We were amazed how quickly the area was transformed, though. The revitalization of the area went faster than we expected, and we certainly contributed to this! We knew all along we would not be there forever, that the building would be sold when the market went high enough. We were surprised that it was easier than we expected to get approvals to do an extensive renovation. We were also helped greatly by the city’s “Two Kings” policy, which encouraged development in King-Parliament and King-Bathurst by removing many of the zoning restrictions. The new owners encouraged us to stay as tenants and helped us with practical and financial support in developing our theatre. The building, and an adjacent building, were bought for a very low price. We began in what was essentially an abandoned, empty building. Ron Weihs: When Artword Theatre started, the King/Portland area was in a very depressed state. WN: Are there things in your present location that remind you of what you recognized “back then” starting up at King/Portland?

area of Hamilton, it felt like a good time to reach out to Weihs, for a little bit of looking back and looking ahead. So when we were contacted by Chris Ferguson, curator of Hamilton’s Steel City Jazz Festival, celebrating its fifth year from October 24 through 29 at Artword Artbar in the rapidly gentrifying James St.

Artword, as a name for what Judith Sandiford and Ron Weihs have always wanted to do, had its roots, as Artword Theatre, in Toronto’s King/Portland area – where, as my memory serves, it got overtaken by what gets called progress.

Steel city jazz festival 2021