Barton Street (Hamilton, Ontario)

Barton Street is an arterial road in the Lower City of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It's also the longest street (21.0 km) in the city. It starts at the north end of downtown at Locke Street North and is a two-way street that stretches eastward through a number of different and varied communities in the city and ends in Winona at Fifty Road just west of the Hamilton/Niagara regional boundary. The street is divided in East and West portions, divided by James Street. However, the East designation does not continue through the Stoney Creek district (which includes Winona), which was a separate municipality prior to amalgamation in 2001, and the designation as well as the address numbering system were not restructured upon amalgamation, and numbers reset at the former city limits at Centennial Parkway.

History
In the early days Hamilton was known as Barton township, named after a township in Lincoln County, England. Barton Street is all that remains of the township. In 1816, Barton township Population was 668.

On 24 May 1909 a Coney Island-type amusement Park was opened in Hamilton. It was known as Maple Leaf Park and was bounded by Barton Street (north), Ottawa Street (east), Cannon Street (south), Rosslyn Avenue (west). It failed to attract enough visitors to keep the gates open and only lasted a year. Investors of the Park sold the land to local real estate speculators for $25,000 interested in the property because the land itself was a valuable commodity in the booming East Hamilton market. It had a "Figure 8" roller coaster. This was the most popular coaster model of the era, with many Canadian parks having one. Most were built by Fred Ingersoll.

Barton Street East actually "changed" locations in the late 1960s. Barton Street East heading east from Strathearne Avenue, ended at Walter Avenue, where you continued south on Walter Avenue (to present day Melvin Avenue) and it continued east to Fifty Road in Stoney Creek. The section east of Walter Avenue was called Superior Street (for the Superior Propane Company) and it ended close to Talbot Street. Some buildings on Melvin Avenue close to Woodward Avenue still have signage indicating their address as Barton Street East (i.e. Bar-Wood Apts. 2041 Barton Street East).

Hamilton's first artificial skating surface was The Forum. Locals referred to it as the Barton Street Arena. It was situated between Sanford Avenue and Wentworth Streets. It opened 8 January 1913. Eventually, a few years down the line it was purchased by Kenneth D. Soble and then he announced a new rink would be built and the new Forum opened up for business 1 October 1953. The rink lasted until 1976. That's when the Junior A hockey club Hamilton Fincups left Hamilton. Demolition started in September 1976.

Present-day Centre Mall used to be the site of the Jockey Club racetrack but in the years after the Second World War the push for Hamilton's eastward expansion had completely engulfed the Jockey Club property. On 26 September 1952 the racetrack was sold. The site would then become the site of the Greater Hamilton Shopping Centre.

Centre Mall reconstruction project
Centre Mall owners announce plans for a 23-building super centre on the property on Barton Street East. Cost is estimated to be around $100-million and will take up 700000 sqft of retail space. This will end up being the largest redevelopment project in the history of Hamilton's east-end. The buildings on the property will be grouped around the edge of the property and create a friendly, pedestrian-oriented design rather than a commercial island in a sea of parking. The overhaul will take about two-and-a-half years to complete but the bulk of the work is expected to be done by the end of the summer of 2008. Some new buildings will go up before the enclosed mall is torn down. The redevelopment of Centre Mall is transforming the entire neighbourhood from Ottawa Street to Kenilworth Avenue. The $100-million investment in the mall has boosted Ottawa Street North - already the city's No.1 tourist destination. The garment district has also morphed into a holistic home decor destination area, complete with lighting, antique, design & glass stores. The Ottawa Street B.I.A. had the most application and grants under the commercial property improvement program in 2007 with thirty three and it had an effect on the property values and real estate activity in the district.

Landmarks
Note: listing of landmarks from west to east.
 * Rheem Canada building (Demolished Feb 2012)
 * Barton Street Hill
 * Jamesville, which is shared by the Italian & Portuguese communities of Hamilton
 * James North Art District
 * site of the old Hanrahan's Hotel, now a strip club called "Hamilton Strip".
 * Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre
 * Hamilton General Hospital
 * Kennesky Sports & Cycle Co. Ltd.
 * Woodlands Park
 * Site of the old Barton Street Arena, across the street from Woodlands Park, now a row of houses.
 * Former Canadian Westinghouse headquarters building (1903–1997), just north of Barton Street.
 * Mohawk College - Wentworth campus
 * St. Ann's Catholic Church
 * Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Vladimir
 * St. Stanislaw Kostka Polish Roman Catholic Church
 * Holy Spirit Church
 * Stadium Mall
 * Centre Mall, site of the former Jockey Club / Racetrack before mall was built
 * Ottawa Street Shopping District - "Textile District"
 * East Hamilton Radio
 * Slovak Assumption Byzantine Catholic Church
 * Strathbarton Mall
 * Coca-Cola bottling company
 * Mahony Park
 * Hamilton Doublerink Arena (2 rinks)
 * Canada's First Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse
 * Red Hill Creek Valley
 * Red Hill Valley Trail
 * Red Hill Creek
 * Red Hill Valley Parkway, flows underneath Barton Street overpass.
 * Red Hill Creek Centre
 * Eastlawn Cemetery
 * Comfort Inn motel
 * Parkway Plaza (shopping)
 * Mountainview Public School
 * County Market (Stoney Creek)
 * Winona Park / Winona Scout Hall
 * Rice Monuments Works

Communities
Note: Listing of neighbourhoods from West to East.
 * Strathcona
 * Central - The financial center of Hamilton, Ontario
 * Beasley
 * Landsdale
 * Gibson
 * Sanford
 * Stipeley
 * Crown Point West
 * Crown Point East
 * Homeside
 * Normanhurst
 * McQuesten West
 * McQuesten East
 * Parkview West
 * Parkview East
 * Nashdale/ Kentley, Barton cuts through these two neighbourhoods.
 * Lakely/ Riverdale West, Barton cuts through these two neighbourhoods.
 * Grayside/ Riverdale East, Barton cuts through these two neighbourhoods.
 * [[Image:BartonEastHamiltonG.JPG|thumb|Barton Street East]] [[Image:BartonEastHamiltonF.JPG|thumb|Barton Street East]]Stoney Creek
 * Fruitland
 * Winona