This week in 1948, Trail City Council designated Victoria Park as the preferred location for a new arena complex.
Located between the Nurses’ Residence and the Columbia River along Victoria Street in downtown Trail, the park was owned by the CM&S (now Teck Trail) and played host to many a ball game in its day.
The decision followed an eventual land swap proposed by general manager Ralph Diamond in April that year, which saw the company absorb the old cemetery site in Tadanac in exchange for the downtown property.
CM&S imposed only one restriction on the arrangement: the land had to be used for recreation purposes.
Public sentiment around that specific caveat was mixed.
Most folks recognized a new ice arena was necessary, as the old Fruit Fair Building was not adequate enough for the growing population or interest in ice sports.
But the park’s locale, so close to the river and a possible second river crossing, could lead to unsafe conditions.
Other contingents were worried about semantics; recreation was synonymous with sport. A new library and other cultural amenities were also needed.
The Trail Recreational Projects Society, led by many community “movers and shakers,” were in strong support of the location.
This organization was lobbying and fundraising for numerous facilities in Greater Trail, including a new swimming facility for Gyro Park.
Faced with pressure to get moving, council approved the site, but not unanimously.
Arguments for Butler Park were loud, as many felt Victoria Park was better used by youth.
A vote of 5 – 2 saw the company’s proposal accepted on July 8, 1948, three months after it was formally submitted.
In the middle of it all hit the 1948 flood, the incorporation of Columbia Park (Sunningdale) into city limits and with it a new low-income housing project, many civic infrastructure upgrades, and the sudden, untimely death of Mayor J.E. Bryan at the age of 48.
It was a demanding (and expensive) year.
Not to be deterred, the Trail Memorial Centre officially opened on Nov. 29, 1949, not quite a year and a half later.
It would eventually support many other amenities (library, YMCA, senior’s centre, bands, dance, and the museum). This legendary facility is now in its 75th year.
The flood brought with it one silver lining, though: Gyro Park proved much too low to support a new swimming facility.
The C.H. Wright Pool would open in 1961 at the south end of Butler Park, where the Trail Aquatic and Leisure Centre sits now.
