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Hold on to LaSalle, article from the Hamilton Spectator, April 13, 1962 EVERY SO OFTEN the proposal is heard that 55-acre LaSalle Park, on the north shore of the Bay, should be sold either to the town of Burlington or to private developers. As long ago as 1931 lamentations were heard that the motor car had made the park obsolete; distant fields looked greener to Hamiltonians, and the days were numbered for the ferry service which took thousands of people to the park when it was called Wabasso. Too true, of course; for years the park has been a virtual wasteland, a drain on the funds of the parks board in catering to a scanty patronage. We do not doubt that when Alderman Lawrence presents his report to the board on the cost of maintaining it since it was taken over by the city in 1915, the figures will be impressive on the deficit side. The white elephant has been spattered with red ink. But it could be that the pendulum is swinging in favor of retaining LaSalle as recreation insurance for the future. The planning emphasis both in Hamilton and in Burlington has been on the development of park lands, if not for active recreation purposes, then at least as a green belt buffer before the Bay and even the lake shores are lost as areas for public enjoyment. A few hundred thousands more people are expected to live in this growing metropolitan area by 1970; just how many hundreds of thousands depends on which expert is asked. When this occurs, LaSalle Park should be valuable for development not as a tawdry litter-laden "amusement" park, but as the site of good restaurants, even an outdoor theatre and other features of civilized community life not yet possible to forecast in detail. Whether LaSalle is owned by Hamilton or Burlington, or by both in a cooperative area administration, there should be a holding action until the pattern of the future for both city and town is known with more certainty.