The Changing Port

The Changing Port. . , New development came to the port in the late 1950s as a result of the development of the St. Lawrence Seaway. The Department of Public Works built a new 120-metre pier here in 1952, and new navigation lights were installed. The pier was the first step in plans to expand Port Credit's harbour. In 1955, over three hectares of land was reclaimed from Lake Ontario through landfill, which provided land for a new warehouse and dry-dock. Part of this land reclamation became J.J. Plaus Park., Over the next few years other improvements and expansions were made, including a new 588-metre dock and a 700-metre break wall in 1958. In 1962, the existing dock was extended, and dredging was undertaken to deepen the harbour to make it equivalent to the draft through the Welland Canal., Also in 1962 additional navigation lights were installed. The four active navigational markers in Port Credit are still observed by recreational boaters at Credit Village Marina, and as one historian wrote, "these hard-working guardians go almost unnoticed today, but they are the true descendants of the 1884 lighthouse.", The new dock facilities at Port Credit were ready by mid-1959, coinciding with the official opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway., A harbour improvement plan was initiated in 1961, which included plans to build a 150,000 square-foot warehouse and combined office building, with an additional 17,000 square-foot open dock facility. The development was completed in 1963. Canada Steamship Lines came to Port Credit in 1963, with the official opening of the CSL terminal taking place on March 18, 1963. CSL left Port Credit in 1972, and in 1973 the harbour received a major overhaul for use as a recreational marina facility., Some of the large lake freighters from Canada Steamship Lines that called Port Credit their home port for a time included the Cedarglen, Frontenac, Niagara, Tadoussac and Glenelg., J.J. Plaus Park is named in honour of John Joseph Plaus (1911-1966), who served on Port Credit Town Council from 1959 until 1966. He was Deputy Reeve in 1965 and Reeve in 1966, and was seen as a popular and progressive politician and community builder. The park was officially opened on September 12, 1971.