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Opera Hamilton was founded in 1980. Prior to its creation in 1976, Italian opera companies were invited to perform for Hamilton's Festitalia, a celebration of Italian culture. Due to the problems and costs associated with importing entire productions from Italy, Festitalia decided to produce its own operas starting in 1979. The following year Opera Hamilton was created with plans to perform two productions annually at Hamilton Place. At the end of their first season, Steven Thomas was appointed artistic director, Boris Brott was musical director, and the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra was the resident orchestra. Opera Hamilton also had agreements with CHCH TV to broadcast a television production of one opera each year.

Conductor Daniel Lipton was appointed to the role of artistic director for the 1986-7 season. Under his leadership, the company improved many aspects of its productions and continued to build a strong audience on the foundations of Italian 19th-century opera. In addition to standard repertoire, Lipton introduced the successful 'Popera' concerts in 1987 to showcase leading operatic soloists, including many Canadians, in concert performances of popular operatic excerpts. In 1989, Lipton expanded the Opera Hamilton season to three productions.

In 1995, plans to expand and share resources with the nearby city of Kitchener led to the creation of the operatic partnership known as Opera Ontario. As Opera Ontario, the company began to mount its productions in Hamilton and repeat them in Kitchener. The company announced their claim for bankruptcy in January of 2014 and ceased operations following years of financial struggles.

The Optimist Club was first founded in Louisville, Kentucky in 1919. The first Hamilton branch of the Optimist Club was founded in 1924. The Optimist Club of Hamilton is the second oldest of the chartered Optimist Clubs in Canada. As a service club, the Optimists work towards the betterment of their community with a focus on the youth. Examples of Optimist Club works include Bike-A-Thons, garden and ladies’ nights, fundraisers and tournaments. Currently, there are more than 3 chartered Optimists Clubs operating in the Hamilton area, serving their community.

The Otis Elevator Company was founded in the United States in 1811 by Elisha Otis. In 1902 it expanded into Canada, setting up headquarters in Hamilton forming the Canadian Otis Elevator Company. However, it was in direct competition with the Canadian Fensom Elevator Company for the limited Canadian market. Rather than competing for market shares in a small market, both companies agreed to merge in 1905 under the name, Otis-Fensom Elevator Company Limited. The company flourished in the following years, playing a significant manufacturing role in the two world wars. In 1949, the company renamed itself the Otis Elevator Company Limited. Otis Elevator is a subsidiary of the American Otis Elevator Company, which itself is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation.

The Birth Control Society of Hamilton, later Planned Parenthood, was the first clinic of its kind in Canada. The clinic opened March 3, 1932 to disseminate family planning information and contraceptives. The clinic operated outside of Canadian law until 1969 when its practices were decriminalized by act of parliament.

The Player’s Guild of Hamilton was founded in 1875 as the Hamilton Garrick Club after founder David Garrick. After a period of decline post-World War 1, the club was re-established by Caroline Crerar in 1929 under the name ‘The Player’s Guild’. In 1951 the guild bought the property at Queens Street South and Jackson Street West and remained at the location ever since.

The Royal Court Entertainers were an amateur concert party consisting of nine members: Mary Hanson, Dorothy Sommerville, Hazel Phillips, Mary Grant, Ethel Morris, Frederick Davidson, Howard Wilson Jerome, Richard Fairs, and Leslie Sommerville. From 1937-1941, they performed old fashioned choruses, humorous sketches and dances for personal parties, garden parties and group events.

Founded in 1897 by C.L.M. Harris as the Hamilton Conservatory of Music (HCM), the conservatory provided higher education in music with focus in piano, strings, winds, organ and guitar, as well as art, physical culture, dance, musical kindergarten and elocution. The conservatory was originally located in the former home of Robert Steele, and in 1899, the conservatory moved to Main and Charles Streets. In 1904, the conservatory moved to its permanent home on James Street South with studio space on the first floor, a recital hall on the second floor, and a meeting room in the basement.

Under Harris' directorship, the conservatory was incorporated by the province of Ontario in 1902, and two years later was affiliated with the University of Toronto as a means to prepare students for the Bachelor in Music from the university. The affiliation ended in 1918, when the HCM began to offer a competing system of examinations. Harris was succeeded by J.E.P. Aldous, W.H. Hewlett, and Bruce Carey who oversaw the administrative functions of the conservatory and presented internationally known artists in the recital hall. After Carey resigned, Hewlett began the first principal of the conservatory.

On May 15, 1965, the conservatory received a royal charter and changed its name to the Royal Hamilton College of Music. During this process, the conservatory renamed its associate diploma (AHCM) in piano, violin, voice, speech arts and drama to ARHCM, and expanded to offer a licentiate diploma (LRHCM) and an honorary fellow's degree (FRHCM).

The conservatory expanded its program to include courses in Suzuki string method, jazz, theatre, and the visual arts. The conservatory also physically grew to offer five branches in the Hamilton area and maintained branches in Windsor, Leamington and Oakville, Ontario.

The college closed in 1980 due to financial problems.

In 1994, Goldshower Recording Company was created by Jean Paul Gauthier. Two years later, the company was renamed September Seventh Entertainment Ltd. The company hosted and produced concerts and events in the Hamilton area, and, most notably produced concerts for Daniel Lanois for over ten years. Under the direction of Jean-Paul Gauthier, September Seventh Entertainment Ltd. created the Hamilton Music Scene festival, the Hamilton Music Awards and the Harvest Picnic festival.

During and after the First World War, many soldiers returning from the front wounded in mind and body needed assistance to provide for themselves and their families. Social assistance programs were non-existent during this period, so returning veterans who struggled to reintegrate into civilian life faced extreme hardships and destitution, along with their families. The province of Ontario established the Soldiers’ Aid Commission on November 10, 1915, to address this emerging issue and to support the needs of veterans, who had given so much for their country during the war. The early mandate of the Commission was to provide emergency financial assistance to returning soldiers, with a focus on the sick and wounded. As soldiers began to return home it became apparent that their needs included more than just emergency assistance. What started as emergency financial assistance, evolved into various avenues of support that also included retraining, education, rehabilitation, employment assistance, childcare arrangements, and pension advocacy. Due to the large number of returning veterans, the SAC set up various branches across the province to provide local assistance.

The Hamilton branch of the SAC was established on January 15, 1917. The aim of the branch was to support veterans through various initiatives such as hospital visits, providing comfort to dying veterans, visiting soldiers and their dependents in their homes, providing for dependent or orphaned children of the servicemen, providing loans and other financial assistance, retraining and re-educating for new employment, helping veterans secure their former employment, and advocating for fair wages and for pensions. Overall, the SAC and all its branches championed the rights of returning veterans with various needs, and worked to ensure that the general public understood that the help received by the returning soldiers was not charity, but entitlement. The veterans had earned this assistance for their service and sacrifices. Although the various branches of the SAC are no longer in existence, the Soldiers’ Aid Commission continued to provide support throughout the Second World War and the Korean War, and continues to help Ontario veterans to the present day.

George Sorbara was a graduate of Westdale Secondary School found in Westdale Village, a suburb of Hamilton. He participated in high school activities such as stage productions and the football team. After graduation, George Sorbara joined the Hamilton Hurricanes, a member of the Canadian Junior Football League. He was part of the Championship winning 1972 team which defeated the defending champs Regina Rams in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Peter Stevens (March 16, 1963 – February 25, 2015), was a freelance photographer, graphic designer, art director and magazine editor. Peter studied Graphic Design at Sheridan College and worked in the design and advertising field for almost 20 years. He served as Art Director with Wordsmith Design and Advertising (Part of the Pier 8 Group). Peter was a founding member of the Hamilton Photo Union and served the organization as a board member from 1982-1986. He was also the Photo Editor for Broadway Magazine (an alternative news source for Hamilton), Style Magazine and The Hammer Magazine. Peter Stevens spent 25 years capturing the essence of the arts scene in Hamilton and had a very large impact on the arts community. His work was exhibited at the Hammer Gallery, the b Contemporary Gallery, Broadway Gallery, Gallery on 4, the Photo Union Gallery and the Transit Gallery.

Peter Stevens (March 16, 1963 – February 25, 2015), was a freelance photographer, graphic designer, art director and magazine editor. Peter studied Graphic Design at Sheridan College and worked in the design and advertising field for almost 20 years. He served as Art Director with Wordsmith Design and Advertising (Part of the Pier 8 Group). Peter was a founding member of the Hamilton Photo Union and served the organization as a board member from 1982-1986. He was also the Photo Editor for Broadway Magazine (an alternative news source for Hamilton), Style Magazine and The Hammer Magazine. Peter Stevens spent 25 years capturing the essence of the arts scene in Hamilton and had a very large impact on the arts community. His work was exhibited at the Hammer Gallery, the b Contemporary Gallery, Broadway Gallery, Gallery on 4, the Photo Union Gallery and the Transit Gallery.

Henry George Gordon Strathy was born in London, Ontario 1846. He was the son of James Brakenridge Strathy. In 1835, James Strathy went into business in Dundas, Ontario owning various flour and paper mills. They moved back to London, where James Strathy became the District Clerk for the County of Middlesex.
Henry Strathy joined the Bank of Montreal in Hamilton in 1864. In 1866, he joined the 13th battalion to fight the Fenian Raids. In 1867 he moved to Montreal, where he married his wife and lived until his death in 1932.

Superior Engravers was founded in Hamilton in 1921. The company's primary function at that time was the production of pre-press acid etchings (a process that involved etching text and images onto metal plates) for use in the printing of posters, and newspaper and magazine advertisements. In the mid 1930s, the owners and four key employees entered into a court battle for control of the company. The employee group won, gaining control of Superior Engravers, and Harold Pitts was named works manager and William Van Sickle became secretary-treasurer. By the 1950s, Jim Pitts, son of Harold, and Jim Van Sickle, son of William, had joined the company, for which projects included the production of shopping catalogues for Eaton’s department stores. Harold Pitts became company president in 1960, and began embracing the technological change of the time, importing a scanner from Germany that could produce colour film separations at a rapid rate. Jim Pitts and Jim Van Sickle gained control of the company in 1971, and continued to embrace technological change, purchasing the first fully-computerized scanner in Canada in 1972. Harold Pitts retired from Superior Engravers in 1976, but remained a director of the company. John Pitts, son of Jim and grandson of Herald, joined the company in 1979, becoming production manager then sales manager in the 1980s. In 1986, John Pitts bought Jim Van Sickles' shares of the company and became president. John's father, Jim Pitts, remained company chairman until his retirement in 1996. In the 1990s, Superior Engravers was renamed Superior Graphics Communications. In 1994, John Pitts eliminated his title as president, and the company became a partnership, known as Superior Interactive Communications. Circa 1998, the company was renamed Brickworks Communications Inc., and Peter Earle, a former Defasco executive, was named CEO. The company continues to provide advertising and marketing support, with an increased focus on corporate and interactive communications. John Pitts is the current owner and president of Brickworks Communications, located at 270 Sherman Avenue North in Hamilton, Ontario.

Captain James Sutherland (1805-1857), was born in Hoy, Orkney Islands, Scotland to a sea-faring family. He began his sailing career at the age of seventeen starting as a low-ranking mate and climbing the ladder to captain. He immigrated to Toronto, Canada in 1831 and sailed the steamboat Queenston, owned by John Hamilton. He married Margaret Robinson in 1833 and moved to a house on Hughson Street in Hamilton, Ontario. During his sailing career, Sutherland commanded some of the newest and most prestigious steamers to sail the Great Lakes such as the Traveller and the Niagara. By partnering with wealthy Hamilton investors, Sutherland who was of modest means, was able to co-own and command a fleet of steamships, including his most notable steamboat the Magnet. He retired from sailing in 1853 to work for the Great Western Railway Company. On March 12, 1857, Captain James Sutherland became the most notable Hamiltonian to lose his life in a train wreck on the Desjardins Canal Bridge.

Captain James Sutherland (1805-1857), was born in Hoy, Orkney Islands, Scotland to a sea-faring family. He began his sailing career at the age of seventeen starting as a low-ranking mate and climbing the ladder to captain. He immigrated to Toronto, Canada in 1831 and sailed the steamboat Queenston, owned by John Hamilton. He married Margaret Robinson in 1833 and moved to a house on Hughson Street in Hamilton, Ontario. During his sailing career, Sutherland commanded some of the newest and most prestigious steamers to sail the Great Lakes such as the Traveller and the Niagara. By partnering with wealthy Hamilton investors, Sutherland who was of modest means, was able to co-own and command a fleet of steamships, including his most notable steamboat the Magnet. He retired from sailing in 1853 to work for the Great Western Railway Company. On March 12, 1857, Captain James Sutherland became the most notable Hamiltonian to lose his life in a train wreck on the Desjardins Canal Bridge.