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‘Among the many important matters dealt with during my term of office.’ Said Mayor McLaren today, ‘none has called
forth more thought and painstaking effort than the development of the north end
of the city.’ ”
“Great Improvements Have Been Made in
the North End of the City This Year.”
Hamilton Spectator. November 19, 1910
As his term of office as mayor of the city
was coming to end, and as he had no intention of seeking re-election, Hamilton
Mayor Henry took the opportunity, given to him by the Hamilton Spectator, to
reflect on his accomplishments.
The mayor unhesitatingly pointed to the
changes in the north end of the city during the previous two years:
“ ‘ While much has been done – and the north
end is surely coming into its own – there is still more to be done before the
reviving of that district has been completed.’ ”
The mayor confessed that he “anxious that the
public should know something of what has been accomplished, and of the program
underway which will, if successfully carried out, make the north end the hive
of industry which is its birthright, by reason of its favored geographical
location.”
The mayor was allowed more than ample space
to detail what has happened in what he termed as “1910 … the north end year:”
“Perhaps this statement may come somewhat as
a surprise to those whose attention has not been directed to what has been
taking place in that district, familiarly known as ‘Below the Bridge’ or
‘Skedunk.’ ”
Some of the most obvious alterations to the
shoreline of Burlington Bay in the north end was the building of what was known
as the revetment wall running eastward from Catherine street and the new roads
in the area:
“ How many people who live south of King
street have been for a stroll on the revetment wall? How many of them know that
there is a street across that portion of the Inlet, where the old Northern
elevator once stood, and that it is possible now to walk or drive across a good
road from the foot of Wellington street to Wentworth street? “
The road just referred to by Mayor McLaren,
still known in late 1910 as the base line, was an extension of Burlington
street eastward:
“Some perhaps have heard, or read of, the
base line, but I venture to say there are but few who know what the baseline
is, and what it means to the future development of Hamilton. In a word, the
base line is a continuation of Burlington street to the easterly limits at
Ottawa street
“The discovery was made about three years ago,
that, in the original surveys of the city, this base line was shown. It had
never been opened, except for the strip known as Burlington street, from Bay
street to Wellington street, and for the strip known as Gilkinson street, from
Wentworth street to the Sherman Inlet, and from Sherman avenue to Irondale.”
Under Mayor McLaren’s leadership, the city
council took the leadership to put in place the legalities required to move the
base line project and once that was accomplished, workers lost no time filling
in the relatively inlets along the surveyed route from Wellington street to a
point just south of the former public space known as Landsdowne Park at the
foot of Wentworth street north:
“At the present time, this road is in pretty
good shape, and three weeks ago, I was over it in an automobile. The importance
of this new thoroughfare through the north end cannot be over-estimated.”
Mayor McLaren then went to great lengths to
detail the economic benefits gained by the opening of the roadway along the
baseline:
“The value of it was strikingly impressed on
us when the Oliver Chilled Plow works decided to locate here. The purchase of a
site in the vicinity by the Olivers paved the way for the opening of a district
that had been isolated from the rest of the city for 40 years. Its development
in that time had been practically nil. It seems strange that a district which
is now springing to life as the center of one of the greatest industries to be
found in Canada should have remained dormant and neglected, in fact, a sort of deserted
village, for so long a period.
“This has all been changed, almost in the
twinkling of an eye. Property in that section, which last year was assessed at
$1 to $1.50 a foot, has ranged from $15 to 20 a foot. Take the site now owned
by the Oliver Chilled Plow works as an example : last year this property, which
was owned by about a dozen different people, was assessed for $12, 380. This
year, the Olivers have been assessed for the same property, $44, 460.”
On a more grass roots level, the mayor gave a
description of the benefits to the new road :
“To revert again to the question of the value
of the base line. A workman , living at the corner of Wellington and Burlington
streets, desires to walk to the Oliver Chill Plow works where he is employed.
By using the base line, he can walk the distance in 10 minutes – by actual
measurement it being 3,500 feet. If this street were not opened, it would take
this man nearly 25 minutes to get to work, his route being Wellington to
Ferrie, to Francis, to Wentworth, to Gilkinson, to Hillyard. This, I think, is
as good an illustration as I can give as to the utility and value of the road
to the workmen in that district.”
Next, the mayor proceeded to discuss future
plans for the area:
“The application has been made to the
government for the patents to the waterfront between Wellington street and the
property owned by the GrandTrunk. We feel that there will be no trouble about
getting these patents, and, as soon as they are obtained, work will be
commenced on reclaiming the land and putting it in shape for factory purposes. The
location is one that has appealed, on account of its proximity to the
waterfront, to a number of important outside manufacturers who have been
looking over the situation in Hamilton, and beyond a doubt another important
factory will be located there within a year, provided the city’s arrangements
are successfully carried out.”
The revetment wall was something the mayor
wanted to talk about as well:
“A review of the development of the north end
would be incomplete without a reference to the revetment wall and what is still
further proposed in that direction. It will be remembered that the idea of an
extensive bay front improvement originated with J. M. Eastwood, and to further
that project, a special committee was appointed by the city council in 1903 to
inaugurate a scheme for bay front improvements.
“Mr. Eastwood, on his own initiative, had
photographs taken of the bay front from Catharine street to the property of the
Hamilton Steel and Iron company. The city engineer was instructed to prepare
plans of the entire waterfront. The work of the committee was carried on during
several years, and in 1905, the dock, then owned by the Rogers company, was
acquired by the city at a cost of $6,000. This was paid at the rate of $1,000 a
year, the last payment being made this year.
“The purchase of the dock was made necessary
by reason of the attitude taken by the Dominion government, which wanted an
assurance that this would be secured before the work of the revetment wall was
commenced. In a memorial that was sent to the Honorable James Sutherland in
1903, it was explained to the minister of public works that in order to provide
a place of recreation for the residents of the northern part of the city, the
city had acquired a tract of about ten acres of land between Catharine and
Wellington streets fronting on the bay and contemplated filling in the shallow
water between the proposed revetment wall and the shore line. The area to be
thus filled in would contain an additional twelve acres. It was also pointed
out that a slip could be built from the revetment wall which would accommodate
a large amount of shipping.
“The building of the revetment wall was
completed in 1906. The city has dumped thousands of loads of garbage in this
area south of the revetment wall, and the land is in such shape now that it has
been taken over by the Parks board, which will continue the work of filling in
and developing it for parks purposes. When completed, there will be 25 acres of
excellent land on the waterfront for the recreation of the citizens.”
The mayor then concluded his overview of the
progress of the north end industrial district by briefly pointing out two
things.
The coal oil inlet, actually a portion of the
Sherman inlet, had been a major problem for many years because of its polluted,
smelly character. A deal had been reached with the Oliver Chilled Plow works
company to fill in the inlet and install a huge water main to carry off water
needing to reach the bay from the south. In return, the city would extend the
base line road further east and give the company some of the patents to the
inlet and waterfront properties it had recently acquired from the federal
government.
Secondly, the mayor then made the case for
increased Hamilton Street Railway service for the north end, both to service
the needs of workers going to the manufactories, but also for residents:
“With the development that is taking place
and which is bringing with it the erection of so many new dwellings, the
population in that district will increase very rapidly, making it all the more
necessary that the people should be served with a street railway to put them in
touch with the uptown business district. The new car line will perhaps be of
benefit for those wanting to do business uptown than to the workmen, who will
use it to get to the factories where they are employed.”
Mayor McLaren said that great improvements
had been made in the north end up to the conclusion of the year 1910, but it
was the next council who would be expected to continue that progress.
