Most of our buildings are mid 19th or early 20th Century and mainly exhibit characerisitcs of traditional Victorian architecture.
Our commercial fabric began in the mid 1800s by providing services to the who traveled by 'rail'.
Ferguson Station was the principle passenger station in Downtown Hamilton
History shows that our area consisted of ... merchant tailors, ladies millinery, dry goods, confectioners, a watchmaker, flour and feed, livery stables, a laundry, a blacksmith and two hotels.
By the mid 1940s our commercial area had increased in the number of businesses and also in the 'type of business' available to our customers .. a pharmacy, a meat and grocery store, several restaurants, mens and ladies clothing, shoe repair, bake shops, furniture and home appliances, a card shop, hardware, oriental carpets and a flower shop.
By the mid 1970s the rail line had long gone and the commercial viability of our neighbourhood had become more eclectic ... a book store, a sewing centre, a linen shop, more furniture and appliance stores, more ladies and mens shops, more restaurants and bake shops, a pet store, a hobby shop, textile shops, ladies and mens shoes, two cinemas, several ladies salons and car parking lots.
Today we still retain many of the Victorian facades of the mid 1800s, many of the restaurants of the 1970s and 1980s, as well as furniture stores, and hair salons for both men and women. Our cinemas have been transformed into retail and residentail buildings, but ...
We have retained our 'rail' heritage with "Ferguson Station"
"Ferguson Station" is now a heritage area and home to Hamilton's Annual Mustard Festival. And we continue to be a collection of 85 individually owned and operated shops and services in the Heart of Downtown ... so come Shop the Word in International Village.
© Copyright International Village BIA 2005 - 2008 ♦ Photography by Dennis McGreal ♦ Website created by dagmar