De Lorimier Driving Park et parc Baldwin (1901-1907)
Une piste de course de chevaux est aménagée en 1901 entre les rues Fullum et Chapleau, près de l’avenue du Mont-Royal. Quand le Delorimier Driving Park déménage un peu plus au nord six ans plus tard, la ville de Montréal transforme le site en parc. En 1909, le Parc Baldwin est créé, en hommage à Robert Baldwin, co-premier-ministre du Canada-Uni avec Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine.
L’autrice Caroline Dawson nous avait confié une série de textes pour nous faire revivre cette époque.
Ses textes ont été calligraphiés sur l’asphalte de l’avenue du Mont-Royal par Romain Boz et resteront visibles pendant tout l’été 2023 sur l’avenue rendue piétonne.
Il y avait beaucoup d’hommes
du peuple bien mis
dans les gradins. Malgré leurs
efforts, ce n’était pas
très propre, ça ne sentait pas
très bon; sans doute
les vents de l’Ouest.
Selon les statistiques,
les probabilités, leur goût
du risque, ils misaient sur
les chevaux, comme ceux
d’aujourd’hui le font
à la bourse;
Je faisais la file
derrière eux, pariant
tout mon petit change
sur le petit dernier,
qu’il s’appelle Équinoxe,
Hurricane Run ou Roquépine.
– Papa, est-ce qu’ils
sont heureux
ces chevaux?
– Si j’étais un cheval,
je pense bien que
j’aimerais courir et
avoir des encouragements.
– Pas toi?
Je ne sais pas.
Juste au cas, à l’hippodrome,
quand je regardais filer
les trotteurs en arbalète,
je criais toujours pour
les chevaux, jamais
pour les jockeys.
© 2023, SHP Myriam Wojcik et Gabriel Deschambault,
© 2023, textes Caroline Dawson,
Pour en savoir plus
- plaque historique, Parc Baldwin
- Index, des 30 lieux de l’avenue du Mont-Royal
Le parc Baldwin dans les années 54
Un bon endroit pour du necking vers 21h
Bons souvenirs
Octave Taillon, originaire de Saint-Thérèse, était l’arrière-grand-père de ma conjointe, fut commerçant et habitait dans les années 1880 tout juste en face de l’église Immaculée-Conception. Selon des membres de la famille, il faisait courir des chevaux au parc Baldwin
L’histoire nous raconte qu’il n’y avait pas juste Bblue Bonnets et Richelieu il y en avait d’autres
My father’s family moved on Chapleau facing the park in 1930. Scottish and Irish origin with 8 children, joining the St.Dominic’s parish community. His father, my grandfather Pop, got a job to plant trees in Baldwin park. Those with shovels could line up for the job. Baldwin park was our family playground: 6 siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles for decades. 1963 my family moved to Parthenais street, facing EMCM, my dad would speak of the days of the race track and sitting on the hill with friends, near the train track, watching the animals come in to be slaughtered. I am lucky to remember Baldwin park and DeLormier park when a »Jack of all trades » park attendant cared for the park, chalet, playing fields and rinks on foot. The chalet provided shelter, toilets, first aid a telephone and even popsicles! Parks were impeccable playing gardens. 1969 Jean Drapeau transferred 50 neighbourhood park attendants to the Expo site, eventually closing the chalets. park maintenance was transferred to »flypatrols » a team of workers for a section of parks equipped with a pick-up truck. Without reserved parking in the street, workers eventually started driving into parks over sidewalks by the newly invented »wheelchair accessibility ramps » (1970). 1986 parks and public works merged, park maintenance was handed over to public works:: trade specialists each equipped with a specialised motorised vehicle and heavy machinery, unfortunately without responsibility for the public. At the same time, corner wheelchair ramps were modified: 2 ramps on each corner were swapped for a single one on the corner apex, corners cut round and ramped. Each park corner became an entrance and exit ramp: park maintenance workers began to drive diagonally through with heavy machinery: snowblowers, dump trucks, cherry pickers, cars…. Today every pathway of Baldwin park is used as a road for workers with maintenance vehicles. Our burough won a prize in the category »accessibility universel » for the closing of Marianne street and Terrasse Mercure. Both of these pathways remain roads, and temporary parking lots for park maintenance workers and event suppliers motorised cars, trucks and heavy machinery. 1930 my grandfather had to own a shovel to plant a tree. Recently in Baldwin park, to successfuly plant trees it takes, plenty of workers, 4 heavy machinery vehicles and a supervisor with their car circulating and parking in the park for each tree while daycares are playing in the playground and children going to school. Today the Marianne street pathway is destroyed by the traffic of heavy machinery motorised vehicles necessary for park maintenance? With Luc Ferrandez and the Ombudsman of Montreal I was successful to protect all pathways in parks considered pedestrian only, installed reserved parking for maintenance vehicles, in the street ,for workers and reduced the speed limit in a park from 20km/hr to 10km/hr. Currently many of the bollards have been destroyed, reserved parking, in the street, reserved for maintenance-motorised vehicles exchanged for bicycle rack parking (Fullum-Marianne). Workers freely drive through and park in the entrance to the playground. For at least a decade, following the Ombudsman request, garbage cans were supposed to be placed street side to reduce traffic in the park. I am fortunate to remember Baldwin park in it’s glory! Please bring back human scale park maintenance. Vision Zéro in free play Nature play space!
Il m’est difficile d’imaginer, que ce parc Baldwin si calme aujourd’hui, fut un lieu de divertissemment trés animé de la Belle Êpoque.