Fennell Avenue, is an Upper City (mountain) arterial road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It starts off just east of Garth Street on the West mountain and is a two-way street throughout that extends eastward and ends at Mountain Brow Boulevard, a road that wraps around the edge of the Niagara Escarpment on Hamilton mountain.
Fennell Avenue, is most likely named after Joseph Fennell, (1835–1919), Anglican priest. [1] Early maps and directories listed the street as Fenel, Fennel and then finally, Fennell.
Auchmar, the estate of the Honourable Isaac Buchanan was built between 1852 and 1854 on a private estate on 86 acres (350,000 m2) on the Hamilton mountain that he called Clairmont Park. Located at what is now the corner of Fennell and West 5th, the manor house, and its intact outbuildings, and stone wall-surrounded orchard sit on 10 acres (40,000 m2) of land that include the original landscaped grounds. Auchmar is a unique, heritage asset owned by the citizens of Hamilton. Auchmar is recognized by the Ontario Heritage Trust as having significant historical value. [2] Isaac Buchanan, was an international merchant, first president of the Hamilton Club, founder of Hamilton and Toronto boards of trade - forerunners to modern chambers of commerce - and founder of the regiment that would later become the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry. [3]
In 1945, there was talk of constructing a tunnel on James Street South, in the Lower city to a surface point just south of Fennell Avenue. The cost was an issue but some city officials at the time felt it was necessary for the city to grow south, instead of their present unbalanced east–west development. [4] The population of Hamilton Mountain at the time was 20,000 but some felt the numbers were actually larger because many tenants were not listed on voters' lists.
On June 1, 1949, the city of Hamilton issued 61 building permits on East Twenty-Seventh and East Twenty-Eighth Streets between Queensdale and Fennell Avenues. At the time it was the largest number of building permits issued at one time in the city by the city's building department and was described as "the biggest unsubsidized housing scheme in Canada. [5]
Mohawk College is located at 135 Fennell Ave West (intersection of West 5th Street). It was founded in 1966 and has led to numerous direct and indirect jobs in education and research. Mohawk first started granting diplomas in 1966, and has since grown into one of the largest provincially funded colleges in the province of Ontario. Each year averages approximately 10,000 full-time students, and 40,000 part-time students. The most popular programs continue to be in Engineering Technology and Business. Mohawk College also has a well known nursing program, a joint program with McMaster University. [6]
Hillfield Strathallan College is also located on Fennell Ave West (west of Mohawk College) the only private K-12 school in the area. Founded in 1901 as Highfield School for Boys, this school was the first private residential and day school for boys in the city of Hamilton. It was a prep school for boys planning to enter the Royal Military College of Canada. Many graduates played key roles in the Canadian military. A series of name changes, reconstructions, new construction, and amalgamations with other institutions have since occurred, resulting in a single modern co-educational facility. Alumni from all founding organizations attended the centennial anniversary in 2001. Famous alumni include Henry Duncan Graham Crerar, Canada's leading Field Commander during the Second World War, Steve Paikin, host of TVOntario's Studio Two, Kathleen Robertson, actress, played the role of Clare Arnold on Beverly Hills, 90210 and Gema Zamprogna, actress, played the role of Felicity Clark on Road to Avonlea. [7]
Uli's Stairs are stone steps that connect the mountain brow to the Rail Trail. They were made by a local man named Ulrich, otherwise known as Uli. The city sees his steps as a risk to public safety. These steps are also the only steps connecting the Lower City of Hamilton to the Upper City in East Hamilton. The city has a set of steps made of steel nearby at the end of Kimberly Drive near Kenilworth Avenue but they only go halfway up to the Escarpment Rail Trail and the Bruce Trail. Uli's steps makes up the final link between the Rail Trail and the mountain brow on top. The city of Hamilton plans on building a set of metal stairs near Margate Avenue which will cost the city $425,000 to install, just a few metres from Uli's steps but it has been met with opposition from residents at the top of the planned stairs. [8] [9]
The Mountain Plaza Mall at Fennell Avenue and Upper James Street has been rebuilt in a $50-million project, with Walmart Canada as an anchor tenant. Announcement made on October 4, 2007, by Flavio Volpe, spokesperson for Smart Centres Ltd., Vaughan, Ontario-based company that bought the Mall in November 2006. [10]
Note: Listing of streets from West to East.
Hamilton East was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada. It was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1904 to 2004. It consisted of the eastern part of the city of Hamilton, Ontario. It is considered a working class district.
Hamilton West was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1904 to 2004.
Hamilton Mountain is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968. The riding is located in the Hamilton region.
The Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway, nicknamed The Linc, is a municipal expressway in the city of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, which connects Highway 403 with the Red Hill Valley Parkway, which continues north to the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW). Collectively, the two expressways form a southern and eastern bypass of Hamilton. Located on the Hamilton mountain, atop the Niagara Escarpment, the freeway was named after the former Progressive Conservative MP and first black Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Lincoln Alexander in July 1997, despite him never holding a driver's license.
Hillfield Strathallan College is an independent, co-educational day school in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The academic program runs from Montessori Toddler and Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12. The current Head of College is Marc Ayotte.
Albion Falls is a 19 m (62 ft) classical/cascade waterfall flowing down the Niagara Escarpment in Red Hill Valley, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. With cascade falls the downpour is staggered into a series of steps causing water to "cascade". The top of the falls are located on Mountain Brow Blvd. The lower-end of the falls can be found at the south-end of King's Forest Park in lower Hamilton by following the Red Hill Creek south towards the Niagara Escarpment.
Isaac Buchanan was a businessman, political figure and writer in Upper Canada, then Canada West, Province of Canada. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, he emigrated to British North America in 1830, settling first in Montreal, then York, and then Hamilton. At the height of his business career, he had an extensive house and estate in Hamilton, which he named "Auchmar", in recognition of his Clan Buchanan roots in Scotland.
Hamilton is located on the western end of the Niagara Peninsula and wraps around the westernmost part of the Lake Ontario. Most of the city including the downtown section lies along the south shore. Situated in the geographic centre of the Golden Horseshoe, it lies roughly midway between Toronto and Buffalo. The two major physical features are Hamilton Harbour marking the northern limit of the city and the Niagara Escarpment running through the middle of the city across its entire breadth, bisecting the city into 'upper' and 'lower' parts.
Dundurn Street is a Lower City arterial road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It is a two-way street that starts off at Mountain Face Park, Niagara Escarpment in front of the Bruce Trail as a collector road, right behind Hillcrest Avenue and then turns into a four lane thoroughfare from Aberdeen Avenue northward to York Boulevard where it ends in front of Dundurn Park.
Wentworth Street is a Lower City arterial road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It starts off at the base of the Niagara Escarpment (mountain) on Charlton Avenue East just south of the CP lines and runs right through the city's North End industrial neighbourhood and ends north of Burlington Street East at Pier 14, which one time was used by International Harvester (1902–1992).
Sherman Avenue is a collector road in the lower portion of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It begins at the Niagara Escarpment just south of Cumberland Avenue and is a one-way street bisecting the industrialized northern neighbourhoods of the city. It ends at Ship Street — the site of Steel Company of Canada (Stelco).
Ottawa Street is a Lower City arterial road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It starts off at Lawrence Road at the base of the Niagara Escarpment (mountain) and is a two-way street throughout, cutting through the Delta and Crown Point neighbourhoods and the City's North End industrial neighbourhood. It ends at Industrial Drive, the site of the Dofasco steel company. This used to be one of the east ends' mountain access roads - it continued south over the train tracks at Lawrence Road and quickly turned right towards the brick manufacturing plant once known as Hamilton Brick. It took several turns before joining what is now the Kenilworth Access near the old water reservoir entrance. Its routing up the mountain is fairly consistent with the current Kenilworth Access with one exception - another hair-pin turn at the top; not the traffic circle that is present now. It was because of these hair-pin turns that the Hamilton Street Railway discontinued bus service on this road in 1944, and why the City planned a new Kenilworth Access to the east which opened in 1957.
Kenilworth Avenue is a Lower City arterial road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It starts off at the Kenilworth Traffic Circle and Kenilworth Access, a mountain-access road at the base of the Niagara Escarpment (mountain) and is a two-way street throughout stretching northward through the city's North End industrial neighbourhood where it then flows underneath the Burlington Street bridge and right into Dofasco's Industrial Park.
Hunter Street is a Lower City collector road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It is a one-way street (Westbound) that starts West of Locke Street at Hill Street Park and ends two blocks East of Victoria Avenue at Emerald Street. Hunter Street is a two-way street between Victoria and Emerald Streets.
Concession Street is an Upper City (mountain) arterial road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It starts at Belvidere Avenue, just west of Sam Lawrence Park, and extends eastward past Mountain Drive Park on Upper Gage Avenue and ends shortly thereafter at East 43rd Street.
Mohawk Road is an arterial road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, running through the Ancaster and Upper City (mountain) districts, and has two distinct segments. The western segment begins as a continuation of Rousseaux Street in Ancaster just west of the interchange with Highway 403 and the Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway, and travels eastward to the interchange with the two freeways, defaulting into the latter. The eastern segment begins as a continuation of Golf Links Road at the same interchange near the Iroquoia Heights Conservation Area, and runs parallel with the Linc, cuts across the Hamilton mountain and ends at Mountain Brow Boulevard, the site of Mohawk Sports Park.
Upper James Street, is an Upper City (mountain) arterial road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It starts at the Claremont Access, a mountain-access road in the north, and extends southward towards the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport where it then changes its name to the Hamilton Port Dover Plank Road,. It is a two-way street throughout. As with most of the "Upper" streets, their addresses start at roughly the point where their lower counterpart finishes just below the Escarpment and were originally labelled without the "Upper" prefix.
Auchmar House is the centrepiece of Clairmont Park, the estate of the Honourable Isaac Buchanan (1810–1883), one of Hamilton's most influential citizens. It was built between 1852 and 1854 and is located at the northeast corner of Fennell Avenue and West 5th Street. The manor house, its several remaining outbuildings, and stone orchard wall occupy about 8 acres (32,000 m2) of land which include most of the original built features of the estate. However, the tiny Gatekeeper's Lodge, which resembles Auchmar House architecturally, became separated from the surviving portion of Clairmont Park. Auchmar House and the remaining contiguous portion of the Buchanan estate is a unique heritage asset owned by the citizens of Hamilton. It is recognized by the Ontario Heritage Trust as having significant historical value. Auchmar House is recognized as an outstanding example of the domestic Gothic Revival and, with its surrounding acreage, is a very rare example of a mid-Victorian estate in Ontario surviving in relatively intact condition.
The Mount Hamilton Incline Railway was a funicular railway in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, climbing the Niagara Escarpment. It opened August 26, 1895 in Hamilton, Ontario. It was the second Hamilton furnicular, after the Hamilton and Barton.
