Port Dalhousie is a community in St. Catharines,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. Known for its waterfront appeal, it is home to the

Royal Canadian Henley Regatta The Royal Canadian Henley Regatta started in 1880 as the first championship for the newly formed Canadian Amateur Rowing Association. History It changed venues often until 1903, when it was decided to hold it at St. Catharines Port Dalhousie's M ...

and is historically significant as the terminus for the first three (19th century) routes of the

Welland Canal The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Ontario, Canada, connecting Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. It forms a key section of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway. Traversing the Niagara Peninsula from Port Weller in St. Catharines t ...

, built in 1820, 1845 and 1889.

Activities

The city's most popular beach, on the shore of

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...

, is located in Port Dalhousie at historic Lakeside Park. Popular activities that take place at the beach are stand up paddle boarding, swimming, kayaking and beach volleyball. The park is home to the

Lakeside Park Carousel The Lakeside Park Carousel is a historic carousel located in Port Dalhousie, Ontario, Canada, a community in the city of St. Catharines. History The Lakeside Park Carousel was carved by Charles I.D. Looff between 1898 and 1905 in Brooklyn, New Yo ...

which was carved by

Charles I. D. Looff Charles I. D. Looff was a German master carver and builder of hand-carved carousels and amusement rides, who immigrated to the United States of America in 1870. Looff built the first carousel at Coney Island in 1876. During his lifetime, he bui ...

in 1905 and brought to St. Catharines in 1921. It continues to provide amusement for young and old alike, at just 5 cents a ride. The

, on Martindale Pond, has been happening for "almost 100 years".St.Catharines

Etymology

Port Dalhousie is named for

George Ramsay, 9th Earl of Dalhousie General George Ramsay, 9th Earl of Dalhousie, (23 October 1770 – 21 March 1838), styled Lord Ramsay until 1787, and Baron Dalhousie from 1815, was a Scottish soldier and colonial administrator. He was Governor of Nova Scotia from 1816 to 182 ...

Governor General of British North America A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...

. Dalhousie also gave his name to

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

, and to the town of

Dalhousie, New Brunswick Dalhousie ( ) is a formerly incorporated town, located in Restigouche County, New Brunswick. New Brunswick's northernmost point of land is situated in Dalhousie, where the Restigouche River meets Chaleur Bay. On 1 January 2023, Dalhousie merg ...

. Dalhousie pronounced his name 'dal-HOW-zee' during his time. All of his namesakes carry this pronunciation except Port Dalhousie, and Dalhousie Street in Brantford, Ontario, which are pronounced 'duh-LOO-zee'. It is said that this is a result of the accent of the Scottish sailors and shipbuilders who frequented the Port's establishments (Dalhousie, himself a Scot, used the more upper class English-sounding pronunciation).

Notable people

Neil Peart Neil Ellwood Peart OC (; September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020) was a Canadian-American musician, best known as the drummer and primary lyricist of the rock band Rush. Peart earned numerous awards for his musical performances, including an ...

, drummer and lyricist of the Canadian rock band Rush, reminisces about growing up in Port Dalhousie in his book '' Traveling Music: Playing Back the Soundtrack to My Life and Times'', as well as in his lyrics for Rush's song " Lakeside Park".

Paul Bernardo Paul Kenneth Bernardo (born August 27, 1964), also known as The Scarborough Rapist and The Schoolgirl Killer, is a Canadian serial killer and serial rapist. He is known for initially committing a series of rapes in Scarborough, Ontario, a sub ...

and

Karla Homolka Karla Leanne Homolka (born May 4, 1970), also known as Karla Leanne Teale, Leanne Teale, and Leanne Bordelais, is a Canadian serial killer who acted as an accomplice to her husband, Paul Bernardo, taking active part in the actual rapes and murde ...

, Canadian Serial Killers, briefly rented a home here before their incarceration.

Climate

Gallery

Image:Welland canal a030561.jpg, Aerial view, 1920 Image:Welland canal a030557.jpg, Aerial view, 1920 Image:Welland canal a030556.jpg, Aerial view, 1920 Image:Port Dalhousie.jpg, Port Dalhousie, 2018 File:Port Dalhousie Memorial.jpg, A memorial in the town to the local soldiers who died in the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and

Second World Wars World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, and in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

References

External links

{{Authority control Neighbourhoods in St. Catharines Populated places on Lake Ontario in Canada