[flar]

Keith Neighbourhood
Hamilton, Ontario

Keith is centred around Wentworth St. North between the CN rail tracks and the harbour.
This is in the heart of Hamilton's old industrial area.

A true working class neighbourhood, where men once walked from their homes to their factories.


Frame houses dominate in this part of Hamilton

This was once a Studebaker auto assembly plant. The plant, which was Hamilton's 10th largest employer at the time, closed in 1966. (scroll->>)

A large part of the neighbourhood is near this plant

There is also a candy factory, still operating.

Other old industrial buildings are scattered throughout the neighbourhood.

Wentworth St. North

Some empty spaces

Things look a little rougher further north around Burlington Street.

Probably because this is nearby...

...and this (and other stuff)

The neighbourhood was built with alleys.

There are a few blocks of brick houses, all the same. Or close to the same, some are mirror images.

Back to wood and never far from industry

Some infill. These houses with sunken garages were built as infill all over the north end.

A small area of rowhouses

Near Piers 12 and 14, near the harbour.

A few other house styles appearing in the neighbourhood

A view south toward the escarpment, the Concession St. area visible in the background.

 

[chriskayTO]

Great shots - thanks for sharing!

-Chris

 

[detroitbootybass]

Thanks, flar!

I'm always eager to see your photos!

 

[adma]

What a name for such a neighbourhood: "Keith". It's like calling it "Chad" or "Nigel".

The Studebaker plant's in splendid condition.

 

[urbandreamer]

I'm hunting for a cheap Hamilton home. So far, areas that bore me:

Locke St (the locals says "people from Toronto love the neighbourhood" thus I hate it.) What it's really like: a sort of upscale small town strip, like Uptown Waterloo

Last Friday I did have a good meal here though:

Westdale is nice for coffee at My Dog Joe's (best coffee house in Canada!) and looking at cute students, but otherwise, it's sterile

Aberdeen--nice homes, but hey, Hamilton for me isn't about spending $400,000 on a house.

Downtown--hmm, maybe for investment reasons, I'd like a studio space on Rebecca or James St N.

Corktown: too ghetto/boring

The Mountain: blah, reminds me of Waterloo

East Hamilton: still mostly a mystery to me (I haven't been there yet, except a walk around the Stinson Public School area--heading towards the mountain=stunning, very Cabbagetown vibe.)

Next time I'm in Hamilton I will check out these areas you've shown.

 

[Tewder]

James South, beyond the underpass is a nice nabe. I used to live on Bold Street, years ago.

It's so sad to see these pictures and the remnants of the once proud and thriving, industrious lives lived here. I am so conncerned about how this city will fare through this economic downturn, a city that was already on its last legs, in many regards, during 'up' times. Hamilton has seemingly had a profound inability to reinvent itself in any substantial way, still clinging to its strong industrial past. Not sure what the solution is but it will no doubt have to be big and bold. Not sure if that's Hamilton though.

 

[urbandreamer]

^Yeah, James St South heading towards the mountain is nice.

I'm finding that $150,000 in (near) east Hamilton buys a nice home--just off Barton St, for example, I viewed a real gem, with 100% original Victorian trimmings. Here's a photo I took off the front porch, looking down the street towards Barton East. (I am very tempted to make a lowball offer, say $120,000 for the house.)

Flar, I am wondering: can I find a house like that for under $100,000 a bit further east?

 

[flar]

Urbandreamer: Keith has the cheapest homes in Hamilton, a few are for sale for around $65,000. Of course there is very little potential in a neighbourhood like this, being surrounded by smelly industry.

IMO, the best neighbourhood for cheap houses and character is Central, just west of James North.



Tewder: Hamilton already hit rock bottom. Only 25% of Hamilton's workforce is blue collar now. It was 75% in 1980. The "big deal" made about the Stelco closure is largely symbolic. Stelco employs little more than 1000 these days, down from 26,000 in 1980. Most of the other major blue collar employers have been closed for years: Westinghouse, Firestone, International Harvester, Studebaker, etc.

So as you can see, the damage was done years ago, which is why Hamilton is poor now. I also believe that Hamilton is much better positioned than Ontario's other industrial cities like Oshawa and Windsor. Their declines are more recent, Hamilton has already moved toward medical and high tech research, several large research centres are under construction now (for example: heart and stroke, cancer, CANMET).

 

[flar]

^Yeah, James St South heading towards the mountain is nice. I checked out a home for sale in that area--here's a photo I took from the front porch of the house in question:

I'm finding that $150,000 in (near) east Hamilton buys a nice home--just off Barton St, for example, I viewed a real gem, with 100% original Victorian trimmings. Flar, I am wondering: can I find a house like that for under $100,000 a bit further east?

A bit further east the houses become crappier and there is less brick, especially in the north. There are very nice areas in east Hamilton mainly south of Main (especially around the Delta), with brick houses and future rapid transit, but they are over $200,000.

The days of cheap houses in Hamilton are coming to a close, too many people have found out about it. The areas with the best housing stock already see prices in the 300-400K range. Even with the weak real estate market, house prices in old Hamilton are holding steady.

 

[Long Island Mike]

Keith section of Hamilton: Similarities to Buffalo...

Flar: Another good group of pics on another interesting Hamilton neighborhood: Keith. I noticed similarities in much of the housing stock to Buffalo with the exceptions being the brick row houses and twins.

It surprises me to some extent that Hamilton and Buffalo are both "Lakes" cities less then 100 miles apart but they have for the most part vastly different housing stock.

Unfortunately the most run-down areas are the ones more similar to Buffalo.
Hamilton has vastly more brick and stone houses then Buffalo.
Thoughts from LI MIKE

 

[oreoshack]

i can't believe some of the pictures there are of neighbourhoods in canada.