Buildings

The Rise and Fall of Hamilton’s Architectural Jewel: The Canada Life Assurance Building A Brownstone Beauty at King and James The Canada Life Assurance building once stood as a crown jewel of Hamilton’s downtown core, occupying the southeast corner of King and James Streets. Designed by renowned architect Richard Alfred Waite and constructed of distinctive

By 1878, Hamilton was reinventing itself. Having weathered the economic depression of the late 1850s and seeing its commercial prominence challenged by Toronto, the ambitious city was transforming into an industrial powerhouse. At the corner of King and Hughson, where the Hamilton Provident and Loan Society’s new headquarters was taking shape, history was quietly being