Hamilton GO Centre is the main terminal for GO Transit train and bus services in the city of Hamilton, Ontario. It is located in the former railway station and head offices of the Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway (TH&B). Built in 1933, the TH&B station is a wonderful example of Art Moderne architecture.
The designer of the TH&B station was the New York architectural firm of Fellheimer and Wagner. Just a few years earlier, the firm designed Buffalo’s Central Terminal. In 1933, Fellheimer and Wagner’s landmark Cincinnati Station opened and featured many similar streamlined, Art Moderne, styling.
An Art-Moderne gem in Hamilton, Ontario. Built in 1932-33, the Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway Station on Hunter Street represents one of the finest examples of “international” style architecture in North America. The original design for the new Hunter Street station consisted of a 10-story office tower with wings for the passenger facilities, and two platforms for passenger trains. However, as the Great Depression took its toll on the TH&B, the plans were reduced in size. The office tower was reduced to 7 stories (although it was built with the ability for the remaining three stories to be added at a later date), and the number of platforms was reduced to one. As well, a number of other features such as underground passageways were eliminated. The reduced size of the station resulted in an outcry from the city council, and it was only after the facade of the building was changed to more expensive stone, that the council approved the smaller structure in November 1932. Construction of the new station began in December 1932, and took 8 months to finish, with the official opening on June 26, 1933. During WWII, Hunter street station saw nearly 30 trains a day. By 1960 all the branch line trains were gone, as had most of the traffic to the US. By the start of the 1970s, the only passenger traffic that Hunter Street saw was a daily Toronto-Buffalo train consisting of CP Rail RDCs. The formation of Via Rail resulted in the last train leaving on April 23, 1981. With the official absorption of the TH&B into CP Rail in 1987, all remaining corporate and railroad operations began were transferred to Toronto. This process was completed as of December 8, 1990 with the shutting down of the TH&B’s Centralized Traffic Control center. Within weeks, the station lay vacant. CP Rail gained a measure of infamy in the early 1980s, when it demolished its West Toronto station in the face of widespread opposition. As a result of this, new government legislation was enacted to protect historically and architecturally significant stations such as the Hunter Street station. This prevented the demolition of the Hunter Street station as it sat empty. As early as 1980, an alternate use for the Hunter street station was explored but it was not until 1992, that it was decided to transfer commuter rail operations to the Hunter street station as part of a $56 million Hamilton area improvement package. $16 million would be spent on the station itself, including restoration and renovation, as well as the construction of a new intercity bus terminal at the back of the station, on the site of the old freight express building. Work on the station began in December 1993. The poor condition that CP Rail had left the station in after years of neglect, on top of its age, resulted in creased costs and delays. However, the restoration work was finally completed in 1996. GO Train and bus service started on April 29, 1996, and the grand reopening of the TH&B Hunter Street station, now renamed the Hamilton GO Center, occurred on July 12, 1996.
An Art-Moderne gem in Hamilton, Ontario. Built in 1932-33, the Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway Station on Hunter Street represents one of the finest examples of “international” style architecture in North America. The original design for the new Hunter Street station consisted of a 10-story office tower with wings for the passenger facilities, and two platforms for passenger trains.
This high-styled modernist structure was at the forefront of railway station design in Canada. Designed by the New York architectural firm of Fellheimer and Wagner in a streamlined modernist style known as Art Moderne, the station was constructed in 1931-33 by the TH&B Railway to serve as both a passenger / freight terminal and the company's headquarters.
The designer of the TH&B station was the New York architectural firm of Fellheimer and Wagner. Just a few years earlier, the firm designed Buffalo’s Central Terminal. In 1933, Fellheimer and Wagner’s landmark Cincinnati Station opened and featured many similar streamlined, Art Moderne, styling.
By 1960 all the branch line trains were gone, as had most of the traffic to the US. By the start of the 1970s, the only passenger traffic that Hunter Street saw was a daily Toronto-Buffalo train consisting of CP Rail RDCs. The formation of Via Rail resulted in the last train leaving on April 23, 1981. With the official absorption of the TH&B into CP Rail in 1987, all remaining corporate and railroad operations began were transferred to Toronto. This process was completed as of December 8, 1990 with the shutting down of the TH&B’s Centralized Traffic Control centre. Within weeks, the station lay vacant.
Passenger waiting area feature curved wooden benches. TH&B Hamilton
A rare example of an Art Moderne public building with curved forms, polished metals and machined detailing throughout. TH & B retirees operate a railway on the mezzanine level and offer first hand experience about Hamilton train history. Interpretative panels highlight the architecture and re-construction of this landmark downtown building.
