Towards the end of March I took some time to walk around downtown Hamilton. It was a weekday, and I brought my camera, of course.
A bit of back story: I was not born in Hamilton. My hometown is a very short distance from Hamilton. I must admit, when I was growing up we were aware of Hamilton. In fact, it had a dubious reputation of a Steeltown that was full of pollution and derelicts. Of course like most rumour and heresay, I had never experienced Hamilton myself at that time, so I was unable to confirm the opinions.
Its almost as if the story wrote itself. I distinctly remember commenting not once but several times to my peers in my hometown, "Hamilton will be the last place on earth I will ever live..."
Through a series of life events and by taking the most indirect path possible; I found myself moving to and living in Hamilton Ontario about 17 years ago.
It took awhile for me to like then eventually appreciate Hamilton. As my daughters grew, we explored every nook and cranny of the city that was available to us.
Back to my walk around downtown, in present day:
Hamilton like most mid-sized cities has many great little jewels hidden in and around its buildings, people, roads, parks and green spaces. I took about 200 pictures that day, all from the downtown area. This first one here is something I stumbled upon by accident that day. As you can see, the side of the building is covered with an old Coca-Cola sign. It was
difficult to get a really good picture of it because the building next door is so close to it. Obviously the building on the right was built after the building on the left. At one time, the sign must have been fully visible. I thought it was pretty cool and it appeared to be pretty old. I wonder how many other old signs and curiosities like this one are hidden amongst the tangled buildings of the downtown?? Once I found this one, I tried in vain to see if I could spot anymore like it. So far I have not found others, but I'm fairly certain that there are more hidden gems like this in downtown Hamilton.
Hamilton Ontario is often used as a setting for feature films. Wikipedia lists 62 movies at the moment. I can see why it is a popular set for movies. The buildings downtown have alot of character. Add to that the cool signage, maze of alleyways and sprinkling of green spaces and you have an ideal backdrop for some great movies. So yes, I took about 200 pictures but I'm only posting a few here.
Lets just say, I got alot of curious stares while I stood motionless with my camera at the ready.
One of my most favourite pictures of that day is this one. It was also one of the first ones I took.
My timing was good that day, as the train was just pulling through as I stepped out of my car. Hamilton is also rife with train tracks criss-crossing the lower city. As I look again at these photos and at older photos I've taken of the waterfalls and Bruce Trail and large parks in and around Hamilton, I wonder if my statement to my peers in my hometown was prophetic in nature. At this moment, I have no plans to leave Hamilton and take up living elsewhere. However, who knows what the future holds??
