QUEBEC

Trois-Rivieres

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Bellevue Park
(1926 - 1926)

    This park was founded by H.F. Blackwell in 1925. He had also started Luna Park in Hull and was involved with Belmont Park as either a part owner or at least a concessionaire. He first approached the Trois Rivieres city council about establishing a permanent park to be open three months a year in concert with the city's annual one-week exhibition that had been running, save for some gaps, since 1896. Theirs was the third largest after the ones at Valleyfield and Quebec City. About 50,000 people attended during fair week each year.

    Blackwell's proposal was to include a carousel, Penny Arcade, a Roller Skating Rink, "Skooter" Building, Shooting Gallery, Swings, and other concessions. He would pay for all operating expenses and give the city 15% of the park's gross. He wanted a minimum five-year lease with options for further usage and for bolstering the rides during the exhibition. Up till that time, American carnival operators had provided the fair's midway.

    The city declined, so for 1926, Blackwell rented about 4 hectares of space a short distance down the road from the Exhibition Grounds and put in rides and structures at a cost of $50,000. He advertised in two of the three local newspapers and the park opened Saturday, June 5th. Three of the rides were "Aeroplane Swings" (likely a Traver "Circle Swing"), a carousel, and a Mangels "Whip". Also included was a free movie theatre with an orchestra and a dance pavilion. For the weeks starting June 27 and ending July 22, the latter was a roller skating rink.

    10,000 people attend on opening day and the Sunday. This did not sit well with the council or the catholic church, which had great power at the time. Local law forbade amusements to be open on Sundays, plus that Sunday was La Fete-Dieu, a catholic celebration. Le "Bien Public", a catholic newspaper published its first article against the park the very next day and continued to do so.

    The park went on. Fireworks were featured on Dominion Day (now Canada Day), and the park regularly had a brass band, vaudeville acts and opera singers. Amateur competitions were run for dancing, singing, and musicians. Some of the acts were Paul Valty, "Wildfire" (a horse dancing the charleston), and Claudie with her horse "Snow Kist".

    Presumably, the anti-park articles began having an effect on business, because on June 16th, Blackwell placed an advertisement in one of the city's newspapers. It pleaded his case in that the park provided moral entertainment, and it invited parents to come to the park to see that it was a wholesome place for their children and adults.

    The backlash against the park may have had another, more detrimental effect. The park moved to an area outside of the city limits to a location near the St. Lawrence River. Was it forced by public outcry, or was the land lease revoked? The official park press release stated that it was for better streetcar access. It seems to have taken the first two weeks of August to make this move.

    The new location did not work out and the park lasted only the one, broken season. The demise of this park may have been a factor in the closing of Luna Park two years later if Blackwell over extended himself to open Bellevue and to then pay to move the park.

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    Bellevue was the only permanent amusement park Trois Rivieres ever had, despite tries again in the 1930s, 1960s, and 2004. There was also a previous attempt in 1919. These seemed to all go with the idea of transforming the already-existing exhibition grounds.

    Interestingly, only two years after Bellevue closed, the city council reversed itself and tried to have the exhibition open on Sunday for the 1928, and then the 1929 fair. It was defeated.

    The fair grounds still continued to be the main focal point of outdoor amusements in the city, though, so new facilitues were built in 1938 and 39. These included a new stadium, a swimming pool and an exhibits building. They never got to be used because during World War II the facilities were taken over by the military. Some German prisoners of war were held there, as well, in both the fairground buildings and in new ones constructed by the prisoners.

    For 1940, the military offered to allow the fair to run. However, governmental funding for such events had been diverted to the war effort and the city itself was unable to run the fair. It did resume after the war and runs today. The 100th edition was celebrated in 2006.

    Midways had been imported from The United States until the 1950s. Except for a few years, midways would then always be Canadian ones. Conklin Shows were there from 1946 to 1960. Today, it's Beauce Carnaval. The baseball stadium is going strong with many junior and senior teams calling it home over the years. In 2004, the Canadian Junior Baseball Championship was held there.

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