Pointe-à-Callière is expanding
Pointe-à-Callière’s large-scale cultural project is under way in the heart of Old Montréal
Montréal, July 14, 2011 – To accommodate its annual attendance of over 400,000 visitors—over 100,000 of whom are young people—, Pointe-à-Callière must expand its facilities. With the confirmation of financial support from the Department of Culture, Communications and the Status of Women, and from the City of Montréal, which respectively contributed the amounts of $20 M and $2.2 M, Pointe-à-Callière has begun work on a large-scale cultural project in the heart of Old Montréal, with the goal of creating a world-class tourist attraction.
“Pointe-à-Callière is a leading cultural institution that allows us to better understand our history. This museum was built with all the know-how and creativity for which Montréal is known. By supporting its expansion, which respects the authenticity of the historic sites, we are reaffirming our leadership as a cultural metropolis. Upon completion of the project, Montrealers and visitors will be able to benefit from a museum that presents the past using avant-garde technology,” stated the Mayor of Montréal, Mr. Gérald Tremblay.
“I would like to thank the Government of Québec and the City of Montréal for their participation in this project, of which the Museum is so proud. The Museum’s annual attendance increases each year, and it is time for Pointe-à-Callière to grow and offer even more space in order to pursue its mission of fostering an appreciation of the Montréal of yesterday and today,” emphasized the Chair of Pointe-à-Callière’s board of directors, Sophie Brochu.
Renovating the Mariners House to make it accessible to the public
One of the main elements of Phase 1 of the expansion project is the refurbishment of the Mariners House. This building, in close proximity to the Museum, will undergo a renovation and will offer a number of additional spaces for its various clienteles:
• multifunctional spaces equipped with the latest audiovisual technology will allow for the presentation of temporary exhibitions, as well as cultural activities and educational workshops.
• an audiovisual room in which conferences, lectures, and film showings can take place.
• an Archaeospace for youth, which will help cultivate a keen interest in archaeology among young people. They will have the opportunity to embark on an adventure in which they can carry out simulated archaeological digs.
• showcasing of Montréal’s fortifications in the basement of the Mariners House.
• a gift shop offering exceptional products relating to the temporary exhibitions, as well as books and objects pertaining to Montréal history.
• meeting and event spaces accessible to the business community and the general public.
• dedicated spaces for the Pointe-à-Callière Foundation’s activities.
• and finally, the opening of a new underground tunnel linking the Mariners House to the archaeological crypt beneath Place Royale.
“The opening of the Mariners House to the public, scheduled to take place in 2012, is a significant step in the ongoing development of Pointe-à-Callière as a world-class archaeology and history complex. By enabling us to offer more services and additional spaces that meet the highest museological standards, this expansion will allow us to better serve our clientele—made up of Montrealers, tourists, families, and school groups—with more wide-ranging exhibitions and more diverse educational workshops,” added Francine Lelièvre, the Executive Director of Pointe-à-Callière, the Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History.
A brief history: the Mariners House
In 1862, The Mission to Seamen, a British sailors’ assistance network, founded the Montreal Sailors’ Institute. In 1875, the Institute settled into a building constructed in 1853, facing the Customs Square—present-day Place Royale. The Montreal Sailors’ Institute had a mission to serve merchant mariners stopping over in Montréal. Towards the end of the 1940s, the Institute had outgrown the old buildings, and the organization commissioned architect C.R. Titley to draw up plans for a new building. Hundreds of thousands of sailors passed through the new building where they had access to a number of services, starting in 1953. For 15 years, beginning in 1987, the space was run by Les Œuvres de la Maison du Père to house men in difficulty. The Pointe-à-Callière Foundation acquired the building in 2004.
A high calibre team of professionals
The consortium of Dan S. Hanganu Architects and Provencher Roy + Associates Architects have been given a mandate to design a project for the Mariners House that remains harmonious with the Éperon building. These same architectural firms carried out the initial Museum project, inaugurated in 1992. Pomerleau will act as general contractor for the project. The Quartier International de Montréal will be handling project management. Structural engineers Pasquin St-Jean & Associates and the consortium of mechanical engineers Caron Beaudoin and Associates / Bouthillette Parizeau are also part of the teams involved in the project.
Exploring the history of St. Ann’s Market and the Parliament of the United Province of Canada
Phase 1 of the Museum’s expansion project also consists of archaeological digs beneath the parking lot on Place D’Youville West, between McGill and Saint-Pierre streets. Exceptional remains of St. Ann’s Market and the Parliament of the United Province of Canada are buried here. The first permanent Parliament of the United Province of Canada was located in Montréal from 1844 to 1849, at St. Ann’s Market, where a number of key pieces of legislation relating to the creation of Canada were adopted, including the act establishing responsible government in 1848. In 1849, rioters, protesting against the passing of the Rebellion Bill to appropriate compensation for the losses suffered during the 1837-1838 Rebellions, burned the Parliament to the ground. The Parliament was then moved, alternating between Toronto and Québec City before settling in Ottawa in 1857. The Museum is carrying out the dig in order to document the site and check on the state of the remains, and to prepare a development program for this major historic site in Montréal. The archaeological excavations are being carried out by Ethnoscop Inc. and will extend until October 2011. The public can attend free presentations by interpreter-guides of Pointe-à-Callière and the Centre d'histoire de Montréal, at the dig site, from Tuesday to Sunday, until September 4, 2011.
You can read an article by Eric Major, documentalist at Pointe-à-Callière, on the history of St. Ann’s Market and the Parliament of the United Province of Canada.
2012: the Museum’s 20th Anniversary
The opening of the Mariners House to the public will be part of the celebrations highlighting Pointe-à-Callière’s 20th anniversary, in 2012. A broad program of activities and events will be presented, including an exceptional international exhibition on the Etruscans.
Phase 2 of the expansion project: towards an Archaeology and History Complex
Pointe-à-Callière’s expansion project as a whole will consist of the development of a 400-metre canalized length of the Little Saint-Pierre River, the remains of St. Ann’s Market and the Parliament of the United Province of Canada, and those of Fort Ville-Marie and Callière’s Residence, as well as the creation of a world-class exhibition room in the basement of the Canada Customs House.. This archaeology and history complex—the only patrimonial legacy of its kind—is slated for completion in 2017, on the occasion of the Museum’s 25th anniversary, the 375th anniversary of the founding of Montréal, and the 150th anniversary of Confederation. Complete details on the expansion project are available on the Museum’s website.
The Pointe-à-Callière Foundation is also launching a major fundraising campaign in the private sector and among the general public in order to support Pointe-à-Callière’s expansion project.
About Pointe-à-Callière
Pointe-à-Callière is the only major archaeology museum in all of Québec and Canada; its museum complex rises above a concentrated number of national historic and archaeological sites that illustrate large parts of the history of Montréal, Québec, and Canada. It opened in 1992, on the occasion of the 350th anniversary of the founding of Montréal. Pointe-à-Callière’s mission is to raise awareness and foster an appreciation of Montréal’s history, and to forge bonds with regional, national, and international networks concerned with archaeology, history, and urban issues.
The Museum is subsidized by the City of Montréal.
