different. Toronto looks great in the distance. Nice photos, thanks!

[flar]

Originally Posted by Expat

It looks like they have a lot of overhead wires on Beach Boulevard. Or behind the houses on Beach Blvd. It would be nice if they could move those. It is a shame to have them on the beach.

Do those houses back up to the beach? Is the beach public?

The entire beach is public from the Skyway around through Confederation park to Stoney Creek. It's a sandy beach and they try to maintain it in a natural state so there is dune grass to prevent erosion. There is also a path for walking, biking, rollerblading, etc. along the entire thing. I wish they could move those power lines, they really spoil the view.

[lucasmascotto]

Residents face uncertainty as their Burlington Beach homes could become parkland
Hamilton Spectator

Feel a hot breeze on a sultry Saturday at high noon; slide off your sandals and stand ankle deep in the cool lake.

Facing the Burlington Beach shoreline, you would have no clue that houses exist here.

But they do, a hundred paces away, along the waterfront trail, concealed by trees and bushes, no two houses the same, quaint and quirky and pretty.

And not just houses, but rather homes. Memories, first loves, dreams.

Those who have lived with Lake Ontario in their back yards, some for decades, have long been contemplating their existence — that is, whether it will continue here or not.

The threat of the government forcing them to sell their homes in order to turn the entire Burlington beach strip into parkland has existed since at least the late 1970s.

The families living in about 30 homes along Lakeshore Road remain in the crosshairs, but the issue may finally be coming to a head. A recommendation at Conservation Halton to get rid of the homes was recently narrowly defeated on a 6-6 tie vote (several members of its board of directors were not present).

But the issue still has to move through Burlington city council, and then Halton Regional council in late summer and early fall.

Jim and Marie Milner would love to see the question put to bed in their lifetimes — most of which they've spent on the beach.

They were born in Hamilton and their families moved to the beach when they were kids. They met here in the late 1940s, hanging out at White Towers Snack Bar beside Marie's childhood house, where you could get a foot-long for less than a quarter.

They married in 1955 and have lived in the same little house for 42 years, near where Eastport Drive meets Lakeshore, in the shadow of the Skyway.

They bristle at how those who want to take away their place keep calling them "cottages," as though their home is temporary.

"We're here because we want to be here. … All our kids grew up here," said Jim. "We've never been anywhere else."

The Milners are players in a drama on the beach that has been going on for a very long time. Historically the beach communities on the Hamilton and Burlington sides of the lift bridge canal were unique and separate from the cities proper.

Ultimately, debate arose over whether the beachfronts should have a residential component at all. Politicians elected to pursue property acquisition — or "expropriation," depending on your point of view — to convert the property into parkland.

In Hamilton, 269 of 685 properties were acquired between 1976 and 1985 before the city abandoned the policy in the face of heated neighbourhood opposition and the escalating cost of buying the properties.

Instead, the city put in a sanitary sewage system and saved the beach community, which has since prospered and is now considered a prime and not inexpensive place to live.

But Halton Region has continued to officially support acquisition, although not actively in recent years. Between 1976 and 2000, the region bought and tore down 129 cottages and houses, most of them near the water and on leased land.

The 30 homes that remain are privately owned. The cost to the region of buying those properties is estimated at $10 million.

(The region designates the land as parkland, Burlington's official plan designates it as residential low density and mixed-use.)

A primary argument in a conservation authority staff report for demolishing homes near the beach is potential flooding.

None of the homes have basements. But the Milners say they have seen it all. They've been here with the lake at its highest and nastiest, including Hurricane Hazel in 1954 when sandbags were piled on the beach. And they have never had a flood.

Conservation authority board member Alan Elgar, who voted to support property acquisition, says he's concerned for the safety of residents.

"You think about Calgary — there had never been flooding like that before there, either."

Some residents have invested heavily in their homes and have no wish to sell them, especially to a government authority that will almost certainly not pay market value.

Elgar counters that residents have known for years that land acquisition remained the region's policy.

But resident Chris Collier laments the mixed signals. After his home suffered fire damage a few years ago, he asked regional officials if they wanted to buy his property. The answer was no, so instead he upgraded his home, which is now one of the most impressive on the street.

Burlington councillor Marianne Meed Ward opposes acquisition, saying flooding seems a non-issue. She says the amount of parkland to be gained by demolishing homes is negligible, public access to the beach is already assured, and the cost for buying out properties is more than they can afford.

"The main issue is the human factor, the history there," she said. "It would be morally unconscionable to move out homeowners — for what? To add more parking?"

Those who cycle and walk the waterfront trail behind the homes often enjoy stopping to chat with a beach resident, even have a glass of water or use their washroom in an emergency. One cyclist said she feels safer using the trail knowing that people live here.

Collier shakes his head when considering how long talk of expropriating their property has been going on.

"My dad explained it to me years ago, how they are trying to take our homes — and now I'm explaining it to my kids. How much longer will they hold us for ransom?"

Richard Hodge hasn't lived here long, but has no desire to leave. He arrived about six years ago with his wife, Helen, and their three sons. The renovated former hotel was a dream home after moving out of their cramped house in the city.

Hodge lives here with his boys, all in their 20s, and a tiny teacup Yorkie named Bella. A civil engineer, Hodge built a spectacular deck from which they can see the lake.

But Helen is not here to take in the sunlit horizon. She died of leukemia.

"It was her dream to have a home on the beach," he said. "You never know what life has in store."

[c@taract_soulj@h]

Originally Posted by ShadowMaster

Not so long ago I was viewing this area on GoogleMaps, thanks for this thread XZ!

I did not know that Toronto was visible from Hamilton. What's the travel time via automobile ? I am assuming about 1 hour.

Yeah to pretty much get downtown, about 40-45 minutes in normal traffic if you have a good foot. Quicker though if you don't mind waking the OPP lol but there's a petition going around about raising our speed limits to around 130 km/h

[acronohio]

the beach is awesome. LOVE the path and actually dont mind the electrical. adds character.

this is a longshot. I'm from Akron, Ohio and moved here a week ago. is there any part of the beach that is private that you know of belonging to residents? I'm looking for a private beach or yard to be able to tan in the nude without getting arrested. not many sunny days remaining.

much appreciated

[AJW]

Those zooooooom shots of Toronto are pretty darn amazing.

[Yorkie]

I met this crazy mixed up guy from there, I think his name was..........Blender..