For those who don't know, Hamilton is a steel town, very blue collar, with a reputation for being dingy.. a reputation pretty much built on this:
(Picture by Bobcatnorth on Flickr)
(Picture by Bobcatnorth on Flickr)The view from the QEW as you drive by it. (Now I see a certain beauty in that panorama, but most don't they just see pollution) But I have lived in or around the city for my entire life, and unlike certain snobs from Toronto think, there is much, much more to it.
Lately, I've been eating at my desk and using my lunch breaks to go for a walk - it's amazing how far you can go in 30 minutes! As I've been walking I've seen many beautiful sides of the city, that most people never get to see, so every week or so, I thought I'd share some of them with you.
I loved how this business was decorated for Christmas
It's not as noticeable in the picture, but compare the size of the bigger wreath to the door below it... that is one HUGE wreath! The business is a Salon or Spa on King StreetUp next is the Scottish Rite - Hamilton is full of beautiful architecture, but this one is by far my favourite. If I ever win the lottery, this is where Dave and I are getting hitched!
This is the view from King Street - a huge imposing building surrounded by enormous wrought iron gates:
Then around the corner on Queen Street:
So beautiful!Along Main St. W., I found these cute row houses, the core is full of them. Some are businesses and apartments and some are still homes... you can really see Hamilton's Victorian era here.
I had to take a picture of this adorable little garden someone planted by their basement window:
These flowers won't last much longer - we had an unseasonably warm November, but the temperatures are pushing towards freezing.And last, one of Hamilton's landmarks, the Catholic Cathedral
.I am not religious, but we have some beautiful churches in the city, and this one is definitely the most ornate.
This pic was actually taken from my work. The cathedral is about a 20 minute walk away (I think) but it's huge and sits up on a hill. If you've every travelled the 403 through Hamilton, you've seen this sucker!
Maybe one day my feet will take me over there and get you some closer pics. I've never been over there myself!
4 comments:
I agree with you, there is alot of beautiful architecture and history in Hamilton. It is a neat city. I remember when I was living in Toronto and I was telling some of my friends that I was moving to Hamilton, they said "ewee, why would you want to move there? It's stinky and polluted". You truly don't realize the beauty until you have lived there. Even though I've moved away, I still consider Hamilton my city. :-)
Yes Alisha, people need to get out and take more relaxing walks.
Thanks for the pictures - just beautiful! It is amazing what you can find when you take the time to just walk around and look...I need to do more of that at work.
I grew up in the west end of Hamilton and walked past the Cathedral every Saturday on my way to my part time job at the gas bar at King & Dundurn.
The waterfront trail is gorgeous, particularly around Princess Point. And my Mom used to say that when the highway access from the east brought you into the city through the woods, up the hill into the Westdale village it was breathtaking.
Some gorgeous buildings! It's cooled off here, too. We had above normal temperatures, too, but now it's down to around 0C by the look of it most of the week.
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