Intention to Designate 33 Bowen Street, Hamilton

Description of Property

The 0.04 hectare property municipally addressed as 33 Bowen Street is comprised of a one-and-a-half-storey stone commercial structure originally constructed circa 1834 as a hotel stable, with a brick addition added to the rear between 1899 and 1910. The property is located on Bowen Street between Main Street East and Jackson Street East, in Downtown Hamilton in the historic Corktown Neighbourhood in the City of Hamilton.

Statement of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest

The circa 1834 one-and-a-half-storey stone and brick commercial structure located at 33 Bowen Street has design and physical value as it is a representative example of a vernacular nineteenth-century commercial building. The historical value of this former stable lies in its association with the theme of the City of Hamilton’s early growth as a commercial center and with its associations to the historic Court House Hotel, for which it was built, and to the Hotel’s first owner, influential businessman, politician and innkeeper John Bradley (1805-1864).

Contextually, this property is important in defining the character of Bowen Street as a secondary street supporting the businesses facing the former courthouse square. It is historically, visually and functionally linked to its surroundings, being on its original location behind the John Street commercial buildings it was built to serve.

Key attributes that embody the physical value of the property as a representative example of a vernacular nineteenth-century commercial structure, its associations with the historic Court House Hotel and innkeeper John Bradley, and its potential to yield insights to the historic Corktown neighborhood, include:

• All elevations and the roofline of the one-and-a-half-storey circa 1834 stone and brick structure, including its:
  • Masonry construction;
  • Side gable roof with raised parapets;
  • Cut-stone front (west) façade with stone voussoirs and sills;
  • Rubble stone side (south) façade;
  • Gable roof dormer over the front entrance;
  • Rear (east) brick addition with brick pilasters and parapet; and,
  • Stone foundation.

Key attributes that embody the contextual value of the property as a defining feature of the historical character of Bowen Street and the Corktown Neighbourhood include its:

• Location along Bowen Street facing the rear of John Street buildings at the public right-of-way.