Three Museums Unite to Preserve and Celebrate St Lawrence Boulevard’s Unique Heritage
Montreal, April 26, 2005 — The Centre d’histoire de Montréal, the Écomusée du fier monde and the McCord Museum are proud to announce their collaboration with the Société de développement du boulevard Saint-Laurent to help preserve the heritage of Montreal’s St Lawrence Boulevard.
The Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada designated the artery a historic corridor for immigration, business and culture in 1996. This is the first time that this status has been awarded to a street in Quebec. The year 2005 marks the 100th anniversary of this boulevard, making this a key time to reflect upon the street’s unique history and to work to assure its future.
The current partnership project is part of the Société’s larger effort to emphasize the importance of the street commonly known as “the Main.” The three museums will propose and develop common strategies to highlight and preserve its heritage.
Reflecting
on the Past, Looking Towards the Future
The
principle goal of the four partners is to establish concrete
initiatives to conserve the material heritage and record the
intangible legacy of St Lawrence Boulevard as it was
experienced by business owners, residents and visitors. As the
pursues
its mission, the museums will contribute through their
professional expertise to the preservation of an important
part of Montreal’s heritage.
The partnership’s first outreach project will take place in the community this spring. A meeting will be held between the Société, the three museums and business owners to identify significant sources of historic information (archives, photographs, objects, personal memoirs, written and oral histories, etc.). The research and interviews collected from this process will be used to document the evolution of the street, its businesses and its heritage. This information will in turn help to establish the strategies for future action. Each museum will be responsible for different aspects of this shared project.
St Lawrence Boulevard is an integral part of Montreal’s history and is dear to the heart of its residents. The Centre d’histoire de Montréal, (a museum of the City of Montreal), the Écomusée du fier monde and the McCord Museum are honoured to participate in this project.
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Source and information:
Jean-François
Leclerc
Centre d’histoire de Montréal
Tel.: (514) 872-3207
jfleclerc@ville.montreal.qc.ca
René
Binette
Écomusée du fier monde
Tel.: (514) 528-8444
Ecomusee@globetrotter.net
Nike
Langevin
McCord
Museum
Tel.: (514) 398-7100, ext. 251
nike.langevin@mccord.mcgill.ca
The McCord wishes to acknowledge the support of the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec and the Conseil des arts de Montréal.