^ Thanks. Surprised to see the bus bays slowly turning to dust. That's valuable downtown property which could be severed from the building. Ripe for development!

That entire sea of parking lots has so much development potential it's crazy.

Hopefully the city gives McMaster one of the municipal owned lots at John/Wilson for development and the new police forensics lab at Catherine/Rebecca gets built soon as well.

Isn't it annoying how McMaster's campus is getting so spread out? AKA to Burlington and downtown. I know they have that one large parking lot on their Westdale campus (facing Cootes Paradise drive), why don't they develop that? All my friends from Hamilton (other university students) say how weird it is that it isn't all in one place.

No different than pretty much any other large post secondary school (UofT has multiple campuses for example). I love that they're expanding downtown.

Indeed, this is how universities stake their territories. Better that Mac set up shop in Burlington vs UG UofT, York or Brock! I also think the downtown campus is a great idea, complete with student housing. Rebecca and Houghson would make a good launching area, and stretch it to their New Jackson Square digs..

My two cents

Apparently that property and the adjacent ones are pretty seriously contaminated with, I believe, oil and gas.

https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/...f5&oe=54ED9785
https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/...d1&oe=54B30639

What do ya think > mid-80s?

I used to love the Casino and the Palace. Very dicey places but tonnes of fun.

Mid '70s. Cheapies has been around since the late '70s and they would be in the Chicken Roost spot, unless they started in a different location. I have no idea.

That looks more mid to late 80's to me. Definitely not in the 70s.

Cheapies was originally located on the NE corner of King & John, where the Pizza Pizza currently is. The Chicken Roost closed in 1986. Cheapies moved in shortly thereafter (1988), with sister store Record World one door east.

The HSR's numerical ID convention suggests that the bus entered service in 1977, so there's your range.

That HSR paint scheme debuted in 1985.
http://www.hamiltontransit.ca/hsr-ce...amilton-today/

Thanks, I should have actually known based on the paint job of the bus.

^That was an interesting era in Hamilton, particularly in the city centre.

There was still a fair bit happening downtown: JS was booming, lots of cinema options, arcades, billiard halls, record stores, etc. It was also a great spot to get your teeth kicked in if you looked at someone the wrong way.

Today, there are fewer reasons for kids to go downtown, though it certainly is a kinder and gentler place. The world has changed after all.

Really? In the downtown core? How did things get to that state? That's terrible.

Remediation of sites like this is not on overly huge engineering problem any more. But there has to be motivation, which seems scarce in Hamilton :(

Ignorance and neglect. The area served as Hamilton's intercity bus terminal from 1955-1995, not generally known as a progressive era for environmental awareness. The current tenant, Hamilton Urban Core Community Health Centre (this city loves irony), can't even afford to address peeling paint, let alone remediation, even with ERASE assistance.

I believe the site most in need of remediation was once home to GO service depots, along the neighbouring stretch of Rebecca. The City apparently acquired the land from the Ontario Realty Corporation in July:

Land Acquisition – 85 Mary Street, Hamilton (PSB10011(a)) (City Wide) (Item 12.1)

That the property identified as 85 Mary Street be reallocated for utilization as part of the new Hamilton Police Services Investigative Services/Forensic Facility in conjunction with all other acquired properties bordered by Rebecca, Mary, Wilson and Catherine Streets.

The parking lot directly south of the HUCCHC also sits on contaminated land, home to industrial operation Hamilton Stove and Heater before serving as a parking lot. A 2008 Phase 2 EA found it was contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons, sealed in time by the parking lot that opened alongside the bus terminal.

Oh. This is terrible.

The added layer of yet another public-sector building in the immediate area is also disheartening, in my opinion. In many cities, developers would be clamouring to buy this downtown core property, getting some public $ help to remediate it, and building something (which will pay property taxes!).

I have a vague memory of hearing that the police mechanical garage was at Catherine and Rebecca along time ago. Not much concern for spills and disposing of oil and gas back then I don't think.

Ring a bell with anyone?

Any guesses?

https://scontent-b-mxp.xx.fbcdn.net/...73&oe=54F50AAF

Good one. No idea. Gonna guess Barton. Maybe Locke, I suppose.