The first one still stands (although refurbished) on Ottawa St in Hamilton between Main and Cannon streets....I'll try to get a picture of the plaque. Interesting part of town, the old East End. Ottawa St. N is still the old Eastern European/Jewish fabric retail area....buses full of women of all ethnic persuasions from out of town still come to shop for all kinds of dress and drape fabrics....really a great place for street photos. Just up from the Tim's is Belle Arte Camera, a great place to check out, not sure if they still stock Leica stuff.
At the risk of inviting some big-city abuse from my friends at the GTA RFF 🙄 , Hamilton is actually a pretty fascinating place to walk around and take some shots......You can park centrally (for a couple of bucks) and get everything from heavy industry, to preconfederation architecture, to a multi-ethnic and bustling market, downtown, the Hess Village outdoor bar district, the escarpment, and yes, some of the dark side as well, all within walking distance....and it's at least as safe (or safer) than Toronto.
Another little known fact is that Hamilton has more waterfalls (over 50) than any city in Ontario, they fall off the escarpment and some are actually quite stunning and easily photographed. You could easily hit 20 or so in a morning by car. I'll try to dig up the link of some photos of these falls.
Since I'm starting to sound a little too much like a Hamilton tourist mag I'll stop now, but at some point the GTA RFF should entertain having one of their meetings in Hamilton, it's only a 45 minute drive. But I wouldn't wear an Argos jersey if it's on Labour Day...
Mike
