Study Hall on Thursday, May 21, is cancelled due to plumbing maintenance. Study Hall will resume on Monday, May 25. Thank you for your patience.
Turner Park - Study Hall Cancellation
Published:
Wednesday, May 20, 2026 - 12:00pm
Staff Professional Development Day - All Branches Closed
All HPL Branches are closed on Friday May 29, for Staff Professional Development. Bookmobile is off the road and Extended Access service is not available. Regular service hours resume on Saturday May 30.
Visit our Virtual Branch at hpl.ca for our online resources and collections.
Published:
Thursday, May 14, 2026 - 12:00pm
Greensville Branch Accessible Washroom Out of Order
The accessible washroom at Greensville Branch is not working. We aim to get it fixed quickly.
Published:
Tuesday, May 12, 2026 - 10:15am
Central Library: Children's Area Renovation on 2nd Floor
Renovations are currently underway for the 2nd Floor Central Children's Area. Programs are still being offered as scheduled and there is a temporary pop-up Children’s Area on the northeast side of the 2nd Floor (near the Piano Room), including access to collections and train tables. Construction is expected to be completed by late Spring. Thank you for your patience.
Published:
Monday, March 23, 2026 - 9:00am
Sherwood Branch: Renovations
As of Monday, March 2, Sherwood Branch's 2nd Floor is closed due to renovations. Makerspace, Children and Teen's collection are temporarily available on the 1st Floor. All programs will be held in the basement program room. Renovations are expected to be completed in late Spring. Thank you for your patience.
Published:
Tuesday, February 10, 2026 - 1:00pm
History of Gore Park
1980s - Present
The early 1980s did not bode well for Gore Park. On July 19, 1983 a city crew started the first phase of the Downtown Action Plan approved by council. Chainsaws were brought in and all the trees were removed from the park. What had taken nature 100 years to create took man several days to destroy. The public reacted with shock, outrage and anger and the community development office was flooded with calls protesting the tree removal. One woman told a police officer that "the city should be charged with murder to the environment” (52).
In December of 1982 the Du Toit firm of Toronto presented their final plan. It "called for the creation of a distinctive urban park, complete with a major sculptured fountain, a waterfall and pool, paving stoned areas for pedestrians, and substantial areas of grass, shrubs and shade trees”. The plan was approved but council, looking to save the $84,000 cost of having Du Toit supervise implementation of their plan, decided to use in-house staff. Staff’s interpretation of the plan diverged from the concept that the Toronto firm had advocated. Their changed recommended plan was passed by the planning and development committee and unanimously passed by council. The planning refinement process "that would have created an urban park in Du Toit's hands, created something entirely different in city staff's hands".
Concrete bunker buildings start going up
The outcry which began with the removal of the trees was nothing compared with the reaction when two concrete block buildings began construction. Tony Butler, of the Hamilton Historic Board and a local architect, attacked the plan. He reviewed the designs and stated "(t)hey are totally inappropriate to the character of the city...I'm ashamed to see what's happening in Gore Park." He believed the drawings developed by city staff had not followed the concept for the area developed by du Toit Architects of Toronto (53). Council members were caught off balance by the vehemence of the protests and, while some of them staunchly defended the plan, others "called the buildings too overpowering and monstrosities...[and] urged scrapping present plans and starting over" (54).
