Historical Buildings – Current

Photo Gallery
List of Individual Buildings
Map of Individual Buildings

One of the pleasures of living in Hammond is the historical buildings, both residential and commercial, many of which have been beautifully restored. There are some real treasures, and there are many people who either still live in Hammond or are connected to the neighbourhood and know the stories behind the buildings.

There are many beautiful, classic Craftsman-style houses that were built for the mill managers. But I’m also very fond of the of the less-grand mill-worker houses that have been creatively expanded and renovated over the years. When you walk around the neighbourhood there is a terrific variety of architecture, with some of the mill-worker houses still in their original state (one level, one or two bedrooms, under 1500 square feet), and many that have extensions and dormers and all kinds of additions that are entirely the product of the owners’ imaginations.

As a matter of fact, I live in one of those mill-worker houses. It was built in the 1940s, and was probably originally about 1200 square feet. Over the years it was extended in the front and extended in the back and a room was made in the attic. Apparently at some point the family that lived here had a teen-age son who wanted his own room. His dad handed him a shovel and said “Start digging.” The kid dug, and now the house has a basement (not quite full height – I guess the kid got tired).

I’m sure there are many buildings with similarly interesting stories. I wish these old buildings could speak and tell us their stories. But they can’t, so we have to do it for them. Please leave comments with your memories and reminiscences.

Photo Gallery

This photo gallery shows photos of many of the historical Hammond buildings. Most of the photos were taken by Ron Gordon and originally published on Facebook.

[Show as slideshow]