Augusta - 165 James St S, 14 and 26 Augusta St | ? | 6, 8 & 8 fl | Under Construction

[StEC]

Amazing tour Ritsman, appreciate the work you put into sharing this with us!

[Chronamut]

Mmm very nice! Also I'm not too confident anything will be higher than landmark lol..

Ahh the balustrade at the top is such a beautiful elegant touch - I love when they add those types of details..

and yeah at first glance the regular brick may seem disappointing but it gives us time to reflect on the fact the whole city was once built from the clay of the escarpment so it's a nice tie-in to what already existed, and prevents every building they use from using that same brown brick of the olympia club..

also high respect to anyone who designs their products to hide the ventilation and make it part of the design, I know I have bemoaned this with other projects in the past who have these beautiful seamless renders and then ruin it all by punching in ventilation after, cheapening the look - it's so simple to tuck them behind or into things and have them be part of the design..

interested to see if medical arts has any plans for that parking lot - it's funny I've never even been in the medical arts building.. there are so many buildings in hamilton I have never been inside of..

still not huge on their design further up james they'll be starting soon but maybe after some amendments it will feel more harmonious.

Also interested to see how wind plays a role on the rooftop patio - kinda wish there was some canopy over the top where the seating is to protect from the elements - the sun and other elements might be a bit intense..

[TheRitsman]

Originally Posted by Chronamut

Mmm very nice! Also I'm not too confident anything will be higher than landmark lol..

Ahh the balustrade at the top is such a beautiful elegant touch - I love when they add those types of details..

and yeah at first glance the regular brick may seem disappointing but it gives us time to reflect on the fact the whole city was once built from the clay of the escarpment so it's a nice tie-in to what already existed, and prevents every building they use from using that same brown brick of the olympia club..

also high respect to anyone who designs their products to hide the ventilation and make it part of the design, I know I have bemoaned this with other projects in the past who have these beautiful seamless renders and then ruin it all by punching in ventilation after, cheapening the look - it's so simple to tuck them behind or into things and have them be part of the design..

interested to see if medical arts has any plans for that parking lot - it's funny I've never even been in the medical arts building.. there are so many buildings in hamilton I have never been inside of..

still not huge on their design further up james they'll be starting soon but maybe after some amendments it will feel more harmonious.

Also interested to see how wind plays a role on the rooftop patio - kinda wish there was some canopy over the top where the seating is to protect from the elements - the sun and other elements might be a bit intense..

When talking to Steve, he indicated they attempted to put as much ventilation through the roof as possible, but it is a giant pain, and far from simple.

[Chronamut]

Yeah there is something to be said about a nice seamless exterior.

[TheHonestMaple]

Taken today.

The rooftop patio for this building was in the plans from the beginning, unlike the Plank rooftop patio. Which is nice, because as you can see in my drone shot there will be uninterrupted views as there will probably be a glass perimeter railing. At Plank, because the rooftop was an afterthought you can't really see the city views when sitting at your table, because the parapet wall is so tall.

[TheHonestMaple]

Does anyone have any old pictures of Augusta? I've been trying to find pictures of what this block looked like before everything got demolished. I understand the Pheasant Plucker was just one of about 10 similar buildings. Not sure when it got demolished though, but my bet is quite a long time ago, maybe as far back as 1920?

[TheHonestMaple]

I noticed that they've installed construction elevators around the perimeter for installing the brick on floors 2 and above. So we should see most of the facade come together in the next couple weeks

[TheHonestMaple]

I have it on good authority that the ground floor retail space of the James Street building is going to be a small grocery store. Not sure which brand, but something like Rabba or Denningers.

[craftbeerdad]

Doubt it will be Denninger's as they want a bigger space in the lower city.

Rabba loves these type of spaces in Toronto, so I could see that being a potential fit for sure. One of those Loblways City Market's might be a potential suitor too.

Either way, sounds promising.

[TheRitsman]

Originally Posted by TheHonestMaple

I have it on good authority that the ground floor retail space of the James Street building is going to be a small grocery store. Not sure which brand, but something like Rabba or Denningers.

This is correct, no announcement yet on whom.

[woreg75]

I have one in my collection that someone posted long ago. Either here or on the Facebook group old Hamilton. I had to have a copy of it, and I think it was someone's father playing with the hose in front.
The Fire Hydrant is still there, a little more modern.

It's at 22 Augusta Street.

I'm not sure of the year, but in the distance, Anshe Sholom synagogue is somewhat visible in the picture before it was torn down for St. Charles today. My Grandparents were married in the old temple. It moved to the new building on Cline.

[ScreamingViking]

That looks like it could be many present streets east and west of downtown.

The trees. Wow.

Thanks for sharing that!

Originally Posted by woreg75

I have one in my collection that someone posted long ago. Either here or on the Facebook group old Hamilton. I had to have a copy of it, and I think it was someone's father playing with the hose in front.
The Fire Hydrant is still there, a little more modern.

It's at 22 Augusta Street.

I'm not sure of the year, but in the distance, Anshe Sholom synagogue is somewhat visible in the picture before it was torn down for St. Charles today. My Grandparents were married in the old temple. It moved to the new building on Cline.

[woreg75]

Happy to post.

https://search.ontariojewisharchives...criptions20800

Link to a picture of what used to stand at the corner of Hughson Street and Augusta.

Then St. Charles was built in its place in the sixties.
Little article here.

https://www.thespec.com/life/st-char...d1a6cc9c.html?

It was nice to read the two tablets depicting the Ten Commandments from the synagogue were incorporated into the new church.

[woreg75]

Found the link to Vintage Hamilton on Facebook. Rather give the person their due.
Apparently, the child is Eugene Lees.

https://www.facebook.com/VintageHami...706801/?type=3

[woreg75]

One more tidbit!

That kid with the water hose??

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Lees

[woreg75]

22 Augusta was a popular address...

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid...84.-2207520000

[Chronamut]

Originally Posted by woreg75

22 Augusta was a popular address...

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid...84.-2207520000

*logs away in mind* - thanks - this was an area I was missing for my mental memory of the old city - looks like it was just rowhouses all across for that side. Only one left now. I also love the rowhouses on James st in this area - it gives a nice vibe along that part. Old world vibe.

It's also amazing how much shutters change the look of a lot of these buildings. This area is also in such desperate need of trees.

[SteelTown]

Source: https://twitter.com/JasonThorne_RPP

[Chronamut]

Loving the tiered out brickwork on this one at the top there - even if I still bemoan the lack of fancy cornices lol..

[TheHonestMaple]

I mean to be fair, fancy cornices wouldn't make sense on this building. That's not the architectural style of this one. It's intended to be art deco industrial, which wouldn't feature cornices like that.