King Street, Hamilton, Ontario

King Street is a Lower City arterial road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, also known as Highway 8.

The western-end starts off beside McMaster University Medical Centre as a two-way street and passes through Westdale.

[2] In 1815, George Hamilton, a settler and local politician, established a town site in the northern portion of the Barton Township.

He kept several east-west roads which were originally Indian trails, but the north-south streets were on a regular grid pattern.

[4] On 30 October 1893, The Sir John A. Macdonald Statue arrives in Hamilton from London, England.

[5] The Cenotaph at Veteran's Place at Gore Park was unveiled on May 22, 1923 by Governor General Viscount Byng who led Canadians into France and Flanders.

Two smaller columns are at its side with carved replicas of the equipment used by Canadian troops in the First World War.

[7] McMaster University moved to Hamilton, Ontario from Toronto in 1930, thanks to the efforts of Thomas McQuesten.

The cathedral is perched atop a hill overlooking Highway 403 leading in towards the rest of Hamilton and one travelling towards Oakville, Mississauga and Toronto.

[14] In 1987, the first of two reflective glass buildings of the CIBC tower (Commerce Place I) opened at King and James opposite Gore Park.

[13] Hamilton has hosted several cultural and craft fairs since the 1960s, notably Festival of Friends, which made it a major tourist destination.

The Festival of Friends, founded in 1975, is the largest annual free music event in the country.

It has a seasonal schedule that runs weekends from May-to-October connecting Hamilton's downtown core to the waterfront and attractions that can be found there like HMCS Haida and the Parks Canada Discovery Centre.

Then it travels north along James Street and the Art District until it reaches the waterfront at Guise Street past the Royal Hamilton Yacht Club, Hamilton Chamber of Commerce and the Harbour West Marina Complex.