Magazine and ILLO Delay
Magazine and ILLO deliveries are delayed due to the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) strike. Thank you for your understanding.
City IT Planned Maintenance
A City IT systems update is scheduled for early Saturday morning. This will impact access to HPL's network and some applications. This update will improve overall network capacity, performance, resiliency, reliability and is the foundation for future network updates. Thank you for your patience.
3D Printing Not Available On Sundays
Please note that 3D printing services are unavailable on Sundays. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Early Closure - All HPL Branches, Friday, November 22
Due to a special event, all HPL branches will close at 4 pm on Friday, November 22.
Central Library's 4th Floor will be closed all day except for the Newcomer Learning Centre and Makerspace which will be open until 4 pm.
Regular service hours resume on Saturday, November 23.
Thank you for your understanding.
Delayed Branch Openings
Due to Staff training, the following branches have delayed openings of 10 am on:
Tuesday, November 19: Concession
Wednesday, November 20: Ancaster (2 pm opening)
Thursday, November 21: Valley Park
Please visit nearby branches for your library needs. www.hpl.ca/hours
Kenilworth Branch - Roof Repairs
From November 11 to 29, the parking lot may not be available at certain times of the day due to repair maintenance. There may also be some noise disruptions in the branch. Thank you for your understanding.
Maps
These plans are valuable maps for building research. They are large scale maps that show shape, size and exact location of individual buildings. They provide detail about the construction materials, outbuildings and neighbourhood.
Fire Insurance Maps
1898: Local History & Archives (microfiche only) and the Lloyd Reeds Map Collection, McMaster University.
Revised to 1911 – Vol. 1, 2, 3: Local History & Archives (microfiche only) and Lloyd Reeds Map Collection, McMaster University.
1927 revised to 1947: Local History & Archives (incomplete)
1927 revised to 1933: Local History & Archives (complete)
Mid-1960’s – Vol. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5: Local History & Archives, Lloyd Reeds Map Collection, McMaster University.
Bird’s-eye View, Pictorial and Surveyor’s Maps
These types of map can show a building’s location within its neighbourhood and the city of Hamilton. These maps can also provide information about the layout of the city or town and changes in street names over the course of time.
1842 – surveyor’s map showing buildings
1854 – from the escarpment looking north
1859 – from the escarpment looking north
1876 – from the Bay looking south
1883 – from the escarpment looking north
1893 – from the Bay looking south
1909 – from the Bay looking south
1921 – surveyor’s maps showing buildings. Large versions are hanging in Local History & Archives. Smaller versions are available in the map collection.
To access these and other maps, use the Map List in Local History & Archives.
Wentworth County Atlas
There were a series of detailed atlases created to document counties across Ontario. They can show locations of structures and other detail. Some buildings are also illustrated in the body of the atlas.
1875 – atlas stand
1903 – R912.7135 T985 CESH folio [note: fragile]
You can also search Historical Atlases on-line, a project hosted by McGill's Rare Books and Special Collections Division with indexed county atlas information.