City of Hamilton General Discussion Thread

[Chronamut]

Originally Posted by NortheastWind

I think for the brick they use walnut shells. Sand is a health and safety issue as sand is composed of silica which causes silicosis in the lungs.

they don't sandblast anymore, they soda blast - its compressed air and baking soda - causes the grime on the surface to literally explode and vaporize on contact while not affecting the underlying layer. - walnut blasting will erode away the surface, sodablasting won't.

[Chronamut]

found some cool colour photos of what king and king william streetlines used to look like - thought I'd share

king william:



king st:



This building needs a ton of repair - a lot of the pediments above the windows have been removed or fallen off over the years.

[atnor]

Nice pictures, love seeing coloured photos of hamilton.

I have a picture of Al Pacino walking our streets, wish I could find it to share.

[Chronamut]

Originally Posted by atnor

Nice pictures, love seeing coloured photos of hamilton.

I have a picture of Al Pacino walking our streets, wish I could find it to share.

nice.. al capone stayed at the royal connaught

[bigguy1231]

Those buildings in the King St. picture are all still there with a couple of exceptions. That was mid 70's.

[Chronamut]

Originally Posted by bigguy1231

Those buildings in the King St. picture are all still there with a couple of exceptions. That was mid 70's.

It's not the fact that they're not there, but the fact the architectural elements are in such poor condition, and in parts missing altogether. That in only a span of 40-50 years so much damage has been done to what was once a pristine unbroken architectural streetscape.

It's like when they blasted the blue colour off they decided to blast half the pediments off as well - this area has probably bothered me the most because there are grants you can apply for to repair such things.

This pic also appears to have taken place before the neon sign ban which I believe went in in the late 80s or 90s, because they didn't want king st being seen as a sort of seedy "vegas strip".

You can still see the rested poles sticking out of the buildings from the signs in areas..

Personally I think they should redo the entire facade of the entire building. Clean or replace the brick, sodablast the stone, and replace all the windows and re-add on all the missing pediments, and either colour it all one uniform colour with white stone like the history and heritage area on james st with different colours of painted brick like the blue is in the above picture, or just paint the entire thing one colour, or leave it all brick colour with white stone.

[TheRitsman]

Originally Posted by Chronamut

It's not the fact that they're not there, but the fact the architectural elements are in such poor condition, and in parts missing altogether. That in only a span of 40-50 years so much damage has been done to what was once a pristine unbroken architectural streetscape.

It's like when they blasted the blue colour off they decided to blast half the pediments off as well - this area has probably bothered me the most because there are grants you can apply for to repair such things.

This pic also appears to have taken place before the neon sign ban which I believe went in in the late 80s or 90s, because they didn't want king st being seen as a sort of seedy "vegas strip".

You can still see the rested poles sticking out of the buildings from the signs in areas..

Personally I think they should redo the entire facade of the entire building. Clean or replace the brick, sodablast the stone, and replace all the windows and re-add on all the missing pediments, and either colour it all one uniform colour with white stone like the history and heritage area on james st with different colours of painted brick like the blue is in the above picture, or just paint the entire thing one colour, or leave it all brick colour with white stone.

Do you think we could form a group to contact the owners of these buildings and assist them through the facade grant process? Many are likely just lazy, busy, or do not understand the process.

[King&James]

Assembly of that whole block with some decent density on the parking lot directly behind would be such a neat project. Some deep pockets for sure - perhaps Core Urban can work some magic once they have the Alley up and open!

[matt602]

That photo of King William is probably only 15 years old. That part of the street changed radically after about 2007 when the Balfour building was demolished/fell down and the white building a few doors East was also ripped down after that and became "Demolition Park" until Core Urban built the Templar Flats on it. I really hope LIUNA closes the last gap beside the Lister Block soon. Thought they would have done it as part of the William Thomas project but it would have required losing a big chunk of the parking lot behind the Lister Block. I feel like the old church at the corner of Rebecca and Hughson might get bought and demolished within the next 5 years though and thats when that whole area might get developed into something huge.

[Chronamut]

Originally Posted by matt602

That photo of King William is probably only 15 years old. That part of the street changed radically after about 2007 when the Balfour building was demolished/fell down and the white building a few doors East was also ripped down after that and became "Demolition Park" until Core Urban built the Templar Flats on it. I really hope LIUNA closes the last gap beside the Lister Block soon. Thought they would have done it as part of the William Thomas project but it would have required losing a big chunk of the parking lot behind the Lister Block. I feel like the old church at the corner of Rebecca and Hughson might get bought and demolished within the next 5 years though and thats when that whole area might get developed into something huge.

Luina is building an annex of the lister block in that spot - it will look like the lister block. Personally I think that's a good fit, it will make the lister block more squarish looking.

And personally I am glad they tore the white building down - a bit of a shame about the collapsed building but it was in pretty rough shape to begin with.

Originally Posted by TheRitsman

Do you think we could form a group to contact the owners of these buildings and assist them through the facade grant process? Many are likely just lazy, busy, or do not understand the process.

I do run this group - I don't really update it much anymore since using this forum, but in the photo albums I used to detail buildings in the downtown core in need of repair:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/498387653590241/

As for developing a team to help these people with their facades, I am all ears. I am sure there are better people to go at it than me though.. perhaps something like that already exists to help people with grants?

Personally, there should be a city team in charge of maintaining heritage facades imo. Like I said before, you HAVE to keep the facades preserved in niagara on the lake, it's non-negotiable, the same should be upheld here. Anything between the hamilton core "gates" should have top heritage priority, as this is supposed to be what the city showcases to the world as its core area of prosperity.

And one thing you learn in architecture - people don't give a damn about the insides of a building when they are traveling through a city, only the outside. Gotta have a good front.. doesn't matter how nice the inside is if the outside doesn't match.

[Chronamut]

I am a tad concerned that the way those pediments are mounted may not conform to todays modern requirements for actually being held up, which might explain why they are missing to begin with. The brick faces may have to be redone completely, and the existing stone stripped and sanded or blasted to bring them to their former glory.. that and, like the william thomas building, the new ones would have to be requarried and carved, or made using fabricated stone block.

Also the ones on the corner would be challenging as it looks like those facades actually curved around the corner, kinda like how the windows curve.

I think this should be Liuna's next project - buy up the entire thing and redo it all. The problem is, like the building where the tattoo parlour and james st general store are, when you don't get the whole building and so some parts are remodeled and others are not, leaving a dilapitated mishmash.

[lachlanholmes]

List of Active Development Applications from city website:

http://hamilton.siretechnologies.com...7092436745.PDF

[Chronamut]

Originally Posted by scootaround

List of Active Development Applications from city website:

http://hamilton.siretechnologies.com...7092436745.PDF

404 - File or directory not found.
The resource you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable.

went back a directory.. apparently you have to sign in?

[lachlanholmes]

Originally Posted by Chronamut

404 - File or directory not found.
The resource you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable.

went back a directory.. apparently you have to sign in?

huh... thats strange.


it seems to only work when accessed through city website, try going through this link, item 5.1 appendix a

[Chronamut]

Originally Posted by scootaround

huh... thats strange.


it seems to only work when accessed through city website, try going through this link, item 5.1 appendix a

cool thanks

[Chronamut]

So my mind keeps going back to the fact that if hamilton wants to be seen as a bigger city, it has to have some sort of monument that it is known for. At the moment the gore park fountain is kind of it's thing, which isn't very exciting when it comes to landmarks.

Toronto has the CN tower, perhaps we need some sort of central tower as well? Or something else awe-inspiring.

[bigguy1231]

Originally Posted by Chronamut

So my mind keeps going back to the fact that if hamilton wants to be seen as a bigger city, it has to have some sort of monument that it is known for. At the moment the gore park fountain is kind of it's thing, which isn't very exciting when it comes to landmarks.

Toronto has the CN tower, perhaps we need some sort of central tower as well? Or something else awe-inspiring.

We have the Niagara Escarpment. It is a natural monument and a World Biospere Reserve running through the city. Most cities would kill for something similar.

[Chronamut]

Originally Posted by bigguy1231

We have the Niagara Escarpment. It is a natural monument and a World Biospere Reserve running through the city. Most cities would kill for something similar.

meh. So do all the other cities around the golden horseshoe. A bathtub lip imo isn't that mind boggling.

[anactualalien]

Originally Posted by Chronamut

meh. So do all the other cities around the golden horseshoe. A bathtub lip imo isn't that mind boggling.

If we're talking strictly buildings and not attractions in general, one will come in time when a new anchor corporation sets up here, assuming the city grows into it's potential. I think what you desire should arrive as an indication that the city has achieved its reversal of fortune. Trying to rush Hamilton's CN Tower into existence before it gets to that point will just result in an ostentatious subject of mockery like the totally-not-a-rip-off HAMILTON sign. Concern about landmarks for a city that's pretty irrelevant (aside from its geography) at present is putting the cart before the horse.

*downer rant over*

To get back to the question though.. Something on the brow near Concession, or next to the Pier 4 development would be my pick for location. If it were on the escarpment edge it wouldn't need to be as radical an undertaking as the CN tower and you could look up and see it from everywhere in the same way. The city hall sign should have gone under Sam Lawrence Park imo.

Also, the cable car idea while not a building, would be pretty unique as a landmark and a decent draw, and a good way of connecting the neighborhood on the brow with Gage Park/Ottawa St.

[Chronamut]

Originally Posted by anactualalien

If we're talking strictly buildings and not attractions in general, one will come in time when a new anchor corporation sets up here, assuming the city grows into it's potential. I think what you desire should arrive as an indication that the city has achieved its reversal of fortune. Trying to rush Hamilton's CN Tower into existence before it gets to that point will just result in an ostentatious subject of mockery like the totally-not-a-rip-off HAMILTON sign. Concern about landmarks for a city that's pretty irrelevant (aside from its geography) at present is putting the cart before the horse.

*downer rant over*

To get back to the question though.. Something on the brow near Concession, or next to the Pier 4 development would be my pick for location. If it were on the escarpment edge it wouldn't need to be as radical an undertaking as the CN tower and you could look up and see it from everywhere in the same way. The city hall sign should have gone under Sam Lawrence Park imo.

Also, the cable car idea while not a building, would be pretty unique as a landmark and a decent draw, and a good way of connecting the neighborhood on the brow with Gage Park/Ottawa St.

all good ideas, and I agree, that a landmark should be cemented when hamiltons fortune reversal is in full swing - then we can add tourism to our city, instead of the imagery of smokestacks to represent hamilton or the blank look of "where?" when you tell people about hamilton, as opposed to their eyes brightening when you say "toronto" or "ottawa" or "montreal"..

it's too bad you can't build some sort of landmark IN the water, we have this giant bay area, it'd be cool to have something in the middle of it..

..or demolish the old factories and put something there - we are already used to the huge smokestacks there.