Hamilton, Ontario

We decided to stay in Hamilton for our vacation. It is centrally located, less than an hour from Niagara Falls and just a little over an hour from Toronto. This Historic City is a beautiful place to visit!  (And because we weren't in Niagara Falls, the cost of the hotels were more than reasonable.

In addition to the gorgeous library (I shared the pictures yesterday), there was a beautiful art gallery, an underground mall that connected many buildings, The Canadian Football Hall of Fame,  the lake....

The  municipal park at this end of Lake Ontario.

The walking trail was beautiful!  It was a rainy day, and it began pouring when we got to the point - prompting a very quick run from that point back to the car!

Have to have the picture of one of the downtown signs! 

Whitehurn - below, sign above.  This historic house was located less than two blocks away from our hotel - behind the municipal courthouse.

Below- the view from the street corner on Bay St.  Beautiful architecture!

Hess Village - a funky little conglomeration of restaurants and bars was just down the street.  I loved exploring this little neighborhood on foot!

Gorgeous old building on Main street.  I love the architecture of this building!

So, I found this sign in front of a restaurant in Hess Village.  I thought that the Tragically Hip menu was a play on Hipsters.  Wrong, wrong, wrong you ignorant American.  Tragically Hip is a band.  A very big band.  They had a concert that night in Hamilton.  (one of the last two concerts with the current lead who is battling cancer).  The special menu was a nod to concert goers - a meal that would be quickly prepared for them so that they could get on their way to the concert.

Later that afternoon, the crowds headed down to the concert.  Before the doors opened, the lines wrapped around that corner by the light, and the parking lots were full.  We saw so very many people headed in to the concert!  I found out after the fact just how well loved Tragically Hip is by the people of Canada.  I've since found their music on i-Tunes, and I've got to admit, I'm a fan.  I wish I had known of them before now!

I wish my pictures of the crowd letting out after the concert had come out!  So many people, so many cars, so many tail lights.  It was quite the sight!

Hamilton is a beautiful city, and well worth exploring.  I am so very glad that we decided to stay here! I loved our Canadian adventure!

Hamilton (Ontario) Public Library Central Branch

We stayed in Hamilton, Ontario on our recent journey north.  I'll write more about that beautiful city tomorrow - but today, I wanted to highlight the library!  (Of course.)  The public library was located across the street from our hotel, and on a very rainy Wednesday, we journeyed across the street to go have a look around.  I've been in several Central Libraries in large cities, and Hamilton's library did not disappoint.  The architecture was very modern, but large windows and balconies gave the entire space a warm, open feel. On the right is a picture from the first floor, looking up the stairs from the A/V collection.

Do I really want to admit this was my favorite part of the library?  It's the automated book return!  Slide your books into the slot, the RFID tag checks them in, and down the conveyor belt they go to the circulation workroom.

The children's section.  Like I said, very modern design.  To me, it looks almost industrial, but I know very little about architecture, so I might be calling the design wrong.

THIS was the neatest, most amazing thing EVER!!!  The farmer's market is indoors!  This view was taken from the large windows in the children's section, looking down into the farmer's market.

The view UP from the first floor to the roof. Look at the stairs, the balconies!  Just a beautiful use of space to allow light into the building!

Of course there are lots of shelves full of books....

Lovely view of one of the study areas.

A view outside to the plaza between buildings.

Card catalogs DO still exist!  Okay, mostly in historical societies!  The Hamilton Historical Society is located within the central branch.  I couldn't resist taking a picture of the card catalog!

A view from one of the top balconies down to the first floor.  I would not want to have to water those plants.  Yes, they're real plants.  The person who waters them would have to be someone who doesn't get woozy when looking down.  (Like me.)

  Lots of collaborative spaces on the top floor!  A Maker Space, a collaborative learning area, and a computer lab.  We also saw a couple of ESOL classes going in full swing in an open classroom area.  What a fantastic community asset this library is!

A view out onto the patio.  Hey, do you see that water out in the distance by the two high rise buildings?  That's Lake Ontario.  One of THE Great Lakes!  Hamilton is nestled around the southern end of the lake.

With my fear of heights, I'm still astonished that I managed to stop and take this picture - perched on the VERY top floor of the library, looking down the stairs.  As you can see, I was right next to the handrail on the top stair, but I had to use both hands to take the picture.  Unless if you have a fear of heights, you just don't understand what a feat taking this picture actually was.  (I'm proud of me!)

What more can I say?  Stained glass artwork suspended in those beautiful windows!


Sadly, I realized once I got home that I neglected to take a picture of the outside of the building.  But, you can find a beautiful picture of the building on their homepage!  You can see their website, and discover more about their library here:  http://www.hpl.ca/branches/central-library