Central Library - Supercrawl Temporary Road Closures
If you are planning to visit Central Library, please take into account the following temporary road closures and consider taking HSR or other forms of transit.
Thursday, September 12 at 7 pm until Monday, September 16 at 5 am: York Boulevard, Bay Street to Hughson Street
Thursday, September 12 at 1:30 am until Monday, September 16 at 5 am: James Street North, King Street to Strachan Street
Sherwood Branch - Parking Lot Access
Starting Thursday, September 5th, the rear parking lot at the Sherwood Branch will be closed due to repaving. Accessible parking spaces at the branch will be unavailable. Members may park at the neighboring plaza where spots are available during the closure.
The accessible ramp at the front of the branch (Upper Ottawa Street) and the drop box at the rear will both remain available.
Thank you for your patience.
Terryberry Branch: Open with Modified Hours During Construction
From September 3 - 15, the Terryberry Branch will be OPEN with modified service hours due to construction.
Monday - Thursday: 5 - 8 pm
Study Hall: 8 pm - Midnight (resumes September 3)
Friday, September 6 and 13: Closed
Saturday: 9 am - 5 pm
Sunday: 1 - 5 pm
Regular service hours return on Monday, September 16 as construction continues.
The parking lot, including accessible spots, will remain available.
Members may visit the Concession and Turner Park Branches as their next nearest locations for their library needs.
History of Gore Park
Council voted to tear down the buildings and start over, hiring a registered landscape architect to oversee the job. The Chief Administrative Officer defended his as “a money-saving thing". Council started from scratch and hired the Toronto firm of Moorhead, Fleming, Corban and McCarthy in January 1984 for $54,000 to redesign the park. Their plan called for lots of grass, flowers and trees with a small fountain. On February 29, 1984 council unanimously endorsed the plan with a proviso that the location of the fountain be reviewed (55). The Victorian fountain proposed was re-designed as a polished granite block one-metre square with water bubbling up through the middle. One alderman said that it would "turn into a urinal for the winos who hang around the park" and another said, "(t)his isn't a fountain, it's a big hunk of stone". Nevertheless, the fountain was approved the same day that the estimated losses incurred in the Gore Park fiasco were announced - $715,000 (56).
In November of 1984 the renovations to the park and adjoining roadway were completed at a cost of $2.5 million. Three months later a whole section of the interlocking bricks had heaved up and was, in the words of one alderman, "a hell of a mess" (57) Consultants were hired at a cost of $5,000 to determine what went wrong with the bricks. Their report concluded the "undersized interlocking bricks were used, sub-drains were never installed, contract drawings failed to show needed work, road design was inadequate, road slope was inadequate, inferior materials were used for a road base and the road was opened before it was ready to bear traffic” (58). The cost for re-doing it correctly so that the problem would not reoccur was $87,500 (59), Instead of following the advice of the consultants, council voted to take on a cheaper half-price plan to fix the damage. Their share would be $7,000, which had escalated in one week to $15,000.
The arrival of the 21st century has led to more changes for the Gore. The Gore is no longer a transit hub for the city with the arrival of the Macnab Transit Terminal in 2011. Recent renovations to the Gore have led to a more pedestrian-friendly look for Hamilton's first park.
