[flar]

Corktown is a neighbourhood southeast of downtown Hamilton, bounded by James, Main, Wellington
and the base of the Niagara Escarpment. Many of Hamilton's early Irish settlers lived here and worked
on the Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway that passes through the neighbourhood. The letters "TH&BRY"
can still be seen on the railroad overpasses and the fomer terminal now serves as the Hamilton GO
Centre. Today Corktown is a high density neighbourhood comprised of tightly packed Victorian era
houses and 1960's high rises. The neighbourhood also features the St. Joeseph's Hospital campus, a
commercial area on John St. and a pub district on Augusta St., which is shown at the end of the tour.

Augusta Street Pubs

 

[ganjavih]

Once again, your pics make Hamilton look like such a cool place.

 

[Observer Walt]

Hamilton definitely can be cool; you may have to look for it a bit more than in some other cities. This neighbourhood, IMO, is where cool resides, more so than Hess Street which people may be more likely to point to.

Flar, again, your photographs are excellent. Thanks for posting them. Nice to see that you got a pic of Tailgate Charlie's, a neat and unpretentious pub. Also, your very first picture looking along James Street is quite striking!

 

[flar]

Corktown is an up and coming neighbourhood. It's seen a lot of improvement in the last few years. There are lots of condos, it's walkable and close to the GO station, so this is where most of the Toronto commuters live. In addition to the many pubs in Corktown, several new pubs are opening soon. Old rowhouses have been renovated, the notorious Corktown Tavern has been renovated and even this old building is set for a rehab (the project is delayed in typical Hamilton fashion):

 

[Tewder]

I've been to the 'Cat' many times, a great little neighbourhood place. The Pheasant is good too. When they first opened you could win a free beer if you could say 'pheasant plucker' 10 times fast (the offer was only valid after midnight when most had already had several pints).

I'm not sure if it's officially part of Corktown but the commercial row on the west side of James North is an excellent example of a fairly uninterrupted block of stone commercial buildings.

You've done a beautiful job of showing Hamilton. Thank you.

 

[ShonTron]

I thought I knew Hamilton, but every photothread I learn something new, like Augusta Street's pubs, or Locke Street before. I wanna check it out now.

 

[CDL.TO]

Last Tuesday some of my family from Britain had to head to Hamilton Airport (in their rental car) from Toronto so some of them could catch their flight back to London. The plan was to stop in Hamilton on the way and find somewhere for dinner. Asking them their impressions of Hamilton, the response was "It's a s**thole. A real dive.". Of course, neither they nor I actually know what part of Hamilton they were in. It was disappointing because to me Hamilton is primarily a very nice city with basically everything that they liked about Toronto but on a smaller, more local scale. I'm left wondering where they ended up and therefore if their opinions really did differ from mine about the city. I really, really, really wish I had asked them to take note of the streets they ended up on.

For that matter I also wish I had a map to give them so I could have directed their journey to Dundas or Hess Village.

 

[Kiwi]

Hamilton has to have one of the best nightlife for its size in Canada.

 

[flar]

If you come to Hamilton via the QEW, as most do, you have to pass through some very dirty neighbourhoods. People end up on Burlington St, Barton St. or King East. That's probably where many people form their impressions about Hamilton.

 

[ShonTron]

Mmmm. Had dinner at the Pleasant Plucker tonight with another UT member. The fish and chips were reasonably priced, good, service great, and the pub is lovely. Augusta Street is certainly more sparse than Hess, but it has the advantage of being a bit quieter and easier to park.

Flar: please, please try to promote Hamilton on a more formal basis, you're doing such a good job here!

 

[CDL.TO]

Err... Pheasant Plucker. Pleasant Plucker sounds a little... double entendre. Well, even more than Pheasant Plucker anyway.

The pub was great. I can't believe they serve haggis and curry sauce for your fries! (yum!)

Some very nice and well-maintained housing in that neighbourhood. Hamilton really does have so much potential. And the Medical Arts building is far more imposing in person than in your photo.

 

[adma]

In the spirit of Halloween, that Medical Arts sign should be replaced by an alternating "Evil Scientist" and "Boo"

 

[Long Island Mike]

Hamilton's Corktown: Nice!

Flar: Again a good group of pics! So that is the neighborhood that one passes thru on the TH&B main into HML. One thing I find interesting about HML is all the sturdy brick and stone construction in everything from rowhouses to small mansions. It also amazes me that the construction is so different from Buffalo neighborhoods even though the cities are perhaps 60 miles apart or so. Just another reason to explore HML! LI MIKE

 

[jswag]

Excellent photos once again Flar! I can't help but comment on all of your threads.

Something about these photos seems eerily British to me... I'm not sure what it is, maybe the proliferation of early 20th century rowhomes? At any rate, looks like an interesting place.