King Street (Dundas, Hamilton, Ontario)

History

On January 1, 2001 the new city of Hamilton was formed from the amalgamation of the Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth and its six municipalities: Hamilton, Ancaster, Dundas, Flamborough, Glanbrook, and Stoney Creek. Before amalgamation, the "old" City of Hamilton had 331,121 Hamiltonians divided into 100 neighbourhoods. The new amalgamated city has 490,268 people in over 200 neighbourhoods. As well, there are two King Streets found in the new city of Hamilton. One in Dundas and the other in Lower City Hamilton, (King Street (Hamilton)).

The Dundas Valley was formed by retreating glaciers more than 25,000 years ago. Dundas originally was known as Cootes Paradise, named after Captain Cootes of the Kings Royal 8th Regiment and was incorporated as a town in 1847.

The Carnegie Library was the first library to open in Dundas. It opened in 1910 and was funded by a donation from American industrialist, Andrew Carnegie, and the citizens of Dundas. Today it plays a central role in the historic character of the Valley Town. In 1980 it became the home of the Dundas Art & Craft Association, a non-profit organization.

Dundas was also proclaimed the cactus capital of Canada in 1976. An summertime festival called The Cactus Festival is held in Dundas annually. When it was discovered that Dundas was already internationally recognized for the Cacti produced by the local Ben Veldhuis Cactus Greenhouses, the citizens of Dundas came up with the name, “Cactus Festival” for a summertime festival.

The Desjardins Canal in pioneer days provided the essential means of transportation. Dundas, located at the head of navigation of Lake Ontario and the eastern terminus of the Governor's Road, was thus in a favoured position. However, in 1823 the government authorized the construction of a canal for larger vessels through Burlington sand-bar. Since its completion would make the shallow approach through Coote's Paradise marsh inadequate, Pierre Desjardins, an enterprising settler from France, formed a company in 1826 to build a canal there. Opened on August 16, 1837, it contributed greatly to the development of this region until the completion of the Great Western Railway in 1853, when the Desjardins Canal gradually fell into disuse. By the time the first train entered Dundas in 1895 commercial traffic on the canal had come to an end.

The canal continued to be a popular recreational spot; boats could be rented for fishing, excursions and picnics to La Salle Park, Oaklands and Burlington Beach. In 1966 Dundas Town Council granted permission for the canal basin to be filled in. On July 1, 1967 as part of Canada's Centennial Celebration Dundas' Centennial Park was officially dedicated.

Hollywood North: The West Wing and others

The De Luxe Restaurant is a nostalgic 1950s-style diner used primarily today for film shoots. A number of feature films and television productions have been shot here in Dundas at the De Luxe Restaurant. In 2006 the NBC television serial drama, The West Wing, directed by Christopher Misiano and starring Jimmy Smits and Bradley Whitford was shot here at this location.

Also in 2006, Man of the Year, a political thriller/comedy movie directed by Barry Levinson and featuring Robin Williams and Christopher Walken was shot here. As well, Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front, the third movie in The American Girl Movie Collection, tagged as a Disney Channel Original Movie was shot here. It was directed by Joyce Chopra and stars Molly Ringwald.

In 2007, parts of Closing the Ring, a film directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Shirley MacLaine, Christopher Plummer and Neve Campbell was shot in Dundas and at the De Luxe Restaurant. Also in 2007, CIBC Bank used the restaurant for a TV commercial shoot.

Landmarks

Note: Listing of landmarks from west to east.

Communities

Note: Listing of neighbourhoods from West to East.

Roads that cross King Street

Note: Listing of streets from West to East.