Heat Warning Notification for the City of Hamilton

Heat Warning for the City of Hamilton.

Significant heat and humidity will arrive on Saturday, August 9.

For information about heat-related illnesses, cool place locations and reducing your risk, visit hamilton.ca.

All Branches and Bookmobile Stops
Published:
Saturday, August 9, 2025 - 9:00am
Bookmobile Stops Cancelled

The following Bookmobile stops are cancelled:

Stoney Creek Arena at 10 am

Discovery Centre at 1:30 pm

Millgrove at 3:30 pm

Apologies for this inconvenience.

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Affected Branch: Bookmobile
Nearest Branches: 
Published:
Saturday, August 9, 2025 - 8:30am
Turner Park - Outdoor Maintenance and Repairs

From August 18-19, accessible parking spots at the back of the building will not be available due to concrete and perimeter walkway repairs. From August 20-22, the main entrance from the back of the building will not be available. Please use the sidewalk on the side of the Branch to enter through the front entrance (off Rymal Road East) and gain access to the back parking lot. Thank you for your understanding.

Published:
Friday, August 8, 2025 - 12:00pm
Lynden Branch - Self-Serve Access Not Available

Self-Serve Access is not available until after 1 pm today, Friday, August 8. We apologize for the inconvenience.

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Published:
Thursday, August 7, 2025 - 5:15pm
Printing, Photocopying and Scanning Unavailable at Dundas Branch

Printing and photocopying are not working at Dundas Branch. We're working to get these working again as soon as possible.

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Published:
Saturday, August 2, 2025 - 9:45am
Locke Branch - Filming Nearby

Filming will take place near the Locke Branch from August 4 to 8, which will impact traffic flow and parking. We apologize for the inconvenience.

  • East and West Side of Locke Street South
  • North and South Side of Herkimer Street
  • North and South Side of Stanley Avenue
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Published:
Thursday, July 31, 2025 - 11:30am
Terryberry Branch Elevator Out of Order

The parking lot elevator at Terryberry Branch is not working. Members will need to use the accessible ramp at the Mohawk entrance and the inner elevator. We're working to get it fixed quickly.

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Published:
Saturday, May 31, 2025 - 1:00pm
Public Computers - Audio Volume

Please note that the audio volume levels on our public computers are having issues. The estimated time of disruption is unknown at this time. Thank you for your patience.

All Branches and Bookmobile Stops
Published:
Thursday, May 29, 2025 - 4:00pm
Mount Hope Branch Accessibile Ramp Not Available

The accessibility ramp at Mount Hope Branch is damaged. The handrail is not available. The ramp will not be available while being repaired. We aim to fix it quickly.

Published:
Friday, May 23, 2025 - 4:30pm

History of Gore Park

1950-1980

Gore Park, 1950s
Gore Park, 1950s

The 1950s began for Gore Park with a proposal by Alderman Mac Cline. Cline promoted the idea of a 3 or 4 level subterranean parking ramp underneath Gore Park to accommodate 1,000 cars. Above ground he proposed building shops and restaurants. He urged the creation of a Sub-Committee to look into his plan (37). He was still pushing this plan in 1954, noting that his earlier proposal had met with a "cool reception". This time he got the Chamber of Commerce and the Hamilton Downtown Association interested in his plan as a way to solve the downtown-parking problem. However the plan stalled and was dropped soon after (38). 

Alderman Jack MacDonald, as chairman of the Transportation and Traffic Committee, introduced a plan that removed the western half of Gore Park entirely and turned it into a loading and unloading area for buses. Queen Victoria would be moved to a point west of the Cenotaph. He stated, "I don't want the citizens of Hamilton to get the idea that I am some kind of "young destroyer.  Everybody talks about how serious our traffic problem is becoming. This is a chance to do something about it." (39) Strong opposition appeared immediately from all quarters and his plan was shelved until the people could vote on it in a referendum. An editorial noted, "(a)ll suggestions in the past to remove or eliminate Gore Park have been furiously combated and it seems safe to say, Hamilton's most distinctive, if not its most useful park, has a secure place in the hearts of its residents, particularly the older ones. Ald. Jack MacDonald is perhaps not old enough to appreciate that yet” (40). Three years later a proposal arose to move the Sir John A. Macdonald statue to a point near the flagpole, which would leave the extension devoted entirely as a memorial to the veterans of the two world wars. "Over my dead body" was the comment of now Controller John A. MacDonald..."Sir John is doing fine where he is." Sir John stayed put (41).

The Starling Problem, 1950s
The Starling Problem, 1950s

During the mid-fifties a general facelift of the park was done. The lavatories were updated and tiled, sidewalks were replaced and benches moved around. A larger problem facing the Gore reared its head in the 1950s. In 1950 the Spectator noted "The unwanted return to Gore Park of hordes of noisy, dirty starlings...The Parks Board tried letting off cartridges and firecrackers, this frightened the feathered pests off for a time, but they are now back, looking like leaves as they cling by the hundreds to the trees in the park, and roosting in rows on the ledges of adjacent buildings” (42). Feeding birds in the Park was banned and eventually in 1953 the Board of Control, after numerous complaints, set up a committee to look into the problem (43). Controller Sam Baggs was made chairman, which led to such headlines as "Baggs Bags Bird Bagging Business" (44). In October Baggs announced the successful removal of 1,200 pigeons. They had been humanely trapped, no use of poison or other noxious substances, and then trucked down to the "S.P.C.A. gas chamber and painlessly exterminated." The pigeon population was on a marked decline (45).

Hunters advance on Gore Park
Hunters advance on Gore Park

The starlings proved more difficult. A major shoot was organized for January 25, 1954. 122 hunters armed with shotguns were brought in and started blasting. One experienced hunter commented that "judging from the way some of the men were handling their guns, it is small wonder there are so many hunting accidents." About 2,500 birds were shot and the only human injuries came from the hunters not being able to duck the "falling birds that cascaded from the trees at the first blast." (46The second great starling shoot, known colloquially on police blotters as Operation Whitewash, took place on February 2, 1954. Fifty gunners got several thousand more birds (47).