A History of Port Dalhousie
MIDWAY BEACH PICNICS

Down at the Park "Frolic and Fun for Old and Young "

The Park has existed since 1902 and operations for commercial purposes have continued since 1921. The park was originally owned and operated by the Canadian National Railway Company, in association with the Canadian National Steamship Company. In order to transport passengers from Toronto to the newly developed park, the SS DALHOUSIE CITY, with a capacity of 1050 passengers, was purchased. A second vessel, the SS NORTHUMBERLAND, built overseas, was added to the fleet in 1920. The steamships ran regularly throughout the months of May, June, July and August, and this service ceased each year after Labour Day.

By 1926, the park offered picnic table accmodations for 2000 people, and an excellent restaurant which offered the finest dishes of seafoods to be found in Canada at that time, (the restaurant also provided all the bakery goods and meals for the organized picnics which came to the park in subsequent years). A midway was constructed offering many games of chance and a dance hall was built. The bathing houses were remodelled, and floodlights erected along the water front to supply lighting for swimming and strolling. In the early 1920's the dance hall became popular, the people were dance crazy, and the hall was always filled with "Flappers"

Approximately one-quarter of a million people annually visited the park. In 1950 the Park was sold to Mr. Sid Brookson. He operated it as a private concern up until 1970.

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The beach increased in popularity when, in 1901, The Niagara, St. Catharines, and Toronto Navigation Company (NS&T - owned by The Niagara, St.Catharines & Toronto Railway) ran tracks across the beach to an existing pier. The park prospered through the first two decades of the 20th century with many company and church picnics providing business. However, after CNR took over in 1920, the park really began to take off.

An amusing incident occurred when a young couple after coming to live in Canada from Ireland, went to the park to swim and were shocked in discovering people clad in old-fashioned swim suits, complete with frills and bows. They quickly ran for a bath house to change out of their scant European costumes with the police at their heels. It was also noted that the time, people walked around with bundles of newspapers under their arms. This was for modesty's sake when you changed in the car.

The key to enjoying, one of Lakeside Park's favourite beach attractions, the old water slide, was making sure it was wet before sliding down. Many a youngster had to be treated for burns to the posterior because they couldn't wait to use the slide, anchored off the beach each summer. It was the first task of the day for the lifeguard to pour several buckets of water down the slide. After that it was the dripping water from the bathers that was supposed to keep it wet.

The slide was completed in 1921 by a contractor named Tomlinson from plans supplied by the Bridge & Building Department of the Niagara, St. Catharines and Toronto Railway. It was 24 feet in height and even had wheels on it so it could be pulled up on the beach for the winter.

Percy Blair, an area farmer, was charged with the task of pulling the slide into the water in the spring. He did it with a team of huge Belgian horses, judging the proper distance when the water came up to the horses' heads.

The slide was a big feature of the beach until it was dismantled in 1950, after it was found to be unsafe, due to deterioration of the wooden structure.

Inside the Bath House (1958)

RELIEVED DEPRESSION
During the Depression, the churches continued to be the best supporters of the park. This may be due to the industries which were crippled by the effects of the Depression. Many people were unemployed, and recreation at the owner's expense was not favoured in the light of the pressures upon executives and administration. The churches had small amounts of cash on hand, due to the nature of the financing of their operations. In addition, it seems that many parents made extra efforts to hide the Depression from their children.

At the beginning of the Second World War, there was a decline in the total number of visitors. Industry was informed by the Federal Government that recreation was a vital item in wartime. Studies showed that production could be maintained at a higher level if an employee had some recreation with his family at some organized time during the year.

After 1944, the park was used mainly for the picnics of industrial solicitations; due to the fact that persons would not go on the church picnic to the park, while they often went on an industrial picnic where everything was paid for. Also, private automobile ownership was increasing at that time. People would drive to the park rather than take a train or boat.

Cars lined up in the dusty, crowded parking lot

The pollution of the canal waters was beginning to be of some concern, and individuals began to change their recreation habits. The steamships, the Dalhousie City and the Northumberland were now over 25 years old and their novelty was beginning to wear off. Finally in 1949, the Northumberland burned as the result of a careless cigarette, and the Dalhousie City was sold because of lack of customers.

Lakeside Park was originally operated as a joint concern between the Canada National Railway and the Nagara, St.Catharines and Toronto Railway. In 1921 the N.S.& T. Railway became the sole ovmer of the amusement park.

Streetcars at Lakeside Park in the 1940's

Softball game underway at the baseball diamond with the coverd stand in the background in 1940. Bleachers were added later along the third line side. (CN photo)

The N.S.& T. Railway purchased a Carousel, second hand about 1915-1920 from Hanlan's Point/Scarborough Beach in Toronto. It occupied a building on the beach when it first came to the park in 1921.

During this period the "NORTHUMBERLAND" and the "DALHOUSIE CITY "' stearners traversed the Lake to "bring thousands of visitors to one of the most popular beaches on all of the Great Lakes. Approximately one-quarter of a million people annually visited the park.

The Carousel (Merry-Go-Round) was the favourite attraction of the many amusement rides available to the visitors and was only one of a complex of 58 buildings which once filled the park. The animals are all hand carved and the original Artizan organ is dated 1867.

1950 the Park was sold to Mr. Sid Brookson. He operated it as a private concern up until 1970.

The scene is the stage at Lakeside Park, but the date is unknown. The event is believed to be a beautiful child contest in the late '20's or early '30's and the man in the picture is the late Bert Gadsby, who was the advertising manger of The Standard in those days. Obviously a large crowd turned out on a summer day to see the event.

EMANCIPATION DAY

By the 1920's Port Dalhousie began hosting the annual Emancipation Day picnic celebrations on the first Thursday of every August at Lakeside Park. People came from all over to attend: Toronto, Hamilton, Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Rochester, Utica and everywhere in between. There are even accounts of people traveling north from the southern States of Virginia and Tennessee to participate in the "Big Picnic."

The persistent dedication and hard work of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), led by President Marcus Garvey, helped make the Lakeside Park picnics in Port Dalhousie a huge success every year. This organization was devoted to abolishing the barriers of racism by creating solidarity and instilling pride within the black community for their remarkable achievements.

Lakeside Park became a popular destination in Niagara for many reasons. Its location on Lake Ontario made it easily accessible to visitors crossing the lake from Toronto and Hamilton in large steam ships like the Dalhousie City and the Northumberland. The park also served as an excellent halfway point between the large cities of Toronto and Buffalo and it was an excellent location for hosting a large picnic. There were amusement rides, restaurants, vending stands, locker rooms, a rowboat concession and a dance pavilion among other amenities in the park. And it is estimated that in a good year the turnout for the picnic drew somewhere in the range of 6000 to 8000 people per day.

In 1951 the UNIA stopped hosting the annual picnic and throughout the 1950's the celebrations at Lakeside Park drastically declined in popularity. Although the picnics continued until the early 1970's they resembled more a family reunion rather then the extravagant Emancipation Day celebrations they once were.

Barbecuing at the corner of Lock and Main

Emancipation Day in 1946

High water flooding at the Park in June 1947

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Passengers arriving at the park on the Dalhousie City

Streetcars arriving at the park.

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