Buildings collapsing in Hamilton is nothing new, including buildings recently visited by Hamilton building inspectors.
On the Monday morning of Remembrance Day, November 11, the Gore Park Buildings at 24 and 28 King Street East collapsed onto the park at approximately 6:12 a.m.
The City says it had building inspectors on site on Friday. City Manager Marnie Cluckie stated, “staff were on-site at this building on Friday trying to facilitate action on it.”
Despite requests, the City has not released any further information regarding its Friday inspection.
The list of questions the City will not answer includes the obvious questions – how did the building collapse and why wasn’t the area closed after the City deemed it unsafe back on July 22?
Lucky again – Nobody Has (Yet) Died in a Hamilton building collapse.
The front page of The Hamilton Spectator on Wednesday, October 30, 1996, says it all.
“Incredibly, no one was hurt.”
The day before, during lunch hour, 20,000 bricks came crashing down onto John Street South from the 14-storey east wall facade of the Villa Marie Apartments at 57 Forest Avenue.
Luckily, the bricks collapse during a gap in the “green wave” of one-way northbound traffic coming down the Jolley Cut from Hamilton Mountain.
Nobody is injured or killed by the approximately 50 tonnes of debris.
The next day, The Hamilton Spectator reports that Hamilton building commissioner Len King ordered the inspections of all highrise brick facades in Hamilton. [On the same day, high winds shatter the glass at 110 King Street East, showering glass onto the Jackson Square roof mezzanine.]
July 12, 1997: 9,000 kilograms of bricks fall from the side of an apartment building at 43 Forest Avenue around 2 p.m. on a Saturday.
Thankfully, nobody is injured.
The building is next door to the October collapse. Nearby residents are concerned about further collapses.
There was an engineering report, issued two weeks earlier, indicating the brick facade needed to be reattached to the concrete block primary structure.
The City quickly defended its inspection of the now-collapsed facade, and City Council considered changes to inspection routines.
December 1999: City Council considers hiring a consultant to inspect buildings in Ward 2, City staff say, ‘Hamilton is at the forefront of investigating aging highrises.’
June 2004: The Tivoli Theatre collapses.
April 16, 2008: A building adjoining the Lister Block on King William Street begins collapsing late on a Wednesday evening. Fire crews responded to the vacant building, and used thermal cameras to check for bodies. None are found, there are no injuries.
August 5, 2022: A part of the facade at 457 King Street East collapses onto the sidewalk and roadway. Nobody is injured. 457 and 459 King East are declared unsafe. Over two years later, the buildings remain abandoned, awaiting demolition.
May 30, 2024: shortly after 1:00 a.m., bricks collapse onto the sidewalk and roadway at 101 and 103 Barton Street East. Nobody is injured.
November 11, 2024: The 24 and 28 King Street East building collapsed.
Following the collapse, Mayor Andrea Horwath promised to review city procedures. A motion to this effect will be on the Council agenda for the November 20 meeting.
Production Details v. 1.0.0 Published: November 18, 2024 Last updated: November 18, 2024 Author: Joey Coleman Update Record v. 1.0.0 original version