March Break Art Deco

We had a great March Break this week visiting my parents and splashing around at Great Wolf Lodge. On the way down I persuaded my family to stop into downtown Hamilton for a half hour so that I could run around and get pictures of a few Art Deco buildings. I’d scoped things out in advance so I had a plan of attack.

We started out by coming in over the Thomas B. McQuesten High Level Bridge. We pulled over just before it and I got out and went for a brisk jog. I had to get a picture of these lamps.

The view up there is pretty good too.

My main interest was the Art Moderne Go station. Built in 1933 as the Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway Station, the building has interest both inside and out.

Just a couple of blocks away is Hamilton’s Dominion Public Building. I’ve already had a look at the ones in Guelph and London. Hamilton’s version is now the John Sopinka Courthouse and it was built in 1936 (Hutton & Souter, architects).

I didn’t venture inside, but there are some lovely details on the outside.

The Pigott Building (1929, Prack & Prack, architects) was Hamilton’s first skyscraper. Although it’s not an Art Deco building it’s so interesting that I had to have a look.

And then finally I went to the Hydro building that now belongs to Horizon:

I am certain that my presence wasn’t exactly appreciated inside, but I took a quick peek.

So that’s some of Hamilton’s Art Deco structures in a nutshell. Hamilton also has quite a few private Art Moderne homes. There were also a couple more buildings that I had on my list, but we had a limited amount of time, so I’ll have to wait for another visit.