St. Catharines: Downtown

Downtown St. Catharines is located in the center of the city, along Twelve Mile Creek. The city was named after Catharine Hamilton, wife of Robert Hamilton, who owned the land that is now Downtown. The Downtown area developed as a storehouse district for merchants using the Welland Canal, which first passed through the neighborhood when the first Welland Canal was completed in 1829. Mills later were built as raceways spurred off of the canal. As a result of the merchants operating storage facilities, and mills being located along the canal, Downtown is alternately known as the "Mercantile District".


Buildings on St. Paul Street. The Garden City Tower is on the left.



Businesses on St. Paul Street.



A building on King Street at Garden Park.



St. Thomas' Anglican Church, on Ontario Street at the foot of Church Street. The church was built in 1877.



Businesses on Lake Street.



Houses on Salina Street in the Yates Historic District.



A house on Yates Street in the Yates Historic District. Yates Street was the home of many of St. Catharines' wealthy entrepreneurs and businessmen.



A house on Adams Street.



Oak Hill, an old house built by William Hamilton Merritt in 1860.



A cenotaph in a Memorial Park, along St. Paul Street. The cenotaph commemorates soldiers who died in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War.



A building at St. Paul & William Streets.



Businesses on St. Paul Street.



A building on St. Paul Street.



Buildings on St. Paul Street. The Leonard Hotel is on the right.



Buildings at Academy & St. Paul Streets. The business was built in the 1870s, when the third Welland Canal brought a new wave of prosperity to St. Catharines.



The Tower, on Gale Crescent.



The Garden City Arena Complex, on Gale Crescent. Jack Gatecliff Arena, part of the complex, was built in 1938 and is home to the Niagara IceDogs of the Ontario Hockey League.



A house on Geneva Street.



Buildings on St. Paul Street.



Businesses on James Street.



The old Lincoln County Courthouse on at James Street. The courthouse was built in 1849 and was the town hall until it became the center of county government in 1862.



Rowhouses on Church Street.



Rowhouses on Ontario Street in the Queen Historic District. The houses were built in the 1860s.



The Municipal Building for the City of St. Catharines, on Church Street. The city hall was built in 1937.



A house on Queen Street.



The backs of buildings along St Paul Street, from The Parkway.



These backs of the buildings once fronted along Dick's Creek and Twelve Mile Creek. These waterways later became the second Welland Canal, built in the 1820s. A dry dock was also located in this valley when the Welland Canal utilized this area.



Canada Hair Cloth Company, on The Parkway. The mill was built in 1888 and was powered by a raceway in front of the mill that was diverted from the third Welland Canal.