Centennial Hall

Listed in the Grand répertoire du patrimoine bâti de Montréal

Marked in the May 2001 Inventaire patrimonial de la Ville de Beaconsfield as **

City Plaque in front of the building to commemorate J.-L. Perron

Preserve Centennial Hall.  Set the example to the Beaconsfield citizens for the preservation of heritage houses, link to our history

•1906-1940: J.-L. Perron, first Beaconsfield Mayor
•1940-1953: Léo Dandurand, Manager-Treasurer of the Montréal Canadiens
•1953-1964: Marian Hall, Good Shepherd Sisters
•1965-1968: Beaconsfield City Hall
•1968 up to present: Centennial Hall

Former SPOI Plaque which was in front of the park:

In 1699, the Sulpicians, Seigniors of the Island of Montreal, granted several properties on a parcel of land referred to as Terrier 136 to Jean Charlebois dit Jolly. This grant included farms 18 and 19, parts of which were destined to become, respectively, Centennial Hall and Memorial Park.

Early records reveal that during the XVIII and XIX centuries, landowners included Jacques Denis dit St. Denis (1731), Jean Cerat (1781), Jean-Baptiste Denis, Israël Roy and Michel Legros (1851). To this list were added, at later dates, the names of Charles Barbeau, Veuve Joseph St. Denis, G. Duclos and Tancrède Barbeau.

At the turn of the XXth century, Farm 18 was purchased by Joseph Leonide Perron, (1873-1930) K.C. M.L.C., who was from 1910 to 1916, the first mayor of Beaconsfield. In keeping with its rural past, this property with its own vineyard was turned into a model farm where horses and other domestic animals were raised. It was on this site, circa 1906, that Perron built his summer residence. After Perron's death in 1930, the house was rented to the Archambault family. 

Léo Dandurand, treasurer-manager of the Montreal Canadiens Hockey Club, purchased a portion of the property in 1940 (6 acres of Farm 18), only to see the house damaged extensively by fire a few weeks later. The following year, the building was rebuilt in its present form: a near replica of J.L. Perron's original design and named Dan Acres.

In 1945, the City of Beaconsfield bought the adjoining land to the east (Part of Farm 19) from the Perron Estate for $5000.00. In honour of the soldiers who lost their lives in World War II, this property was named MEMORIAL PARK.

In 1953, Dandurand's Dan Acres was sold to the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. The building became a youth protection school for girls named Marian Hall.

On January 12, 1965, the City of Beaconsfield purchased this latter property for $190,000 to accommodate both its Administrative and Technical Services. In 1968, when a new City Hall was built at 303 Beaconsfield Blvd, the building was renamed Centennial Hall to commemorate Canada's Centennial Year - 1967, and designated a Cultural Centre.

Past Events at Centennial Park

2010 Olympic Flame Stopover