Comment 34865

By lambarker (anonymous) | Posted October 18, 2009 at 09:15:36

I am writing a set of novellas set in Hamilton from about 1906 to 1958. I lived through urban renewal and had to move from a huge (cheap) apartment because the building, a very solid three story walkup with viable businesses below was demolished.

My research, which is still basically concentrating on 1929 - 1935 at the moment, has shown me the Hamilton that I missed. I am now in east end Toronto, surrounded by historical buildings that we have managed to preserve.

I remember climbing the steps of the old City Hall on James Street with my grandmother to pay the house taxes, lining up in my Brownie uniform at the Armouries, shopping at the outdoor market on York Street and eating at Vines Deli. Luckily, the Conservatory building (where I first noticed the little boy on the back stairs I would later marry)is still there.

I return to Westdale and Dundas on an almost weekly basis and now Dundas is losing buildings because of amalgamation. It has also lost many beautiful areas to development.

Oh, well, urban renewal in Hamilton pushed us into moving to Toronto, to an 1889 house that some Hamilton politician would want torn down. I am working on getting my local library declared an historic site and have managed to get the lawn bowling club house moved instead of demolished. Maybe if I had been older and had the community organization resources that I have now, I'd be a Hamiltonian.


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