Lakeside Park pavilion named after Rush musician Neil Peart
Rush drummer and lyricist Neil Peart is being honoured with the naming of a pavilion in Port Dalhousie.
St. Catharines city council made the name Neil Peart Pavilion at Lakeside Park official earlier this month in a unanimous vote following public engagement earlier this year.
More than 81 per cent of residents who voted online chose Neil Peart Pavilion over the name Lakeside Park Pavilion.
“The public voting on naming is obviously fairly conclusive,” said Port Dalhousie Coun. Bruce Williamson. “Neil Peart’s been one of our most famous local individuals and a lot of his songs have local roots, including the namesake park.”
Peart grew up in St. Catharines and went to elementary and high school in the city. He worked at the former midway in Port Dalhousie’s Lakeside Park in the summer and wrote the Rush song “Lakeside Park.”
He is a member of the Order of Canada and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Rush members Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson in 2013.
Peart died Jan. 7 at age 67 after a battle with brain cancer.
On Jan. 27, council asked staff to begin the process of naming the pavilion — which had no name previously — and to consider Neil Peart as a potential name.
The $1.8-million pavilion was constructed in Lakeside Park in 2017, replacing an older structure.
Residents were asked to submit their ideas for pavilion names in February. City staff said a significant number of the submissions received over two weeks included Peart or Rush in the name.
The submissions were reviewed by city staff and narrowed down to two finalists in April — Neil Peart Pavilion and Lakeside Park Pavilion. Residents were then asked to vote for their favourite.
Of 746 votes, 606 people were in favour of Neil Peart Pavilion and 140 voted for Lakeside Park Pavilion.
In its report to council Wednesday, staff quoted from Peart’s song “Lakeside Park.”
“Staff recommend that the Neil Peart Pavilion is a fitting name to complement the history of Lakeside Park’s ‘willows in the breeze; Lakeside Park’s so many memories with laughing rides, midway lights and shining stars on summer nights.’”
Council voted to add “at Lakeside Park” to the name Neil Peart Pavilion to identify the setting because it is the name of his famous song.
Mayor Walter Sendzik said the building will say Neil Peart Pavilion but the way it is marketed for tourism or shared in the community will be as the
Neil Peart Pavilion at Lakeside Park.
Peart’s name was on a St. Catharines Heritage Advisory Committee list of significant local individuals whose contributions to the city are worthy of formal recognition. The list has 62 names of living and deceased residents from wide-ranging backgrounds who could be honoured in future projects.
City staff will work with the Peart family and the city’s heritage committee on interpretive signage at the pavilion to reflect the memory of Peart’s career.
A Neil Peart commemorative task force was also struck by the city in April to look at other ideas for honouring Peart with a statue or other memorial.