Famously sung about by the band Rush, Lakeside Park is located in Port Dalhousie, a community of St. Catharines Ontario, Canada. The park offers visitors more than 450 m of beach, picnic areas, a playground, beach volleyball courts and a carousel ¹⁵. This park has been around for many years offering locals and tourists beautiful views as well as a look at the area's history. An important piece of that history is the Lakeside Park Carousel. Originally carved between 1898 and 1905 in Brooklyn NY, the carousel was brought to St. Catharines in 1921 and still today, costs only 5 cents to ride¹⁴. Although Lakeside park is known for its family friendly atmosphere, this waterfront area was also incredibly important for ships travelling between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. For almost a century, the first, second and third versions of the Welland Canal passed by Lakeside Park. The Welland Canal originally began in Port Dalhousie and allowed ships to travel between the Great Lakes without having to portage around the Niagara Falls¹⁸. Being located on Lake Ontario however brings many challenges to the area. As of mid-August 2019, the Lakeside Park Beach as well as other park features including the carousel reopened after experiencing severe flooding for nearly the entire summer season²⁸. Another issue that has been ongoing since 2004 is the controversial development of a large condo/hotel complex that goes against the historical site regulations of the area¹².

This report will discuss the landscape and main features of Lakeside Park as well as how humans interact with and have affected the area.

Municipality: Port Dalhousie, St. Catharines

Local area name: Lakeside Park

Latitude and longitude: 43.2009° N, -79.2676° W

Elevation:

Beach = 73m above sea level

Park = 78 m above sea level

"One of the best kept secrets of the Niagara Peninsula," historic Lakeside Park and the village of Port Dalhousie are a must see¹⁹. On a clear day, the waterfront views from Lakeside Park allow for gorgeous sunsets, a view of Niagara on the Lake to the east, and views of the City of Toronto to the north¹⁹.

Lakeside Park has been around since 1902 when the land was reclaimed from existing marshland and remnants of the First Welland Canal by the Niagara, St. Catharines, Toronto Railway corporation²⁰. In 2017, the city of St. Catharines and the Town of Port Dalhousie had a celebration to mark the completion of a huge, three-year-long project that saw a $2.5 million investment to revitalize the waterfront of Lakeside Park²⁹. Multiple levels of government and private investors contributed to the project which focused on park accessibility²⁹. Accessible washrooms, a playground, beach sun shelter, and beach accessibility mats were all added²⁹. The Lakeside Park Carousel has been ranked #1 of 45 things to do in St. Catharines on Trip Advisor¹⁶. It has been described as quaint and authentic, and referred to as an important piece of history¹⁶.

The park is located in Port Dalhousie, a community of St. Catharines Ontario, the largest city in the Niagara region. Lakeside Park Beach sits at an elevation of 73m above sea level, and the highest point of the park sits at 78m above sea level²⁵. The perimeter of the park is approximately 1 km around with an area of approximately 4.8 ha (12 acres)²⁵. Similar to the rest of Southern Ontario, the weather at Lakeside Park is warmer during the summer with fewer days of precipitation, and colder during the winter. Average weather conditions for the area are¹⁷:

• Warmest Month: July (high 27°/low 17.6°)
• Coldest Month: January (high -0.2°/low -6.6°)
• Most Rain: September (average 95.4mm)
• Least Rain: January (average 26.7mm)
• Least Snow: July – October (average 0mm)
• Most Snow: January (average 338mm)

Port Dalhousie

In 1796, Captain Peter Tenbroeck received over 800 acres of Crown land, upon which which Port Dalhousie was eventually built²². When the first Welland Canal was completed in 1829, it brought many families into the area, settling around the Twelve Mile Creek lakefront entrance²². The settlement was called Dalhousie as early as 1826, named after the Earl of Dalhousie who was governor-general of Canada from 1820-1828²². In 1862 a bylaw was passed to designate the settlement as a village²². In 1877 the first school house was built, sewers were installed in 1920, and waterworks systems were installed on 3 main streets (Lock St., Front St., and Main St.) in 1922²². In 1923 Lock St and Main St. were the first in Port Dalhousie to receive concrete pavements²². Today, Port Dalhousie has a harbour and boat dock, a brewery, and many shops and restaurants.

Lakeside Park

The land that is now Lakeside Park was reclaimed from marshland in 1902 by the Niagara, St Catharines, Toronto Railway corporation²⁰. The marshland that was filled in to create Lakeside Park which was the original entrance to the First Welland Canal²⁰. Port Dalhousie had been the entrance point from Lake Ontario for the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd Welland Canals²¹. The creation and use of this major transportation system played a role in making Lakeside Park the summer hot spot it once was. In the early 1900's more than 250,000 people annually crossed the lake by steamship to visit Port Dalhousie and Lakeside Park⁶. The Niagara, St. Catharines and Toronto Navigation Company built streetcar tracks across the beach to the pier with the intention of getting more people to use their rail lines⁶. Lakeside Park became a hub where travellers transferred from the ship to the streetcar and rail line⁶. One of the rail line routes ran from Niagara Falls to St. Catharines, with a stop in Lakeside Park so anyone coming to the park by steamship would have the opportunity to travel to other destinations in what is now the Niagara Region. To support the increase in visitors to the area, many facilities and activities were built at the park including the historic Lakeside Park Carousel. As the area continued to become more popular, visitors started building cottages which lead to streets being formed and city systems being developed. Port Dalhousie was a summer hot spot and resort destination that had a waterslide, picnic facilities and a Midway Amusement Park with 58 attractions¹⁴.

The historic Lakeside Park Carousel was hand carved in Brooklyn, New York between 1898 and 1905¹⁴. The carousel was relocated to St. Catharines in 1921 from its original home in Scarborough (now part of the City of Toronto)¹⁴. The carousel holds 68 hand carved animals; lions, camels, goats, giraffes, 4 chariots, and horses with tails made from real horse hair¹⁴. It is one of 350 antique hand carved carousels still operating in North America, nine of which are located in Canada¹⁴. The lion on the carousel is one of five existing Looff Lions in North America, and the only one with its head turned outwards looking towards spectators¹⁴. The carousel today is fully functioning and still costs only 5 cents to ride¹⁴. Charles I.D. Looff, a master wood carver and famous carousel builder, completed more than 45 carousels during his lifetime, including the Lakeside Park Carousel³. He began carving carousels by hand, and completed his first one in 1876, which was the first carousel on Coney Island³. Looff continued to build carousels by hand, eventually opening a factory and hiring his own staff³. He is known for many famous carousels as well as for designing and building the Santa Monica Pier in 1916 with his son Arthur³.

From 1924 into the 1980's, the first Thursday in August as many as 8000 people could be expected to attend the "Big Picnic" at Lakeside Park⁹. In the 1820's, slaves fled to Canada from the United States following the Underground Railroad²⁶. After following Niagara's Freedom Trail and the Underground Railroad, St. Catharines was the final terminus for hundreds of people seeking freedom²⁶. Lakeside Park had been the site of an annual picnic where thousands gathered for an Emancipation Day celebration²⁶.

Ecology, Geomorphology and Hydrology

In Ontario, the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) classifies ecological areas by their bedrock, climate, physiography and vegetation to create an Ecological Land Classification (ELC) system. The ELC has 3 levels of classification⁸:

• Ecozones are used for nationally and provincially analysing topics such as climate, demographics and watersheds
• Ecoregions are used for determining the significance or status of certain natural features as well as reporting and studying natural disturbance regimes
• Ecodistricts are used to assess levels of biodiversity, define seed zones, map ecosystem types and to create identification targets for natural heritage systems

Lakeside park is part of the Mixedwood Plains Ecozone, the Lake Erie-Lake Ontario Ecoregion 7E, and the 7-E3 Ecodistrict⁸. Despite major agricultural and urban development in the area, the plant and animal populations of this region are considered to be some of the most diverse in Canada⁸. There are mixed forests with both deciduous and coniferous trees, as well as many wildlife species such as white-tailed deer, red foxes, coyotes, raccoons, striped skunks, and the gray squirrel⁸. There are numerous species of birds including the red tailed hawk, black capped chickadee, yellow warbler and the wood thrush⁸.

The Great Lakes Waterfront Trail stretches over 3000 km connecting 140 communities and First Nations Lands¹⁰. The trail runs along the shores of the Great Lakes, the largest bodies of fresh water in the world¹⁰. "Regarded as the first step towards a regenerated waterfront, the trail has served as a catalyst for improvements in many of the communities it joins"¹⁰. The Great Lakes Waterfront Trail consists of both on-road and off-road sections and can be used for short strolls in your local community to multi-day adventures¹⁰.

Lakeside Park beach is one of over 100 beaches around Lake Ontario¹³. Lake Ontario is the 14^th largest lake in the world, the deepest of the 5 Great Lakes, and it provides drinking water to 9 million people in Ontario, Canada and New York State, USA¹³. Due to the effect of humans on the lakes ecosystems, 10 species of fish have gone extinct and at least 15 exotic species have been introduced in the last 200 years¹³. Currently, the greatest threats to the lake are urban development, sewage, storm water pollution and electricity generation¹³.

To ensure the safety of visitors, the Niagara Region Public Health Department monitors recreational water quality and Lakeside Park Beach weekly from Victoria Day Weekend to Labour Day Weekend²⁴. The water is sampled for E. coli bacteria which can cause infections and other health problems²⁴. The health department will issue beach advisories if the samples exceed the guidelines from Canada's Guidelines for Canadian Recreational Water Quality²⁴. The bacteria in the droppings from geese, ducks and gulls also has an impact on the water quality¹. Cleaning up garbage, not leaving food in the park and not feeding the birds can help to reduce this effect¹. If we as visitors want areas like Lakeside Park to continue to be available, we need to do our part to make that happen.

A major challenge to the park - like many other locations across Canada - is flooding, especially during the summer months. Lakeside Park beach and the Lakeside Park Carousel were closed to visitors from May to mid August 2019 due to flooding and record high water levels for the area¹¹. The city of St. Catharines wants the federal government to contribute to the cost of increasing the height of Port Dalhousie piers². This isn't the first time that the piers have been submerged, affecting the park and surrounding areas. Lake Ontario experienced high water levels twice between 2017 and 2019, and it is suggested that there could be future damage caused by flooding if post-2019 improvements did not include increasing the height of the piers².

Since 2004 there have been debates over a controversial development in the historic village of Port Dalhousie¹². The building has been denied, redesigned and re-managed multiple times since 2004. In 2012, Port Mansion, which was once a theater and popular restaurant was demolished⁴. The building was removed for the development which was still under review in 2019, and had not yet been approved. There were ongoing issues due to appeals being filed with the Ontario Municipal Board about the development application⁵. Parking and traffic are major concerns because of the limited public transit options⁵. Local residents are also concerned that the character of the area will be lost⁵. A building that has been approved is a 14 storey terraced building with 220 apartments⁵ slated for the old industrial Lincoln Fabrics building which remained in operation until 2017⁴. It is intended that the old buildings in the area be renovated and re-used in a new ways to preserve the area's historic integrity, instead of having them decay or be demolished⁵.

Increasing the population in Port Dalhousie could have both positive and negative effects on the village and associated local areas such as Lakeside Park. Public transit and transportation could be an issue with a large increase in people and cars. The construction of the building may also have a negative impact on the surrounding areas such as Lakeside Park, Lake Ontario and Martindale Pond. An increased in people also means an increase in waste production and consumption of resources in that area. A positive effect, however, could be an improved local economy. Residents would be spending money at local shops and restaurants as well bringing in friends and family which increases the tourism in the area. With more tourists there is potential for grants and funding to further develop, improve and protect the area.

St. Catharines and the surrounding areas have seen significant changes over the years. Industrial and manufacturing job losses have had a major impact on the economy. The City developed a plan called The Inspire St. Catharines: Culture Plan 2020⁷. The City has made substantial multi-million dollar investments in recent years in an effort to support the arts and help drive the economy through cultural initiatives⁷. The St. Catharines Performing Arts Centre, the Meridian Centre are some key examples. One of the priorities in the plan refers to further developing the planning and coordination of assets and services that are related to the area's heritage and historical importance, specifically referencing the preservation of historic sites, including the Lakeside Park Carousel⁷. It would be beneficial to see this plan impacting the development plans of Port Dalhousie, moving development forward in a way that gets public and private sector working together to preserve and re-use areas like Lakeside Park.

I chose to write about Lakeside Park because of the personal connection I have to the area. I grew up in Burlington Ontario, about a 45 minute drive from St. Catharines. My dad was born and raised in that city, and my grandparents resided there for most of their lives. My grandma was born in Slovakia and travelled to North America with her family when she was very young. They docked at Ellis Island in New York and from there had the option to travel south to the United States or north to Canada. Still today my grandma is living in the Niagara region.

My grandpa used to tell me stories about visiting Lakeside Park as a kid, swimming across the Welland Canal, and using the rail line and street cars as his primary mode of transportation. My dad also told me stories about going to Lakeside Park as a kid and hanging out with his friends at the Midway Amusement park. My sister and I were also able to experience the park as kids. We would have family picnics at the park and my sister and I would ride on the carousel and try to climb the trees. Today I still enjoy visiting the park and going to Port Dalhousie to experience the different shops and restaurants.

1 Lakeport Road, St. Catharines, Ontario

City of St Catharines: PO Box 3012, 50 Church St. St Catharines ON L2R 7C2

Telephone: 905-688-5600

Fax: 905-682-3631

Email: info@stcatharines.ca

City Hall: Monday-Friday, 8:30am-4:30pm

Lakeside Park: Daily from dawn to dusk

Lakeside Park Carousel: 11am-8pm daily

Website: https://www.stcatharines.ca/en/Contacts.asp

¹Beach Conditions. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.stcatharines.ca/en/livein/BeachConditions.asp

²Benner, A. (July 2019). St. Catharines wants height of Port Dalhousie piers increased – and the feds to pay for it.

St. Catharines Standard. Retrieved from

https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca

³Charles I.D. Looff Biography and Looff Carousels. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.historyofcarousels.com/carousel-history/charles-i-d-looff/

⁴CHCH. (June, 2019). Port Dalhousie waterfront going under revival. CHCH News. Retrieved from

https://www.chch.com

⁵Cheevers, M. (December, 2017). Port Dalhousie development discussion makes stage debut. Niagara This Week.

Retrieved from

https://www.niagarathisweek.com

⁶Closed Canadian Parks. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://cec.chebucto.org/ClosPark/Lakeside.html

⁷Culture Plan 2020. (n.d.). Inspire St. Catharines. The City of St. Catharines.

⁸Introduction to Ecological Land Classification Systems. (n.d). Retrieved from

https://www.ontario.ca/page/introduction-ecological-land-classification-systems#section-0

⁹Emancipation Day Picnic. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.stcatharines.ca/en/experiencein/TheUndergroundRailroad.asp

¹⁰Great Lakes Waterfront Trail. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://waterfronttrail.org/the-trail/

¹¹Heslop, B. (n.d.). St. Catharines set to reopen Port Dalhousie's Lakeside Park and beach after severe flooding.

NewsTalk610. Retrieved from

https://www.iheartradio.ca/610cktb

¹²Ko, T. (2018, August 7). More Problems for a controversial waterfront development in Port Dalhousie. CHCH Home Page

News Story. Retrieved from

https://www.chch.com

¹³Lake Ontario Water Keeper. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.waterkeeper.ca/lake-ontario

¹⁴Lakeside Park Carousel. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.stcatharines.ca/en/experiencein/LakesideParkCarousel.asp

¹⁵Lakeside Park. (n.d.) Retrieved from

https://www.stcatharines.ca/en/index.asp

¹⁶Lakeside Park Carousel. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g155013-d2234337-Reviews-Lakeside_Park_Carousel-St_Catharines_Ontario.html

¹⁷Monthly weather forecast and climate Port Dalhousie, Canada. (n.d). Retrieved from

https://www.weather-ca.com/en/canada/port-dalhousie-climate#rainfall

¹⁸Niagara's Welland Canal. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.niagarawellandcanal.com/

¹⁹Port Dalhousie Beach Sunsets. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://brocku.niagaragreenbelt.com/listings/76-parks-gardens-a-conservation-areas/878-port-dalhousie-beach-sunsets.html

²⁰Port Dalhousie Commercial Core Plan and Harbour Area Heritage Conservation District Plan. (2017). Retrieved from

https://www.stcatharines.ca/en/governin/resources/HCD-Plan---Port-Dalhousie---Dec-21-17.pdf

²¹Port Dalhousie Harbour. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.stcatharines.ca/en/experiencein/PortDalhousieHarbour.asp

²²RG 39 Port Dalhousie Municipal Records collection, 1863-1940, 1943, n.d., Brock University Archives, Brock University.

²³RG 75-11 Welland Canals Foundation Fonds, 1971-1990, n.d., Brock University Archives, Brock University.

²⁴Swim Guide Lakeside Park Port Dalhousie. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.theswimguide.org/beach/53?set_language=en

²⁵Topographic Maps Ontario. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://en-ca.topographic-map.com/maps/pm1x/Ontario/

²⁶The Underground Railroad. (n.d). Retrieved from

https://www.stcatharines.ca/en/experiencein/TheUndergroundRailroad.asp

²⁷Walter, K. (February 2019). Rankin to the Rescue: Purchase Union Waterfront property in Port Dalhousie. The St. Catharines

Standard. Retrieved from

https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca

²⁸Vize, S. (2019, August 16). Beach at Lakeside Park reopens after severe flooding. CHCH Local News. Retrieved from

https://www.chch.com

²⁹Zettle, M. (August, 2017). Lakeside Park restored as 'Jewel of our Waterfront.' Niagara This Week. Retrieved from

https://www.niagarathisweek.com

This Local Landscape Report was prepared by Megan Bush for the Brock University course TMGT 2P94: Human Dominated Ecosystems on November 7th, 2019.

All copyrights for cited material rest with the original copyright owners.