Locke Street, is a Lower City collector road in Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It starts off at Aberdeen Avenue as a two-way street going through the Locke Street shopping district up to Main Street

Main Street (Hamilton, Ontario)

Main Street, is a Lower City arterial road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It starts east of Wilson Street in Ancaster at White Chapel Cemetery as a two-way street and switches over to a one-way street at Paradise Road South, in Westdale, where it continues up to the Delta where it once again...

 where it then becomes a one-way street until it crosses King Street and becomes two-way again going north past Victoria Park and ends just past Barton Street West

Barton Street (Hamilton, Ontario)

Barton Street is an arterial road in the Lower City of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It's also the longest street in the city. It starts off at the Western end of town at Locke Street North and is a two-way street that stretches eastward through a number of different and varied communities in the...

 on Tecumseh Street, a road that winds West and leads to the back-end of Dundurn Park.

History

Locke Street, origins of street name go back as early as 1840 when it was spelled L-o-c-k and by 1870 the spelling was standardized to "Locke". North of King Street West was known as Railway Street because it ran to the Great Western Railway

Great Western Railway

The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...

 yards. Locke Street North is mostly residential and in the 1800s most of the homes there belonged to the railway workers and their families.

In 2000, Locke Street South celebrated its 150th anniversary.

Locke Street is a "street of churches" and a "hub for antique shop

Antique shop

An antique shop is a retail store specializing in the selling of antiques. Antiques shops can be located either locally and with the advent of the Internet found online...

s". Chronological order of the early churches is as follows:

• 1886: Locke Street Presbyterian Church
• 1891: Saint John the Evangelist Anglican Church
• 1893: Saint Joseph's Roman Catholic Church
• 1897: Immanuel Congregational Church
• 1897: Herkimer Street Baptist Church

Prior to 1853, just South of Herkimer Street on Locke Street South was the site of the Beasley Racetrack. It was a popular spot featuring both trotting and steeplechase racing. Named after Richard Beasley

Richard Beasley

Richard Beasley was a soldier, political figure, farmer and businessman in Upper Canada.He was born in New York in 1761 and moved to Quebec in 1777. In 1783, he formed a partnership with Peter Smith in the fur trade. In 1788, he settled in Barton Township on Lake Ontario near the current city of...

, (1761–1842), who was a soldier, political figure, farmer and businessman. He owned and ran the racetrack.

The Hamilton A.A.A. Grounds, (Hamilton Amateur Athletic Association Grounds

Hamilton Amateur Athletic Association Grounds

The Hamilton Amateur Athletic Association Grounds is a park located on the north side of Charlton Avenue West,between Locke Street South and Queen Street South, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The park served as home to the Hamilton Tigers from 1872-1949...

), is a park that was home to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium...

 from 1872-1949. Entrance to the park at Queen Street South is right before Charlton Avenue West. Today it is also the site of the Hamilton Tennis Club. Before it was used for football, the park was the site of a Cricket Club and in 1860 a Raquet Club was established near the present site of the Hamilton Tennis Club. In 1870, Locke South was described as a "sparsely populated mud track". Despite rapid expansion of the city Locke Street South was still an isolated area. On the other hand Locke Street North continued with its residential growth and the development of Victoria Park and the opening of the Crystal Palace. By 1885, Locke Street South began to see more growth after a brick sewer was constructed as well as the addition of gas lines were laid. In 1889, Wesley Vollick, a cabinet maker, built a small brick cottage which eventually, (in 1924), became the Locke Street Library.

The Crystal Palace opened up at Victoria Park 20 September 1860 by Edward, Prince of Wales (who later became King Edward VII). It was home to the area's largest fall fair (agriculture exhibition) for many years. The local Hamilton Herald newspaper was quoted as saying on 22 September 1890, The Carnival of Venice

Carnival of Venice

The Carnival of Venice is an annual festival, held in Venice, Italy. The Carnival starts 40 days before easter and ends on Shrove Tuesday , the day before Ash Wednesday.-History:...

, The Paris Exposition

Paris Exposition

Paris Exposition or Paris Exhibition can refer to*The French Industrial Exposition of 1844-World's fair:* Exposition Universelle , The Paris Exposition of 1855* Exposition Universelle , The Paris Exposition of 1867...

 or the World's Fair in Chicago will be nowhere tomorrow when the great Central Fair is opened at the Crystal Palace Grounds in this city." The structure was demolished in 1891.

Transportation history includes the following, in 1890, The Hamilton Street Railway

Hamilton Street Railway

The Hamilton Street Railway Company is the Transit Division of the City of Hamilton, Public Works Department in Ontario, Canada. The name is a legacy of the days when the majority of public transit vehicles were streetcars; the present-day Hamilton Street Railway is in fact a bus operator...

, (HSR), built its western terminus on the northeast corner of Locke & Herkimer Streets. A two-storey tram building and horse barn which could accommodate up to 42 horses and 12 tram cars. As well, the Hamilton-Dundas Electric Railway line, (nicknamed the "Dundas Dummy"), travelled through Aberdeen Avenue

Aberdeen Avenue (Hamilton, Ontario)

Aberdeen Avenue is a Lower City arterial road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It starts off just West of Longwood Road South and East of Highway 403 as a two-way thoroughfare up to Queen Street South where it then switches over to a one-way collector road to Bay Street South and then to another...

 and crossed over Locke Street South.

Festivals

Locke Street has festivals held throughout the year. The first noteworthy one is called Spring Blooms on Locke. It's an annual festival that marks the end of winter and is also a fund raiser for sick children. Then there's the one simply called The Locke Street Festival where each September the street is closed off for a fun-filled day for the family with live entertainment, street vendors and food. There's also the Christmas Open House where they welcome the holidays with late opening, food, drink and carollers each November.

Major intersections

North to south:

• Barton Street
  Barton Street (Hamilton, Ontario)
  Barton Street is an arterial road in the Lower City of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It's also the longest street in the city. It starts off at the Western end of town at Locke Street North and is a two-way street that stretches eastward through a number of different and varied communities in the...
  
   West, (Western-end of Barton Street)
• York Boulevard
  York Boulevard (Hamilton, Ontario)
  York Boulevard is a Lower City arterial road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Formerly known as Highway 2 and Highway 6,starts off in Burlington, Ontario at Plains Road West as a two-way arterial road that wraps around and over the Hamilton Harbour and enters the city of Hamilton in the West-end past...
  
   - One way street (Eastbound Only)
• King Street West - One way street (Westbound Only)
• Main Street
  Main Street (Hamilton, Ontario)
  Main Street, is a Lower City arterial road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It starts east of Wilson Street in Ancaster at White Chapel Cemetery as a two-way street and switches over to a one-way street at Paradise Road South, in Westdale, where it continues up to the Delta where it once again...
  
   West - One way street (Eastbound Only)
• Jackson Street
  Jackson Street (Hamilton, Ontario)
  Jackson Street, is a Lower City collector road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It starts off West of Locke Street South at Jackson Playground as a one-way street up to Queen Street South where it then switches over to a two-way street and is interrupted at Bay Street South the site of the Hamilton...
  
   West
• Hunter Street
  Hunter Street (Hamilton, Ontario)
  Hunter Street is a Lower City collector road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It is a one-way street that starts West of Locke Street at Hill Street Park and ends two blocks East of Victoria Avenue at Emerald Street...
  
   West - One way street (Westbound Only)
• Charlton Avenue
  Charlton Avenue (Hamilton, Ontario)
  Charlton Avenue, is a Lower City collector road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. This collector road starts of just West of Dundurn Street as a one-way street up to James Street South where it then switches over to a two-way street the rest of the way eastward and ends at Wentworth Street South right...
  
   West - One way street (Westbound Only)
• Aberdeen Avenue
  Aberdeen Avenue (Hamilton, Ontario)
  Aberdeen Avenue is a Lower City arterial road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It starts off just West of Longwood Road South and East of Highway 403 as a two-way thoroughfare up to Queen Street South where it then switches over to a one-way collector road to Bay Street South and then to another...
  
  

External links

• LockeStreet.com
• LockeStreetSouth.com (Locke Street Merchants' Association)
• Locke Street Festival
• Kirkendall.ca (Kirkendall neighbourhood)
• Google Maps: Locke Street (Hybrid)
• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1487225/pdf/cmaj00075-0105.pdf