The North End is a mostly residential neighbourhood in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...

, Canada, immediately north of Downtown. The area is bounded by the CNR Railway to the South, Wellington Street to the East, and the

Hamilton Harbour Hamilton Harbour, formerly known as Burlington Bay, lies on the western tip of Lake Ontario, bounded on the northwest by the City of Burlington, on the south by the City of Hamilton, and on the east by Hamilton Beach (south of the Burlington ...

on both the North and West sides of the neighbourhood. The area is home to many of Hamilton's waterfront public spaces including: Pier 4 Park,

Bayfront Park Bayfront Park is a public, urban park in Downtown Miami, Florida on Biscayne Bay. The Chairman to the trust is Ary Shaeban. Located in the park is a bronze statue of Christopher Columbus sculpted by Count Vittorio di Colbertaldo of Verona, one ...

, and Pier 7.

HMCS Haida HMCS ''Haida'' is a that served in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) from 1943 to 1963, participating in World War II and the Korean War. She was named for the Haida people. The only surviving Tribal-class destroyer out of 27 vessels constructed ...

, a National Historic Site, is also docked in the neighbourhood.

History

The North End is one of the oldest sections of the city. The area has a long-standing reputation as a blue-collar neighbourhood, dating back to the 1800s. The expansion of economic activities both in the core and at the Port of Hamilton resulted in increased development along the James Street corridor. The neighbourhood has a significant Catholic population, drawing a large number of

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and later

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

immigrants. In the 1960s the city built a number of low-income family housing units throughout the North End. The 2010s brought major changes to the neighbourhood. In 2015, the new

West Harbour GO Station West Harbour GO Station is a regional rail station in the North End neighbourhood of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The station has been served by GO Transit's Lakeshore West line since July 9, 2015. Via Rail service may eventually be provided. ...

was opened on the southern end of the neighbourhood. The station brought increased connectivity to Toronto and led to a rise in area housing prices. Most of the area's public housing has since been closed and slated for redevelopment as mixed-income housing. In 2018, the City of Hamilton revealed extensive plans to redevelop the waterfront area in the neighbourhood's western half.

Demographics

The area is home to a sizeable number of ethnic

(14.6%) and

Italians , flag = , flag_caption = The national flag of Italy , population = , regions = Italy 55,551,000 , region1 = Brazil , pop1 = 25–33 million , ref1 = , region2 ...

(9.8%). Visible minorities form 19.2% of the neighbourhoods population, with

Black Canadians Black Canadians (also known as Caribbean-Canadians or Afro-Canadians) are people of full or partial sub-Saharan African descent who are citizens or permanent residents of Canada. The majority of Black Canadians are of Caribbean origin, though ...

(7.3%),

South Asians South Asian ethnic groups are an ethnolinguistic grouping of the diverse populations of South Asia, including the nations of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka. While Afghanistan is variously considered to b ...

(3.5%), and Southeast Asians (3.1%) being the largest groups.

Notable people

Jackie Washington Jackie Washington (November 12, 1919 – June 27, 2009) was a Canadian blues musician. Biography He was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario, the grandson of an African American fleeing slavery, and one of fifteen children born to his parents, ...

, jazz and blues singer. A park in the southeast corner of the neighbourhood bares his name.

References

{{coord missing, Ontario Neighbourhoods in Hamilton, Ontario