The Great Canadian City Halls And Government Buildings Thread - Page 6

kwoldtimer · #**101** Posted **Sep 12, 2019, 2:11 PM**

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ScreamingViking · #**102** Posted **Sep 12, 2019, 10:10 PM**

More images of Hamilton's John Sopinka Courthouse
Opened as the main post office in 1936, expanded/renovated and re-opened in 1999 for court use.

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Wentworth County Courthouse (1958)
This was used by McMaster University's Centre for Continuing Education after Sopinka opened across the street. But it was reclaimed by the province and after a reno it's now back to provincial court use.

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Unified Family Court (1913)
This was originally the main branch of the Hamilton Public Library, repurposed after the new library attached to Jackson Square opened in 1980. This is on the same block as city hall, northeast corner.

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Central Library (1980)
This is the building that replaced the 1913 Carnegie Library, now 39 years old. The pic is post-reno, which was done in conjunction with the farmer's market just below and east of it, between 2009-2011 or so.

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Hydro building (1950)
I've seen a few posts with hydro buildings in other cities, thought this was worth a look. It's now one of the offices of Alectra Utilities, formerly the Hamilton Hydro-Electric Commission and then Horizon Utilities before amalgamations happened. It lies on the northeast edge of downtown, adjacent to what's been a parking lot wasteland for decades...

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Also notable, though not a public building per se: Fire Station No. 1 (1913) is just south of the hydro building.

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ScreamingViking · #**103** Posted **Sep 12, 2019, 10:14 PM**

Burlington city hall (1965)
A 1980s expansion added most of the two to three floors that now surround the original 8-storey tower.

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ScreamingViking · #**104** Posted **Sep 12, 2019, 11:24 PM**

Some other notable historical municipal buildings that are still standing in Hamilton. These were town halls prior to amalgamation of the city with its five regional suburbs in 2001.

Dundas (1849)
Still used as a municipal service centre.

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East Flamborough Township Hall, in Waterdown (1857)
It later became a library until 2015, then renovated for private office space.

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Ancaster (1871)
Now rented out for meetings, weddings, and other events.

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stevanford1 · #**105** Posted **Sep 13, 2019, 12:26 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

Burlington city hall (1965)
A 1980s expansion added most of the two to three floors that now surround the original 8-storey tower.

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I used to hate Burlington City Hall, but I have recently come to like it.

esquire · #**106** Posted **Sep 13, 2019, 1:36 PM**

^ It's very nice... that would have been a pretty bold architectural statement for a smaller city to make back in 1965.

megadude · #**107** Posted **Sep 13, 2019, 1:59 PM**

I like passing through the small DTs of Dundas and Ancaster. Waterdown's is very small. But all three are in close proximity to the Escarpment and some cool windy roads so always makes for an interesting drive.

I love Burlington's DT. Oakville's is more "charming", but Burlington's is closer to a real DT so I prefer walking around there.

niwell · #**108** Posted **Sep 13, 2019, 2:53 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by megadude

I like passing through the small DTs of Dundas and Ancaster. Waterdown's is very small. But all three are in close proximity to the Escarpment and some cool windy roads so always makes for an interesting drive.

I love Burlington's DT. Oakville's is more "charming", but Burlington's is closer to a real DT so I prefer walking around there.

Yeah, I've long maintained that Burlington's downtown is probably the best of the suburban municipalities in the GTHA. It's a bit undersized for a standalone city of that size, but not nearly so much as most of the others, and it actually has a substantial amount of both employment and residential space. You need the combination to have an actual functioning downtown, not just a quaint retail / restaurant strip.

ScreamingViking · #**109** Posted **Sep 14, 2019, 6:35 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by niwell

Yeah, I've long maintained that Burlington's downtown is probably the best of the suburban municipalities in the GTHA. It's a bit undersized for a standalone city of that size, but not nearly so much as most of the others, and it actually has a substantial amount of both employment and residential space. You need the combination to have an actual functioning downtown, not just a quaint retail / restaurant strip.

I disagree that employment is "substantial" in Burlington's core. There are a few small office and mixed use buildings in downtown B-Town, and many old homes converted to commercial/office use, but there could be so much more. In Halton most of the employment is along the QEW corridor, in Burlington and Oakville (check out the employment surveys; they map things at a municipal level but unfortunately don't break down sub-municipal areas).

People may look at the towers and see a "downtown" but as an employment node there's much to do yet. Most of the talk lately has been about fighting tall condo towers and supporting local retail, but getting more offices in the core seems to be a non-issue I wish city council would focus attention toward.

I've lived on the edge of downtown for more than 13 years and aside from new residential developments and some change in restaurant/retail the office component hasn't seemed to keep up. This city can do better that way.

davidivivid · #**110** Posted **Sep 17, 2019, 2:12 PM**

Tried to find a thread about Canada's schools and couldn't find one so I thought I'd drop this here. New school in Métis-sur-Mer, Gaspésie by Stéphane Groleau photographe.

https://www.facebook.com/Stephane.Gr...epa=SEARCH_BOX

WhipperSnapper · #**111** Posted **Sep 17, 2019, 2:53 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

I disagree that employment is "substantial" in Burlington's core. There are a few small office and mixed use buildings in downtown B-Town, and many old homes converted to commercial/office use, but there could be so much more. In Halton most of the employment is along the QEW corridor, in Burlington and Oakville (check out the employment surveys; they map things at a municipal level but unfortunately don't break down sub-municipal areas).

People may look at the towers and see a "downtown" but as an employment node there's much to do yet. Most of the talk lately has been about fighting tall condo towers and supporting local retail, but getting more offices in the core seems to be a non-issue I wish city council would focus attention toward.

I've lived on the edge of downtown for more than 13 years and aside from new residential developments and some change in restaurant/retail the office component hasn't seemed to keep up. This city can do better that way.

I prefer Burlington's downtown however, Oshawa's feels more like the prototypical downtown.

someone123 · #**112** Posted **Sep 28, 2019, 8:00 PM**

I thought this photo of Halifax's city hall (1887) was interesting. It shows the "moat" between the building and the square in front (Grand Parade):

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The building is built on a hill. It's 3 storeys on the Argyle side and 4 on the Barrington side. There were also stables built under the Grand Parade; the entrance is still there on the Barrington side.

White Pine · #**113** Posted **Sep 28, 2019, 8:31 PM**

Pembroke, ON Courthouse

White Pine · #**114** Posted **Sep 28, 2019, 8:49 PM**

Ottawa:

Not sure what this one's called

Bank of Canada

stevanford1 · #**115** Posted **Oct 3, 2019, 1:22 PM**

Ah yes, this thread wouldn’t be complete without Ottawa! The first ones called the Confederation Building.

Acajack · #**116** Posted **Oct 3, 2019, 1:57 PM**

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Originally Posted by White Pine

This is the main downtown Ottawa headquarters of the Department of National Defence. It is along the Rideau Canal and across the street from the south entrances of the Rideau Centre.

Acajack · #**117** Posted **Oct 3, 2019, 1:59 PM**

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Originally Posted by White Pine

Behind the island in the middle is the fairly new Jim Flaherty Building which is home to the federal Department of Finance.

On the left you can make out a bit of the more classic Lord Elgin Hotel.

Acajack · #**118** Posted **Oct 3, 2019, 2:03 PM**

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Originally Posted by White Pine

This is the Connaught Building, which happens to be the downtown Ottawa home of the Canada Revenue Agency. It lies at the southern end of Sussex Drive between the Byward Market and the Château Laurier.

Two other buildings further down on Sussex have similar architecture.

This is the Royal Canadian Mint:
https://www.google.com/maps/@45.4315...7i16384!8i8192

And this is the National Research Council:
https://www.google.com/maps/@45.4382...7i16384!8i8192

megadude · #**119** Posted **Dec 14, 2020, 12:24 AM**

Hadn't actually seen Milton's town hall before today as I went for a walk around DT Milton. Quite possibly the nicest in the GTA outside Toronto. It's a former jail.

https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attractio...n_Ontario.html

http://wikimapia.org/1218681/Milton-Town-Hall

Architype · #**120** Posted **Dec 14, 2020, 3:01 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

Quote:

Originally Posted by White Pine

Ottawa:
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...

This is the Connaught Building, which happens to be the downtown Ottawa home of the Canada Revenue Agency. It lies at the southern end of Sussex Drive between the Byward Market and the Château Laurier.
...

Great imagery, a bureaucratically inspired version of the Tower of London, presumably a place of imprisonment for tax evasion.