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  #1  
Old Posted Mar 8, 2009, 5:42 AM
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Just another rust belt neighbourhood

HAMILTON NEIGHBOURHOODS:
CorktownDurandCentralDundasLocke St. SouthBurlingtonStinsonWestdaleSt. ClairKeithLandsdale
The DeltaGibsonJamesvilleConcession StreetDurand NorthDurand SouthOld Dundas HousesHess VillageBarton Street
AncasterNorth KirkendallSouth KirkendallMcMaster UniversityDowntownThe BayfrontThe North EndKenilworth
Mountain BrowTextile DistrictStrathconaNorth StipleyFlamboroughBeasleyChedokeStoney CreekThe Beach Strip


HAMILTON FEATURES:
C I T Y _ L I G H T SStone HamiltonTwilight of the Industrial AgeTwilight of the Industrial Age II
Stone in Dundas and AncasterGoodbye, Hamilton (from 43 floors up)Dirty BrickDay 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 floorS U B U R B I A !Everywhere, OntarioHamilton Rowhouses
< H E A V Y <> I N D U S T R Y > Old Man Winter vs. Hamilton





Keith Neighbourhood
Hamilton, Ontario

Keith is centred around Wentworth St. North between the CN rail tracks and the harbour.
This is in the heart of Hamilton's old industrial area.

A true working class neighbourhood, where men once walked from their homes to their factories.


Frame houses dominate in this part of Hamilton











This was once a Studebaker auto assembly plant. The plant, which was Hamilton's 10th largest employer at the time, closed in 1966. (scroll->>)



A large part of the neighbourhood is near this plant





There is also a candy factory, still operating.



Other old industrial buildings are scattered throughout the neighbourhood.







Wentworth St. North











Some empty spaces









Things look a little rougher further north around Burlington Street.









Probably because this is nearby...


...and this (and other stuff)







The neighbourhood was built with alleys.



There are a few blocks of brick houses, all the same. Or close to the same, some are mirror images.









Back to wood and never far from industry



























Some infill. These houses with sunken garages were built as infill all over the north end.





A small area of rowhouses

















Near Piers 12 and 14, near the harbour.














A few other house styles appearing in the neighbourhood















A view south toward the escarpment, the Concession St. area visible in the background.


Last edited by flar; May 16, 2009 at 12:50 AM.
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  #2  
Old Posted Mar 8, 2009, 6:42 AM
kanhawk kanhawk is offline
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Nice tour. Thanks
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  #3  
Old Posted Mar 8, 2009, 8:18 AM
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Weirdly enough, the area doesn't seem so bad when you're there in person. Certainly looks depressing in photo though. I've played around in the area around the Studebaker plant a lot, it's actually a nice (and busy) area.

Great photos.
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Old Posted Mar 8, 2009, 8:37 AM
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I know I would love that city, and I haven't even been there. Excellent tour-- you really captured the feel of the city.
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  #5  
Old Posted Mar 8, 2009, 2:19 PM
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A few years back my wife and I decided to see what kind of house we could get for under 100 000. We looked at a house on Cheever St. just for the hell of it.

As we drove South on Wentworth after the viewing I remarked:

"Well that neighborhood is very depressed, it needs a lot of work."

my wife replied:

"What it needs is an atomic bomb."

I found it hard to disagree with her.
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Old Posted Mar 8, 2009, 5:31 PM
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Because it is surrounded by so much industry, this is certainly not a desirable neighbourhood. There are a couple of houses in Keith for sale under $70,000. I'm always somewhat surprised when I see the nice well maintained homes in this area. Some of them are literally across the street from huge factories and scrapyards. But I do like the tree cover in this neighbourhood, it looks nicer when the grass is green and the trees have leaves. It was probably a very pleasant working class neighbourhood when the Studebaker plant was open. I find Keith reminiscent of some Detroit neighbourhoods, it's a bit like the neighbourhood in the movie Gran Torino.
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Old Posted Mar 8, 2009, 5:57 PM
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Yup.
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  #8  
Old Posted Mar 8, 2009, 7:18 PM
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It's remarkable how Hamilton shares the same "look" as Eastern Ohio and Pittsburgh. Well done!
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Old Posted Mar 8, 2009, 7:56 PM
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Awesome. Really great shots and coverage.
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  #10  
Old Posted Mar 8, 2009, 9:13 PM
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Reminds me alot of Buffalo as well.

Nice to see how neat and well kept (and colourful!) most of the houses are.

Love some of those old industrial buildings, and love the alley shots.

Even at the dreariest time of year, you did justice to this hood.
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Old Posted Mar 8, 2009, 11:46 PM
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Another great thread. This is the most blue-collar neighborhood in Hamilton, in my opinion (judging from your pictures).
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  #12  
Old Posted Mar 9, 2009, 12:59 AM
Hammer Native Hammer Native is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by flar View Post
Because it is surrounded by so much industry, this is certainly not a desirable neighbourhood. There are a couple of houses in Keith for sale under $70,000. I'm always somewhat surprised when I see the nice well maintained homes in this area. Some of them are literally across the street from huge factories and scrapyards. But I do like the tree cover in this neighbourhood, it looks nicer when the grass is green and the trees have leaves. It was probably a very pleasant working class neighbourhood when the Studebaker plant was open. I find Keith reminiscent of some Detroit neighbourhoods, it's a bit like the neighbourhood in the movie Gran Torino.
That little enclave south of Mars Avenue/west of Wentworth Street probably still has potential, in fact there was a townhouse complex proposed on an empty lot on one of those streets I don't know what became of it however. What that area certainly lacks is amenities, hard to believe for an inner city neighbourhood. But I guess that's what happened in a lot of American city neighbourhoods, eventually not much left in them. I believe the HSR just started a route into that area, didn't they, or plans to. And the people fought to keep former Robert Land School as a community centre. So I guess there is some community spirit there and I guess it's a start for low income people to get into home ownership. The area north of the second set of tracks closer to Burlington Street is another story, I'm sure we can tell just by looking at it. Probably all of those houses should have been expropriated years ago when heavy industry went in. It seemed like it was done in a haphazard manner, some houses were and the rest were left. With heavy industry across the street and transport trucks barreling past it can't be a very fit place to live and ever will be. They probably should have zoned that for lighter industry to create a bit of a buffer to the neighbourhoods south, and the derelict houses would have been gone.

The old industrial buildings are magnificent forms of architecture. The Studebaker plant was Otis elevator after that, then I'm pretty sure Allan Candy used that building for a while too. Allan Candy was another Hamilton success story if I'm right. Pretty much all the Easter chocolate in the stores seemed to be made by them. Cadbury's of U.K. bought them out. I guess a lot of production is at the modern plant in Stoney Creek now. Then lastly, there was the failed movie studio proposal for the Studebaker plant.

Hopefully those buildings can be re-invented. Just look at the distillery district in Toronto, artists, cafes, shopping, etc. We're seeing that start to take root here in other places, like The Imperial Cotton Centre on Sherman North and other former industrial buildings. If something like that were proposed hopefully the city doesn't entangle it in red tape like The Pearl Factory and the former Westinghouse building.
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Old Posted Mar 9, 2009, 3:15 AM
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If the residents in that neighborhood would get out and clean up all the trash in their yards and streets, it would be a great place.
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Old Posted Mar 9, 2009, 4:55 AM
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You can definitely tell its a Great Lakes city from the architecture and general development pattern. It's rougher than I expected out of Ontario.
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Old Posted Mar 9, 2009, 5:35 AM
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reminds me a lot of utica.
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Old Posted Mar 9, 2009, 7:09 AM
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Looks pretty rough - but interesting
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  #17  
Old Posted Mar 9, 2009, 3:00 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by flar View Post
Some infill. These houses with sunken garages were built as infill all over the north end.




This is probably a silly question, but when exactly and why would most of these have been built? I've seen them in other neighbourhoods like Landsdale as well and over by the north Bayfront area like you noted - I'm sure there's many more.

Was it just enough people wanting to move downtown or near the factories at the time that they were built? Was it infill it that sense or was it infill that was planned to help the neighbourhood by building these homes with any plan in place?
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Old Posted Mar 9, 2009, 5:02 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ColDayMan View Post
It's remarkable how Hamilton shares the same "look" as Eastern Ohio and Pittsburgh. Well done!
Yeah. Got the Pretender's song "My City is Gone" goin' thru my mind as I scroll these photos.

Great shots of the hammer.
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Old Posted Mar 9, 2009, 7:23 PM
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Great tour. Your threads have certainly given Hamilton a lot of spotlight. About a year ago, I always viewed Hamilton as an old gritty city, but your threads have changed my opinion of it for the better!!
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Old Posted Mar 10, 2009, 6:55 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kcexpress69 View Post
About a year ago, I always viewed Hamilton as an old gritty city, but your threads have changed my opinion of it for the better!!
Well, these pictures prove that it's definitely that (old and gritty), as well.
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