|
Coaster Enthusiasts of Canada | |
|---|
Burlington
NO PART OF THE FOLLOWING
MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT
PERMISSION FROM THE AUTHOR ©
This began on a property called "Oaklands", which was a crown grant of 800 hectares to Lieutenant Alexander McDonnell in 1796. 360 hectares of this were sold to William Applegarth in 1809, whom farmed part and built homes on the rest. A pier was built around 1840 to accommodate travel to and from locations on Lake Ontario. The property in turn was bought by Charles Davidson in 1872. He built a gate house on Plains Road at the intersection of Howard Road as an entrance to the estate.
Next, the property went to John Fuller, whom built a large, 26-room house there. 1889, Thomas Townsend bought the property, of which it remained with the family until 1952. Townsend was a developer and engineer, having designed the Welland Canal's locks, gates & bridges, and rebuilding Desjardins Canal bridge after an accident. He also designed a custom rail car for Kind Edward VII for his 1860 cross-Canada trip when Edward was still Prince of Wales.
In 1915 (1312 from another source), neighbouring Hamilton's Parks Board of Management bought part of Oaklands for recreational purposes. They leased the area to Canada Steamship Lines whom were just getting into the amusement park business. They also bought Grimsby Park around this time. The company wished to run ferries to the area and having some attraction to which to travel, would bolster business.
Therefore, they invested 150,000 to upgrade the dock and park with athletic fields, a dance hall, picnic grove, and restaurant. A concrete bathhouse was erected to provide for swimming facilities. The large residence and entrance gate remained, and would stay until being torn down in 1956. Total area for the park exceeded 240 hectares. Amusement rides included a "Figure 8" roller coaster. (As this is a bit late for this model coaster, it may have been purchased used. No word yet on other amusement rides, but one source states there were a "variety of thrill rides".
In 1923, the park was renamed to honour Rene de La Salle, an explorer of the 1600s. He supposedly landed and camped there in 1669.
Researcher Jim Abbate of Chicago contributes that for 1936, the park advertised it had 4 rides, a penny arcade and pool.
There is no reference yet as to the middle years of this park, but likely competition from other area parks and possible loss of business during the depression caused La Salle to decline in the 1930s and close late in that decade or in the the 1940s.
Today, the dance pavilion is still there and the concrete-shell remains of the bathhouse may be explored, but it is essentially a nature park with a small beach.
Return to the
Closed Canadian Parks Index
Go to the
Coaster Enthusiasts of Canada
Main Page