The Pointe-à-Callière Foundation launches its very first fundraising campaign

For immediate release

The campaign will support the work of the Pointe-à-Callière Foundation and the Museum’s plans, by helping to leverage the development of the Montréal Archaeology and History Complex. The objective of this initiative is to preserve the last major historic sites in Old Montréal and make them accessible to visitors. At present, the Museum welcomes some 400,000 visitors every year, including about 100,000 young people. Once the Complex is completed, over half a million visitors will be able to learn more about our city’s past as they stand on the very spot where Maisonneuve and Jeanne-Mance founded Montréal.

“Pointe-à-Callière has been a part of Old Montréal, proposing top-quality educational and cultural activities, since 1992. The Museum gives us a better understanding and appreciation of our past, by helping us to see the present more clearly and prepare for the future. The amounts raised thanks to the Foundation’s major campaign will go to developing educational projects and preserving heritage objects, artifacts and archaeological remains in addition to contributing to presenting large-scale exhibitions in Montréal. All this is part of a unique project: the Montréal Archaeology and History Complex,” say the Campaign Co-Chairs.

When it opened in 1992, the Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History played a large part in revitalizing an entire sector of Old Montréal. Now, just over twenty years later, Pointe-à-Callière is pleased to continue in this direction by contributing to enhancing the distinctive character of this district that embodies Montréal’s history and memories. “For many years now, the Trustees of the Foundation and of the Museum have been working, in collaboration with the management and employees of Pointe-à-Callière, to develop and showcase all kinds of wonderful projects. Whether it is through rehabilitating historic sites or creating new educational programs that make for a more vibrant urban environment, the presence of Pointe-à-Callière definitely brings more energy to this neighbourhood,” notes Russell Goodman, Chair of the Board of the Foundation.

The Montréal Archaeology and History Complex
The Montréal Archaeology and History Complex is the most important of all the Museum’s development initiatives. This project will see the remains of Fort Ville-Marie (1642) and Callière's residence (1695), along with St. Ann's Market (1832), which became the first permanent Parliament of the United Province of Canada (1844), preserved and added to the five existing buildings comprising the Museum. They will all be linked underground by the canalized river that became the William collector sewer (1832), over a distance of 375 m, and on the surface by urban gardens. A large space for temporary exhibitions may be added to the complex, and other sites could also be linked up. If this project comes to fruition, the Complex will offer a truly fascinating experience in the heart of Montréal's past.

About the Pointe-à-Callière Foundation
The Pointe-à-Callière Foundation, created in 1993, supports the development of the Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History. Right from the start, it has contributed to all the Museum’s major projects, including safeguarding the archaeological remains of Montréal’s birthplace, renewing multimedia shows, presenting large international exhibitions, creating the Archaeological Field School, rehabilitating the Youville Pumping Station and acquiring and rehabilitating the Mariners' House. The major campaign entitled Building on the Past, with a goal of $10 million, is the first major fundraising campaign launched by the Pointe-à-Callière Foundation.

About Pointe-à-Callière
Pointe-à-Callière, the only major archaeology museum in Quebec and all of Canada, opened in 1992 to mark the 350th anniversary of Montréal’s founding. It is a museum complex rising above a concentrated number of national historic and archaeological sites that illustrate the history of Montréal, Quebec and the rest of Canada. The Museum’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.

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