Doors Open | Hamilton 2025

One of my favourite events to attend in the GTHA is Hamilton’s Doors Open event. This was my first experience with architectural tours and has for many years been my birthday present to myself. My original plan for this year was to hit up locations in Ancaster and Dundas. I wanted to check out some of the historic churches in those communities, but what struck me as interesting is that not a single church was listed as being part of Doors Open Hamilton this year. So I went back with what I knew, downtown Hamilton and the industrial sector. I got in four locations this year, three new and one familiar. I had originally planned to hit up five spots, but one had been dropped from the list. For this I packed along my Nikon F5 the 14mm f/2.8 lens loaded with Kodak Tri-X which I rated at ASA-1600 and developed in Diafine. Handheld I went with my D750 and used the 14-24mm f/2.8.

One note on the way the film turned out. I was a little concerned when I pulled the roll out of the tank. The other roll I processed, Ilford FP4+ turned out great, but this roll of Tri-X did not turn out that well. After running through all the possible failure points (my processing, chemistry, and camera) I can only suspect that it was the film. I did get this roll from a source I don’t normally buy from so I suspect damage. Either way, it gives a nice gritty industrial look.

The first stop on the trip was the Hamilton Craft Studios, this is a new location to me and I love adaptive reuse of old industrial locations. The studios are housed in a former drawn wire factory that was built in 1904 as part of the Frost Wire Fence Company. Frost Wire Fence dates back further and was originally established in Welland, Ontario but relocated to Hamilton in 1904 when a larger manufacturing base was needed. By 1918 the company produced some of the first chain link fences in Canada and in 1937 was bought out by Stelco. The building caught the attention of two Sheridan graduates in 2014 which was the spark needed to start an affordable and fun space for creatives. The Hamilton Craft Studios opened in 2022 and is home to a large number of workshops, equipment, and knowledgeable staff.

Opened in 1900, the Imperial Cotton Factory is one of the early examples of textile production that dominated Hamilton in the early 20th century. The factory, the second largest in the city is one of the few examples of surviving cotton mills left in the city. The Imperial mill was known to treat its employees well with a internal publication, large cafeteria and good working conditions. Imperial merged with Cosmos Cotton Mills continued to operate the mill until 1972. Starting in the mid 2010s the former factory was slowly transformed into one of Hamilton’s earliest Creative hubs, known as the Cotton Mill and continues to serve that purpose today.

The King John Buildings is a pair of 1850s commercial buildings that were recently saved from demolition, rather than restore each individually they were combined to form a single building in order to meet with current code and safety standards. It’s awesome see that these buildings are now being saved rather than turning them into parking lot like so many others in Hamilton. While there isn’t much history in these structures working in the smaller areas allowed my ultra-wides to shine!

Built as St. Mark’s Anglican Church, the congregation was founded in 1877 and began work on building their church right away, the sanctuary opened in 1888 and served the local Anglican community for over a century before the doors closed in 1989. I seem to remember this church being on the Hamilton UE community list of places but I never got in while I was an active member of that community (and a quick glance at UER has no entry in the UEDB but it could be hidden to full members only). Restoration work began in 2022 into a community arts and event space known as Magnolia Hall.

Doors Open events are a fantastic way to explore the local area and see spaces you don’t usually have access to. As someone who is naturally curious and always has the itch to see what is behind a door marked “Authorised Persons Only” or “Employees Only,” these events are perfect. I’ve been to many here in Ontario over the years; Hamilton and Toronto remain my favourites. However, I plan to get to some outside those two cities this year. Maybe St. Mary’s in August and hopefully Niagara-On-The-Lake in October. My fingers are crossed that in NoTL, some churches I’ve always wanted to see in the interiors are on the list. Until then, you can check out my album on Flickr to see all my images from Doors Open Hamilton this year. If you’re interested in seeing if there’s an event happening near you, you can visit the Doors Open Ontario website.