James Street North runs from Gore Park up to the harbour and is the spine of Hamilton's arts district. Over the past two decades it has transformed from a struggling commercial street into one of the most concentrated runs of independent galleries, studios, and music venues in southern Ontario, anchored by the monthly Art Crawl on the second Friday of each month.
Notable venues include the Hamilton Artists Inc. gallery, the Mulberry Coffeehouse, the Pearl Company, and the Westdale-revived live music room at Mills Hardware. The street also has a strong Portuguese community heritage, with bakeries, sports clubs, and the Iglesia Portuguesa parish church. The Supercrawl street festival in early September draws 200,000 people over a weekend.