Parc Belmont Park
(1923 - 1983)
Often
referred to as "Beautiful Belmont Park", it opened in 1923 as competition
to Dominion Park and was located in west Montreal on Rivoli Street. It had
water frontage on Riviere des Prairies (Prairies River), a split of The St.
Laurent (St. Lawrence) River.
Parc Belmont Park
Entrance Gate
1940's
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Here is the main entrance. It opens
into a covered area, which may be seen in the aerial photo, further on.
Note the "Zoot" promotion or event advertised just inside.
Park admission was 20 cents, with ride tickets at 10 cents.
The entrance was moved in the 1960's or 70's not far from this location
the park's southeast corner.
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A year
later, a "Cyclone" roller coaster was installed. Designed & built by Herb
Schmeck, H. F. Allen, and one of the Mitchell brothers, it lasted from 1924
to 1983. The ride was apparently known as The "Thriller" at some point. It
was built of coated British Columbia Douglas fir on concrete footers, with
steel cable reinforcement in high stress areas. The lift hill was 110 meters
long, 19 meters high, and utilized a 75-horsepower motor. The L-shaped layout
was 762 meters long with an 1143mm track gauge and three block-brake runs.
Each train sat 24 riders in 3, four-bench, non-trailered cars. Top speed was
likely around 65 km/h.
Also
installed in 1924 was a Philadelphia Toboggan Company carousel (#70). It lasted
until near the park's demise but was unfortunately sold in pieces to collectors.
Below are two carousel photos from Richard Concepcion of New York City.
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PTC Carousel
1977 or 78 |
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The carousel and its building.
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A closer look at one of the
horse carvings. |
The Pony Ride
1977 or 78
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Richard Concepcion
takes a pony ride. |
By the 1940's along with the "Cyclone" coaster andcarousel were 17 other
adult and kiddie rides (with some being run by Conklin & Garrett),
a walk-thru, a ballroom, shooting gallery, a photo gallery, a horse/pony
track, and hand writing analysis. The pony track wound around the roller
coaster structure, and was there at least until the late 1970's.
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There
were also 11 games including a "Hi Striker" and "Guess-Your-Weight" scales),
and a penny arcade. This was run by the E.G.& J. Knapp Amusement Company,
which ran arcade and ride concessions in many Canadian parks. Some of
this was housed in a building known as "Fun Plaza"
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This photo shows some of
the games concessions in the park.
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Fun Plaza
Circa 1950's |
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Laughing
Sal
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This is a re-creation of the laughing figure
which was outside one of the fun houses from at least the 1940's until
the park's closure.
Note the poster of the same at the right.
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The
park also had two fun houses, one of which had a laughing figure outside.
She was known as "Fou-Rire" in French. This translates to "insane, silly,
or mad laugh". Anglophones knew her as "Laughing Sal". The park owners
referred to her as The "Queen of Belmont Park". Sal's voice was provided
by Rose Ouellette. It's unsure when this went in, but it appears to be
the early 1970's. It had haunted-house theme.
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Also by the 1940's,
were five refreshment stands.
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One of the many food outlets in the park.
"Casse-Croute" translates to "break-crust" meaning to take a break and
eat a small amount of food.
In English, it's "Snack Bar".
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Casse-Croute
1977 or 78  |
A number of free acts
were also featured besides the ballroom orchestras. They were on entertainment
stages and a bandstand. Apparently some sort of movies were offered as additional
entertainment by concessionaire A. Demers. North of the dance area was a wharf
from which boat rides were offered. A bingo hall and arcade were also available
during the park's run.
Other
rides during the park's history were a "Tilt-A-Whirl", "Whip", Bumper Cars,
a Ferris Wheel, a Tumble Bug" (Traver), and an extensive kiddie area with
a second, smaller carousel. Also available was a bar or club which served
alcohol, but the years of operation are unknown.
The
park also had a "Wild Mouse" during its time. In 1957 Patty Conklin (of Canadian
National Exhibition fame) became the agent for Heinrich of Germany and brought
over a number of their "Wild Mouse" roller coasters. The first one was built
in 1956. Evidence from Victor Canfield of Hershey, Pennsylvania and confirmed
by Jim Conklin, shows that it was at the CNE for 1957 and then moved to Belmont
for the 1958 season. A Conklin "Billboard" magazine ad reports that at Belmont,
the ride grossed 52,031.50 for 16 Weeks in 1958 and $63,405.00 in 1959 - both
at 25 cents per ride. So it was a concession there for at least those two
seasons.
There
is no word how long it was there or if the park eventually bought the ride
from Conklin (as often happened when the concession agreement terminated),
but it appears that it lasted until 1983 when the park closed. Regardless,
it looks like Belmont Park had the first "Wild Mouse" ride brought into Canada,
although the Klaus or Mack version at Boblo Island likely opened before this
ride ran at The CNE.
Parc Belmont Park
1960's
 This off-season photo shows the
leaves turning. Visible are The "Cyclone" coaster (Center Left through
Upper Right), "Wild Mouse", and Carousel building, (left and right of
Center) and The "Tumble Bug" (Center Bottom). The park entrance is located
at Lower Left. Note its covered walkway leading to the midway. It would
be moved to the corner where the orange truck is shown by the 1970's.
The Bridge is Lachappel (The Chapel) and crosses Riviere des Prairies
into Laval.
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Another
Mack ride, that may have been purchased through Conklin, was a "Matterhorn".
Recent information states that this was a 1971 model and was in the park until
it closed in 1983. After that, it was bought by Campbell Amusements of Brantford,
Ontario for the carnival circuit. The ride was seen still functioning in Bridgewater,
Nova Scotia at The South Shore Exhibition during July of 2000.
Belmont Park Ticket
1975
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Changes
made in the late 1960's or 1970's were that the entrance was moved to the
southeast corner. Upon entering the park, there was a restaurant to the right.
It was placed in the rounded, bright-roofed building visible at the lower
left of the aerial photo, further back. Also added were a store, and the haunted
house, as previously mentioned.
Late
in the park's run there was a Chance "Toboggan" that was known under that
name and possibly as The "Bobsled" or "Lightning". No further information
has surfaced on this coaster yet.
The
park continued to operate after La Ronde opened in 1967, but it began to deteriorate.
There were a number of accidents and the quality of park staff dropped, leading
eventually to its closure. In 1980, the park auctioned its antique carousel,
which generally is an indicator of a park on its way down. Such sales typically
seem to occur within a few seasons of a park's demise.
There
were problems at La Ronde with the competition from Belmont. Lynda McCormick
of Beaconsfield, Quebec says: "There are still many questions being asked
about why the park closed, it never lacked for visitors. Although La Ronde
was already operating, many people still preferred Belmont for nostalgic reasons
and atmosphere. I know that the City of Montreal and the Quebec government
(La Ronde's owners) resented it and thought it was taking steam out of their
park, so had tried to shut it down since Expo '67 when La Ronde first opened.
There were accusations about illegal operations at the park in the end and
the police simply came in and shut it down. Many people were outraged and
saddened when it closed so suddenly."
"We
drove by it a number of times after it's closing and saw it fall to ruin and
vandalism. People weren't told about what was happening to the artifacts.
I know that the sign from out front was spotted in a secondhand shop within
the last couple of years downtown." Although the rides remained for a time
afterwards, Belmont closed October 13, 1983, never to reopen.
