QUEBEC
Lachine
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LaSalle is a large public park which at one time had amusements. Similar to Mountain Park. there was an exciting Toboggan run. It was very high with about 4 or 5 runs, was made of wood and had stairs going up the side to get to the top. It had several dips and was iced every winter. It sloped down just north of some concrete kiddie wading pools. In the summer, the park had several such wading pools, complete with fountains, but they were closed during the Polio scare in the late 50's. Parents were reluctant to allow their children to go to a park with water during that era and the pools were eventually filled in.
The Toboggan track was also eventually closed in the early 1960's. The cause was apparently too many accidents coming off the run. The dips could really make one fly, so if the bottom run-out was iced too much, then one ran the risk of smacking into a tree from too high a velocity. As well, the stairs up to the top were of wood construction and became very slippery, so there were some accidents there over the years, too.
LaSalle Park also had a couple of outdoor hockey rinks (in winter), tennis courts, baseball diamonds and grandstands (which are still there), a bandstand (which also still exists), playground equipment, swimming pools, and a duck pond with a windmill. The park exists today as a nature park.
| Thanks to Lynda McCormick of Beaconsfield, Quebec for suggesting this park and supplying information.) |
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