Posted with full permission from the Hamilton Spectator
Street Beat
By Paul Wilson
The Hamilton Spectator
More articles by this columnist
(May 9, 2007)
Maybe you've heard that on the seventh day of the seventh month of 2007, they will unveil the new Seven Wonders of the World at a ceremony in Lisbon.
The old Seven Wonders of the World are gone, except the Pyramids. So a new list is being voted on. Contenders include the Great Wall of China, Stonehenge, the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
And this has spawned other Wonders lists. The state of Illinois just finished one, and the Cubs' ivy -covered Wrigley Field made the cut there.
The CBC is working on the Seven Wonders of Canada. Nominations end Friday at cbc.ca/sevenwonders.
It's possible Hamilton won't make the national cut, and that's a shame. So here's a Seven Wonders list of our own.
The Beach Strip
What other place has a five- kilometre spit of sand within city limits? Once it was Hamilton's cottage country, and 1870s mayor Francis Kilvert's summer castle is still there. So are rows of little places, whose owners have hung on through government attacks, highway expansion, high lake levels and dark clouds from the steel mills.
Now we can explore it all on the wide and smooth Waterfront Trail, Lake Ontario on one side, the Beach Strippers' entertaining back yards on the other.
And don't forget that stone lighthouse by the canal, set to mark its 150th birthday next year with a splash.
The Bay City Railway
I just discovered this last month when doing a story on how they've been evicted from their home in the East End and desperately need a new one.
This setup is 2,500 square feet, a miniature marvel, right down to the manholes in exactly the right place in front of the Hunter Street terminal.
The station itself would be a great new home for the railroaders. So would Jackson Square. To see a great little video about this line, go to thespec.com.
The First City Reservoir
It's not as old as Rome's Colosseum. No lions were loosed on the Christians here. But when you stand in the bowl of Hamilton's first water reservoir -- built 150 years ago, every piece of stone set by hand -- it feels positively ancient.
This wondrous relic is just below the Escarpment Rail Trail, east of where it crosses the Kenilworth Access. Leave the trail at the big stone tower, follow the path down a short way, take the first branch right.
The Wentworth Stairs
Is there another city in the country with stairs like these? Hamilton has several fine sets -- some wider and with bike troughs -- but Wentworth is the granddaddy, at 500 steps.
If only the Incline Railway beside them was still running. It would have been a shoo-in for wonder status. They shut it down in 1936, after 20 million trips, and tore it down in 1949.
Lieutenant-Colonel John Weir Foote Armoury
This brick brute gives James North a powerful streetscape. It has the biggest indoor parade square in Canada. And the officers' mess is a movie set -- dark wood, chandeliers and old red armchairs that swallow a big man whole.
Walk in the shadow of this monument and you'll feel what this city was like in the war years.
St. Paul's Presbyterian
Like the Armoury, this structure does great things for the street, in this case James South. Stand there and let the view be St. Paul's, The Bank of Montreal and the Pigott building beyond that, and you're looking at an elegant scene unchanged since the 1930s.
St. Paul's is oldest of the bunch, at 150 years. Listen for the bells, which ring every 15 minutes. And crane your neck back to appreciate that stone spire, believed to be the oldest in Canada. Visitors got to climb up there and ring the bells last weekend at Doors Open. Definitely my biggest thrill this year.
The High Level Bridge
Stand at Bayfront Park and gaze across to this beauty, built 75 years ago. Or stand on it and look out to the sailboats and the stacks and the virgin shores off Woodland Cemetery. Or roll under it on that amazing floating concrete path, and peer up at the superstructure of this graceful span.
The bridge includes four cavities, or niches, built to display bronze statues of four prominent Hamilton men.
But the city couldn't agree on who deserved to stand up there, so they're empty to this day. Is that not a wonder?
StreetBeat appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
pwilson@thespec.com
905-526-3391
Photo- Sheryl Nadler, the Hamilton Spectator
Paul Wilson says the Beach Strip is one of the Seven Wonders of Hamilton.
Street Beat
By Paul Wilson
The Hamilton Spectator
More articles by this columnist
(May 9, 2007)
Maybe you've heard that on the seventh day of the seventh month of 2007, they will unveil the new Seven Wonders of the World at a ceremony in Lisbon.
The old Seven Wonders of the World are gone, except the Pyramids. So a new list is being voted on. Contenders include the Great Wall of China, Stonehenge, the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
And this has spawned other Wonders lists. The state of Illinois just finished one, and the Cubs' ivy -covered Wrigley Field made the cut there.
The CBC is working on the Seven Wonders of Canada. Nominations end Friday at cbc.ca/sevenwonders.
It's possible Hamilton won't make the national cut, and that's a shame. So here's a Seven Wonders list of our own.
The Beach Strip
What other place has a five- kilometre spit of sand within city limits? Once it was Hamilton's cottage country, and 1870s mayor Francis Kilvert's summer castle is still there. So are rows of little places, whose owners have hung on through government attacks, highway expansion, high lake levels and dark clouds from the steel mills.
Now we can explore it all on the wide and smooth Waterfront Trail, Lake Ontario on one side, the Beach Strippers' entertaining back yards on the other.
And don't forget that stone lighthouse by the canal, set to mark its 150th birthday next year with a splash.
The Bay City Railway
I just discovered this last month when doing a story on how they've been evicted from their home in the East End and desperately need a new one.
This setup is 2,500 square feet, a miniature marvel, right down to the manholes in exactly the right place in front of the Hunter Street terminal.
The station itself would be a great new home for the railroaders. So would Jackson Square. To see a great little video about this line, go to thespec.com.
The First City Reservoir
It's not as old as Rome's Colosseum. No lions were loosed on the Christians here. But when you stand in the bowl of Hamilton's first water reservoir -- built 150 years ago, every piece of stone set by hand -- it feels positively ancient.
This wondrous relic is just below the Escarpment Rail Trail, east of where it crosses the Kenilworth Access. Leave the trail at the big stone tower, follow the path down a short way, take the first branch right.
The Wentworth Stairs
Is there another city in the country with stairs like these? Hamilton has several fine sets -- some wider and with bike troughs -- but Wentworth is the granddaddy, at 500 steps.
If only the Incline Railway beside them was still running. It would have been a shoo-in for wonder status. They shut it down in 1936, after 20 million trips, and tore it down in 1949.
Lieutenant-Colonel John Weir Foote Armoury
This brick brute gives James North a powerful streetscape. It has the biggest indoor parade square in Canada. And the officers' mess is a movie set -- dark wood, chandeliers and old red armchairs that swallow a big man whole.
Walk in the shadow of this monument and you'll feel what this city was like in the war years.
St. Paul's Presbyterian
Like the Armoury, this structure does great things for the street, in this case James South. Stand there and let the view be St. Paul's, The Bank of Montreal and the Pigott building beyond that, and you're looking at an elegant scene unchanged since the 1930s.
St. Paul's is oldest of the bunch, at 150 years. Listen for the bells, which ring every 15 minutes. And crane your neck back to appreciate that stone spire, believed to be the oldest in Canada. Visitors got to climb up there and ring the bells last weekend at Doors Open. Definitely my biggest thrill this year.
The High Level Bridge
Stand at Bayfront Park and gaze across to this beauty, built 75 years ago. Or stand on it and look out to the sailboats and the stacks and the virgin shores off Woodland Cemetery. Or roll under it on that amazing floating concrete path, and peer up at the superstructure of this graceful span.
The bridge includes four cavities, or niches, built to display bronze statues of four prominent Hamilton men.
But the city couldn't agree on who deserved to stand up there, so they're empty to this day. Is that not a wonder?
StreetBeat appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
pwilson@thespec.com
905-526-3391
Photo- Sheryl Nadler, the Hamilton Spectator
Paul Wilson says the Beach Strip is one of the Seven Wonders of Hamilton.
