E is for “Exhibition Grounds”
By Phyllis Knox
This blog is part of a very special series created and written by Phyllis Knox, “Alphabetic Musings”, whereby she chooses a word starting with a particular letter from the alphabet and injects it with her storytelling magic.
In the late 1930’s, The Exhibition Grounds and its buildings (Le Terrain de l’Exposition de Trois-Rivieres) were constructed for the enjoyment of the population of Three Rivers and the entire St. Maurice Valley. Now, some 90 years later, the venue is still as vibrant as it has ever been. Its many buildings are painted white and are of the Art Deco style. Their beautifully-windowed facades have withstood the passage of time and still stand proudly in our midst.
First before I get started, I would like to mention a book that I read online, called “War Chronicles 1939-1945 Three Rivers Regiment (Tank)” by Charles Prieur. To read or download it, you can find it here. The author writes about a home-grown group of men and ‘boys’ who participated in many of the War World II battles in Europe. There are many mentions of our city and of the Exhibition Grounds throughout the 314-page book. Both prisoners of war and regular army troops worked and lived within the Grounds for a time. The illustrations and pictures are filled with information about the role of our soldiers and their temporary wartime dwellings, and make for a “must-read adventure.”
From our downtown core on Rue des Forges, you need only drive or walk north for about a mile and a half to a welcoming arch called Les Portes Pacifique-Duplessis named after Pacifique Du Plessis (1584-1619), a lay brother of the Récollet order who was the among the first French settlers in our region. He taught both the “French” and “Indian” children (to use the language of the day) in the Catholic schools, and was the first French missionary to die in Canada. Continuing through this archway, you enter the Exhibition Grounds (Le terrain de l’Exposition). As you go up to the hill and look to your right, you will see the swimming pool with its two outstanding structures beckoning you with two open arms.
As a child, I could walk from my house on Fortin Street to spend every open-hour of every day of summer in its ice-cold waters. In the 1950`s and early 1960`s, the rules were somewhat different from those of today. Just as most schools of the Quebec School Boards were `segregated` so were the pools. So, that meant that my little brother swam on his side of a wooden fence while, my sisters and I swam together on our side. (He could have drowned and we wouldn’t have known…) We ranged in age from 6 to 10 at that time. Today, those regulations are no longer enforced and whole families now fill the huge area surrounding the pool. Once we had learned to swim well enough to get ourselves to the `island` in the centre of the pool, we were able to mix with the opposite sex… an incentive for us to take those swimming courses! Over the years, there have been motor boat and water-skiing contests held during the summer fairs as well as triathlons where athletes swim in the pool, run, and cycle on the surrounding streets! As the years have passed, the city has been able to use the pool as a major venue for a multitude of activities.
Neither rain nor shine, nor thunder nor lightning, nor freezing cold nor extreme heat kept us away from the “Coteau” pool! The entrance fee was 10 cents, so our parents thought we (always) needed the fresh air and the exercise, if you know what I mean, EH? There was a boys’ entrance and also a boys’ changing room on the West side and the girls’ facilities on the East side of the pool. Many changes have been made over the years to add to the enjoyment of the pool, whenever the needs of the population have warranted them.
Les Portes Pacifique (top left). Piscine de l’exposition de Trois-Rivieres or La Piscine du 3ieme Coteau, once the biggest outdoor pool in Canada, a marvel of construction and engineering.
Only a few meters away stands the baseball stadium (Le Stade de Baseball de Trois-Rivieres) – a marvel in its style and beauty. Semi-professional teams have come and gone through the years, but its singular attraction has not wavered: people LOVE going to baseball games and the bleachers are filled with happy fans. Once in a while, the circus comes to town and may pitch its tents on the field... another unique atmosphere that just cannot be compared with anything else!
Maybe a hundred feet away, the next building in the series is a centre which houses animals during the farmers’ fairs over the summer months. This building is called the Agriculture Building (La Bâtisse de l’agriculture de Trois-Rivieres). Many dog shows as well as horse and cow judging contests still take place these many years later. One need only walk a few more feet to the Hockey Arena (l’Arena Claude-Mongrain...Le Colisée de Trois-Rivieres)
The arena is a marvelous building of remarkable beauty which has won many awards as one of Canada’s most outstanding-looking hockey rinks. As a child, we kids skated around the rink on most Saturday mornings during the wintertime. When I say “around”, I literally mean around and around and around until the whistle was blown (or we got sick to our stomachs) when everybody stopped, turned around and started skating in the opposite direction...around and around and around we skated until the final whistle signaled that it was time to STOP and go home, which we did. We had gotten our exercise for the day, EH!
Left to right: Le Stade de Baseball de Trois-Rivieres, La Bâtisse de l’agriculture de Trois-Rivieres, Colisée arena
Next to the rink stands the Industrial Building. A multi-purpose building (La Bâtisse industrielle) for shows of all kinds. Most recently, it became the much-needed and much-used venue for administering the Covid-19 vaccination. Words cannot say how grateful our population is to the workers and the volunteers who made it possible for most of us to survive such a horrific time in all our lives. One could never have imagined what an important a role that building would one day play in our lives!
Across the street (now called Boulevard Gilles Villeneuve) stood a dozen or so small buildings; they were probably about 30 feet wide by 20 feet in depth and were used in a variety of ways during the fair which was usually, and still is, held in mid-August. Each of the buildings was a little different one from the other. but they were also all built in the Art Deco style as they formed a cluster with all the surrounding buildings. Sadly, for whatever reason, all of those cute edifices were demolished around 2000 so as to widen the horse track which stood and still stands in that location directly behind them.
The horse races at the Hippodrome (l’Hippodrome de Trois-Rivieres) were, for many decades, a major event throughout all of the summer months. The stables stood at the north end of the Grounds. People were free to roam around and to `visit’ the magnificent Equines. There were quarters where the jockeys and the horse caregivers lived; we would usually stop and pat the horses on our way to and from the pool...how much fun was that!
La Bâtisse industrielle (top left), original Art Deco homes on now Boulevard Gilles Villeneuve before demolition (top right), l’Hippodrome de Trois-Rivieres (bottom)
Today, the Equidae are all gone and a car-race track has taken over the land where they once lived! The Grand Prix winds its way through the Grounds and into the city streets. Many thousands of people come to our city every September to enjoy the 10-day-long event.
The building where fans once gathered to watch horse racing is now used as a casino. It is open year-long and has become a place to enjoy good (?!) buffet food and to try your luck at the slot machines. This building is adjacent to Boulevard des Forges, so you need only drive or walk through the archway and back the mile and a half to the city centre.
The memories surrounding the past seven decades which I have witnessed and enjoyed on the Fair Grounds could fill many pages which I will spare you and this blog (…for now, EH!)
Phyllis
