HPL's Catalogue will undergo maintenance network on Sunday, October 26 from 8 am to 10 am. There may be intermittent downtime during this maintenance window. Thank you for your patience.
The accessible washroom at Ancaster Branch is not working. We aim to get it fixed quickly.
Due to an all-day special event, the 4th Floor is closed on Saturday, October 25, from 8 am to 5 pm. Makerspace and Newcomer Learning Centre will remain open. Floors 1-3 are available for study and workspaces. www.hpl.ca/central
The following locations have upcoming delayed openings due to Staff training drills.
Thursday, October 23
Locke Branch, 10am
Thursday, October 30
Parkdale Branch, 9:30am
You may visit nearby Branches for your library needs. www.hpl.ca/hours
Bring back your borrowed library items (due Oct 1 or later) within 28 days to avoid a replacement or lost fee. We'll remove the fee when you bring back your overdue items.
Due to roof repair maintenance, the branch is temporarily closed until October 27. Please visit the Red Hill, Parkdale and Barton branches.
Mountain Steps
There were originally 7 sets of city-built stairs up the escarpment. The original locations were Chedoke Park, Dundurn Street, James Street, John Street, Ferguson Avenue, Wentworth Street, and Ottawa Street.
Currently there are 5 sets of stairs up the escarpment in addition to a privately-built set of steps. After the Jolley Cut was rebuilt, the John and Ferguson steps disappeared and their remnants were incorporated into the walkways at Sam Lawrence Park.
Chedoke
These steps connect the West Mountain to the lower west city, coming close to the front door of the Chedoke Civic Golf Course clubhouse. There are 289 steps.
Dundurn
The original Dundurn wooden steps were replaced in the 1990s by steel steps. There are 326 steps.
James
The original James Street wooden steps were replaced in 1987. The stairs originate at Southam Park on the mountain at the top of the Claremont Access. There are 227 steps.
Wentworth
The original wooden steps built in 1903 consisted of 6” to 7 ¼” risers. The stringers rested on cedar posts sunk 4-7’ in the ground. The original staircase had 570 steps. After a rock slide in March of 1983 they were replaced with metal steps just east of the position of the original steps and they now follow the path of the old East End Incline Railway. There are 498 steps.
Kenilworth
The Kenilworth steps connect the East Mountain to the Escarpment Rail Trail/Bruce Trail, and continue down to the Rosedale area of Hamilton. There are 228 steps.
Before the city completed construction on the Kenilworth stairs, a privately built set of steps named Uli’s Steps connected the upper and lower city. These steps were built as a retirement project by a Hamiltonian named Uli who spent two years on the project. They have 305 steps.