Kirkendall North in Hamilton, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)

Pearl Street Pedestrian Bridge

Photographed by Tim Boyd, November 23, 2024

1. Pearl Street Pedestrian Bridge Marker

Inscription.
Reconstructed in 2014
Original Timber Bridge
Constructed in 1895

Erected 2014 by Hamilton Public Works.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Bridges & Viaducts. A significant historical year for this entry is 1895.

Location. 43° 15.411′ N, 79° 53.004′ W. Marker is in Hamilton, Ontario. It is in Kirkendall North. It is at the intersection of Canada Street and Pearl Street South, on the left when traveling east on Canada Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 107 Pearl Street S, Hamilton ON L8P L8P, Canada. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Ontario’s Golden Horseshoe,

in the Hamilton-Halton-Brant Area,

and specifically in the Toronto Metropolitan Area.

It is also in Central Canada.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony,

the Viceroyalty of New France,

the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

and Rupert’s Land.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Richard Beasley

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(about 180 meters away, measured in a direct line); Canada’s First Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons (A.F. & A.M.) (approx. 0.4 kilometers away); 107-109 George Street (approx. 0.4 kilometers away); The H.A.A.A. Grounds (approx. 0.4 kilometers away); Hamilton Tigers Football Club Cenotaph (approx. half a kilometer away); 34-36 Hess Street South (approx. half a kilometer away); The Nine-hour Movement/ Les Mouvement des Neuf Heures (approx. half a kilometer away); Baseball at Victoria Park (approx. half a kilometer away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Hamilton.

Also see . . . Birds Be Gone This Old Bridge is Moving On (Hamilton Spectator).

The Pearl Street bridge may well be Hamilton's oldest, and they're about to knock it down. Built nearly 120 years ago, the bridge will be replaced. That's a good thing. But the old span deserves a eulogy. The Toronto Hamilton & Buffalo Railway (TH&B) steamed into the new Hunter Street terminal in downtown Hamilton on 28 Dec 1895. Hundreds of men worked around the clock to dig a trench four storeys deep. They found prehistoric mammoth bones. Three men died on
Photographed by Tim Boyd, November 23, 2024

2. Pearl Street Pedestrian Bridge Marker
the job. For the section of track east of Queen, they created a tunnel by covering over the top of that chasm. West of Queen, the suburbs back then, the big ditch remained an open wound. Even then, the city knew you can't just carve up a neighbourhood. So the railway agreed to build five bridges, at Ray, Pearl, Locke, Poulette, and Dundurn. The TH&B said it would look after those bridges forever and a day.

(Submitted on November 24, 2024, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario.)

Additional commentary.
1.
The original Pearl Street Bridge was damaged by fire in 1956, and permanently closed to vehicles in 1962. It remained for pedestrian use until 2014, when the current bridge was built.

— Submitted November 24, 2024, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario.

From Map of the City of Hamilton, 1898 image. Click for full size.

3. From Map of the City of Hamilton, 1898

Showing the original four 1895 bridges over the Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway tracks (Hamilton Public Library)

The original 1895 Pearl Street Bridge, 2009 image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Boyd, January 1, 2009

4. The original 1895 Pearl Street Bridge, 2009

Pearl Street Pedestrian Bridge, 2024 image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Boyd, November 24, 2024

5. Pearl Street Pedestrian Bridge, 2024

Credits. This page was last revised on November 24, 2024. It was originally submitted on November 24, 2024, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. This page has been viewed 311 times since then and 50 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on November 24, 2024, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.