Raise the Hammer

"Despite the influx of shoppers there is something about Jackson Square, with its grubbiness and cigarette butts around its perimeter, that is both unsettling and even scary for visitors and residents who rarely venture downtown."

i am sick and tired of reading this trash constantly. it is alarmist for absolutely no reason and has undertones of classism.

Jackson Square IS grubby, but it's the bleak midcentury architecture that seeps into your subconscious and puts you on edge. Nothing inviting about it all, the government building and the convention centre across the street don't do much to help either. The Farmers Market and the Library are pretty nice looking for the outside. City Centre is pretty bad too but in an entirely different way. It actually has a lot of potential because the inside has good bones, they just need to open it to the street.

Agree fully. There's also the loitering people, the people shouting, spitting, and sometimes drinking out there, the constant view of the yellow-jacketed ACTION team peering from above down on the people below, and the graffiti, stains, and lack of anything inviting.

I don't feel this way when I go to Eastgate, Lime Ridge, or the Centre Mall.

Weird what happens when you ghettoize your people of need and centralize your social services.

Sorry, where are the social services in Jackson square? I don't recall seeing them anywhere. Good on ya for trying to prove a point that can't be made.

Are you purposely obtuse?

I am surprised the tearing down of the Kenesky building is not being poo-pooed here. There is no excuse for that building to not be incorporated into whatever was being built there. This city continues to sink into hell.

Kenesky's was old sure, but that was pretty much all it had going for it. Not really an interesting building on a not very interesting street. Any heat it may have once had was long gone.

It was interesting, all buildings that are on a corner and have the entrance on the diagonal are neat.

Also, was the neon sign saved? Always something we looked for when in that part of the city.

the kenesky building was on barton and since our new, young professional urban class are unable to travel outside a few blocks past james for fear of encountering poverty no one really noticed.

i was pretty bummed they tore it down too, it was certainly a significant building in the world of hockey at one point.

For someone whose always complaining about classism you sure like to define people by class.

Kenesky's was the only heritage in Hamilton I care about. Its obvious only heritage that people care about isnt exclusive to developers

If Kenesky's was torn down in the 90's there may have been some outcry, but it's just been a run down store for the last 20 years.

Can we apply that logic to any of the rundown buildings in this city? Replace Kenesky's with the Gore buildings and your comment would have been downvoted into oblivion.

As the saying goes, location, location, location. I think buildings in this city should be preserved, but just because something is old doesn't make it heritage.

Thats the entire point. Kennesky's is heritage while many of the buildings being fought for really arent. That building represents a significant portion of Hamilton's history. To claim otherwise really only shows that you only care about history in your area of interest

It shows you don't understand what "heritage" means - it's architectural heritage, not "there used to be a business here I really liked".

That shows you dont know what heritage is. Heritage is much more than bricks and mortar. Its stories of people places and the soul of the city. Kenesky is a hockey icon, not just some business I really liked

It had a great sign I'll give it that. Pops is in the Hamilton Sports Hall of Fame so it's not like he's been forgotten. If the city is having a hard time deciding if the Westdale Theatre should be designated heritage, Kenesky's stood no chance.

I'll give you this"If the city is having a hard time deciding if the Westdale Theatre should be designated heritage, Kenesky's stood no chance."

Perhaps a bronze heritage plaque at the new site would be enough then to recognize the historic importance of the business that was in that building? Or if space permits, a hockey themed public art installation like the Tim Hortons at Ottawa and Dunsmure. There was a ton of historic importance for Canadians in that location but yet a new building stands and honours the old. This may be an option to satisfy all?

Lets put a bronze plaque on the new Gore

Tim Hortons on Dunsmure was a travesty. Such lack of respect in favour of profit is mind boggling

Lack of respect when they tore down the original building or that they tore down the replacement building? What is the lack of respect? They built a museum and shrine to the company, which is more than the building had when they tore it down... Anyway sorry for your loss, obviously Kenesky is a horrendous loss for you.

It was the original building remodelled but go with the lie

In fact I see that you dont respect Tim Horton or Pop Kenesky. Both projects are equivalent to tearing down the Gore

I don't think everyone here gets it. It was an old building, it housed a culturally significant business, and could have stood to be incorporated into a modern design which would have maintained the look of the area and respected all of these things. There was no reason to tear it down other then being a jerk.

Actually, the Guardian article praised the Jackson Square rooftop as the one nice thing about the mall:

-but unlike the mostly windowless world of the mall below, the rooftop offers grassy knolls, sun and shade in summer, live music, a beer festival and a refuge from an otherwise bustling area of town.

And I would tend to agree: I like exiting onto the rooftop after a movie, or taking a walk there after going to the library. It is actually pretty nice in the summer, but it is definitely under-used and could be spruced up.

Comment edited by kevlahan on 2016-05-03 10:31:23

Me too. I still head up there when at the Square on a nice sunny day.

When I worked at the Hall in the early 2000s, I used to go up there and eat my lunch a lot. It's quiet, but busy, if that makes sense. The patches of grass were nice to sit on, or the edges of them.

We also used to skateboard down there when in high school - never used to get bothered up there. I like the idea of having a skate park in there. Even having something like a basketball/ball hockey court up there could be fun.

Also definitely agree about it being underused and needing TLC. Get rid of the brick, replace with interlock/concrete with raised gardens/trees, and that place becomes a raised Gore Park.

This used to be true, but now with all the fast food restaurant exhaust chimneys dotting the rooftop the place constantly smells like hamburgers. The JS landscaping staff are no longer around, so the greenery is being replaced by garbage. Today they are vacuuming the cigarette butts out from between the cracks in the paving stones. That'll fix it.

Jackson Square is a utility mall, there are lots of useful things inside(post office, drug store, movie theatre, LCBO)but there is no destination that makes you want to go there on purpose. Recladding could help the outside, that brutalist pebbley concrete is horrible. Store's that face the street should be things that can incorporate said location, why is Urban Behaviour on that corner? It brings nothing to that spot and it's outside doors are blocked off. Also the hours at this mall are horrible, it basically closes when people get off work and can go shopping.

They need to rip down the whole exterior wall of this place and replace it with glass and storefronts. That alone will go a long way to revitalizing it and making it feel a part of the city instead of a concrete dungeon full of thrift junk

They do seem to be slowly cleaning up the inside and not renewing leases on middling tentants, still a long way to go though. Huge section near the hotel that still feels like 1983 when you walk through it.

The hotel section is operated by a different landlord than the rest of the mall. They obviously DGAF that it's the last bastion of crusty retail in the place (not counting Eaton centre)

All of these attached buildings need to get on the same page. No one knows that City Centre and this small segment are managed by different people, it's all Jackson Square as far as anyone going in there is concerned and these areas need to be fixed with the rest of it.

Jackson sq is great, from the underground parking to the tranquil rooftop. If this was in Vancouver it would be called Robson Square. Even Montreal has several downtown malls.... because of the weather half the year. Sorry I would like to take off my parka and stroll through a climate controlled mall. And when I return to my car I don't have to scrape off ice bc of a heated parking garage.

There is nothing wrong with Jackson Square. I'm tired of hearing progressives blaming all the downtown problems on it. The truth is if there was no Jackson Sq there would hardly be a downtown,

Comment edited by TreyS on 2016-05-03 10:49:07

Because of Jackson Sq there is hardly a downtown.

It's a contributing factor, but not the only one. Plenty of buildings torn down and replaced with parking lots have not done any favours there either.

There is a very large student residence being proposed for the area I believe around King William / James St. With that building full of people Jackson Square might find itself in the enviable position of being the supplier of many, more varied goods and services. Given time, population pressure could fix any of Jackson Squares perceived problems.

I hope not. All they've brought to Westdale is fast food and nail and waxing salons.

It's under construction as we speak. Also, unless they're Columbia College students, they'll have very little disposable income and won't help the mall all that much.

If they are Columbia College students they will be going to T.O. on the weekend to spend, not to a Hamilton Dollar Store

The J-square roof is just begging for use--like when that ragtag bunch used to play ball hockey up there every weekend. With Mac's expansion and the to-be-built student residences noted by ergopepsi, it could very well be McMaster's unofficial downtown Quad/student space.

Off topic: I'm smiling here, reading about all the new-found love for Kenesky's, and Hamilton's poor. I can't tell if it's genuine or if it's due to MSM outlets eliminating comment-sections. Are the spectres of trolls floating around, looking for a new home?

I'm kinda gun shy about raising this, but...
It's not just the building that needs to be re-envisioned and cleaned up...
What often passes for appropriate behaviour by certain mall regulars makes the facility a horror and univiting to many. Let's not kid ourselves. Until some level of social decorum can be enforced at the mall it will be an uncomfortable place for many.

Uh-oh. Someone alert highasageorgiapine.

Tear down the beauty school portion along York Blvd and replace it with an urban stairway. Bright, open, inviting, architecturally pleasing.
Not a complete solution, but would help people find it and invite pedestrians up.

I know people who grew up in Hamilton that didn't know this existed until recently. Insanity.

The Eaton Centre in Toronto was one of the first attempts in North America to put a suburban mall downtown. It's unfortunate futuristic architecture on the outside of the mall especially the Yonge Street, side made it look like a space ship right out from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, hand landed on Yonge between Queen and Dundas Street. It also like every other mall had internalized the shopping environment and cut it off from the outside. The result was a wind swept alien like landscape on the west side of Yonge in downtown Toronto.

It took about 15-20 years but the change started when the mall and some of its restaurants realized that, it was better to allow these places to knock out the outside wall and put in windows and doors. Then allow patios and restaurant patrons to travel through the restaurant to the patio and allow possible patrons to walk in from the Yonge street entrance as well. It was a quick easy way to establish a on street presence. Then were possible, very small leasable social, retail, commercial and restaurant space that had only supply access to the mall and whose entrances faced towards the street were built. Even smaller street only facing garage like spaces were given short term leases to media (TV and Radio) or community organizations, Toronto public Health comes to mind. CFNY Radio had a small garage space were local and some international artists and bands would play to the street on Friday and Saturday nights, allowing for broadcasts from the street front space. Once the young and the young at heart, had great street space the whole block picked itself up. The idea being that you have to start small and build slowly and cheaply then it will pick up when the market re-establishes itself back on the street. Then the sky is the limit. It gets easier when you get young people first. If they make it hip, then half the battle is done.

You are 100% correct! Great post. Too much overthinking and bureaucracy causes things to take too long start with painting out the faded blue. One small step at a time.

Blow it up.

I used to work at Jackson Square. If you put a skate park up top, you would be further damning it's use. The only "kids" that would use it would be the same ones that constantly hang around the mall. The ones from the Notre Dame house, people staying in the Salvation army, Good sheppard, etc. It isn't like little Tommy from down the block is going to come to play. It's going to be more shit heads. Knock the square down. Its the worst mall any ways, everythings closes at 6pm and is of a low scale.

I always thought it would be nice to have a childrens' playground up there. Maybe fence it in and attach it to the library or something if vandalism is a concern.

Yes! Preferably a natural playground.

Hardly a priority and given that it is neither a really heavily trafficked mall compared to the concrete nightmares in other parts of the city, who is going to pay for all these "improvements"? It would inevitably land on the small businesses who are already being pushed out and replaced by more and more corporate franchises losing the mall's appeal in favour of another generic franchise mall. In the end though it is the customers who pay as costs go up so prices go up. Is that fair. Jackson Square may not meet some hipster gentrified aesthetic but until real money regularly flows into it and real changes that benefit everyone, not just TO angsty developers, we have more pressing needs than how Jackson Square looks to some.You want to redesign something, go fix all these newer concrete outdoor call park malls and make them more friendly to all users.Whenever people try to "fix things" we inevitably end up with something worse. Don't like JS don't go there.Keep going to your concrete car malls.

I think this is a major over thinking of Jackson Square. Paint all the faded blue colors to black, including trim and sky walk. Match current city paint trends (They are already taking hold on James Street). I completely disagree with Ingrid Mayrhofer's ideas and think that they are stuck in the 1990's. Graffiti and self expression is a nice way of saying vandalism. On the James street side they could invest in wall Murals vs. Graffiti. It touches on Mayrhofer's point but also allows some type of committee or juried effort and links the James street Art Crawl and the wonderful things happening on James with Jackson square. Architect Rick Lintack really has it right. As unpopular as it is Hamilton needs to look at other cities such as Toronto to see what has worked and reproduce it. Otherwise we will continue to have fractured unpopular ideas put forth as the norm and not the exception and Hamilton will continue its journey of mis matched ideas that don't work together.

Great article. It would be an interesting study to trace the history of how the word "blight" came to be used to describe urban landscapes. It's a curious phenomenon that we use a biological metaphor to describe man-made environments and by extension we almost put at an arm's distance the fact that a lot of this "blight" is down to human actions and decisions. The use of the world blight, I think, always us to think about socio-economic depression in our urban cores as a natural, agentless phenomenon that we could do nothing to stop.