Victoria Hall (Ontario)

Victoria Hall is a former -storey commercial building in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Overlooking Gore Park, it is located in downtown Hamilton's central commercial district. For many years, the building (alongside the MacKay Building) was jointly known as the "Foster Building" due to its most recent use as a high-end clothing store. Some people still refer to Victoria Hall by this nickname today. It is a superior and rare example of a commercial building with a decorative architectonic sheet metal facade, which is completely hand-made. It was designated a National Historic Site in 1995.Additionally, the building is an irreplaceable element in King Street's continuum of commercial architecture dating from the pre-Confederation era to the present and is likely one of the oldest surviving sheet metal facades in the country.HistoryVictoria Hall was built between 1887 - 1888. Designed by Hamilton architect William Stewart and erected for Alexander Bruce, a prominent Hamilton lawyer, the façade projects an image of prosperity by simulating the appearance of exuberant stone masonry.Victoria Hall forms part of a continuous row of commercial buildings overlooking Gore Park, an area that has traditionally functioned as the city's commercial heart and the focal point of public events. Victoria Hall is among the last of the robust High Victorian commercial buildings in the Gore Park area.For many years, the building was home to Gerhard Heintzman Pianos, A. Carey & Son Radio, J.H. Herring tea brokers, the Empire Newspaper, Canada Cycle Company and Bessie Brown Hats. A high-fashion women's store named Foster's moved into Victoria Hall in 1952 and about 10 years later it also took over the MacKay space next door. Since then, they've been treated as one property and apparently they even lean on each other. When the Jackson Square complex was constructed during the 1970s, Fosters abandoned Victoria Hall/McKay Building in 1979. Since then, Victoria Hall has remained the longest abandoned building in downtown Hamilton until recent renovations.