Pointe-à-Callière Museum (, ) is a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

and history in

Old Montreal Old Montreal (, ) is a historic List of neighbourhoods in Montreal, neighbourhood within the List of municipalities in Quebec, municipality of Montreal in the province of Quebec, Canada. Home to the Old Port of Montreal, the neighbourhood is b ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. It was founded in 1992 as part of celebrations to mark Montreal's 350th birthday. The museum has collections of artifacts from the

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

of the Montreal region that illustrate how various cultures coexisted and interacted, and how the French and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

empires influenced the history of this territory over the years. The site of Pointe-à-Callière has been included in Montreal’s Birthplace National Historic Site since its designation in 1924. It receives more than 350,000 visitors a year. Nearly 4.5 million people have come to the museum since it opened in 1992. It has received more than fifty national and international

award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award may be d ...

s, including those in museography, architecture, and for cultural, educational and community activities. The museum is affiliated with: the

Canadian Museums Association The Canadian Museums Association (CMA; , ''AMC''), is a national non-profit organization for the promotion of museums in Canada. It represents Canadian museum professionals both within Canada and internationally. As with most trade associations ...

, the Canadian Heritage Information Network, and the Virtual Museum of Canada. The museum complex comprises three archaeological sites: Pointe-à-Callière, Place Royale and 214 Place d'Youville; the archaeological field school at Fort Ville-Marie; Montreal's first Catholic cemetery; the William collector sewer; an archaeological

crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...

: Place Royale; a

heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset A heritage asset is an item which has value because of its contribution to a nation's society, knowledge and/or culture. Such items are usually physical assets, but some countries also ...

building: the former Youville Pumping Station; 165-169 Place d’Youville, the Mariners House; and archaeological collections of over a million objects. The site of Pointe-à-Callière Museum main building site was once occupied by the Royal Insurance Building, which was also Montreal’s second Customs House from 1871 to 1917.

History

The Pointe-à-Callière, Montréal Archaeology and History Complex opened in 1992. The original plan had been to open up the William collector sewer and the remains of St. Anne's Market and the Parliament of the United Province of Canada. Recent archaeological digs brought to light the remains of Fort Ville-Marie and of Governor Louis-Hector de Callière’s home, which are planned for display in a future expansion to expose the Little Saint-Pierre River canalized by the William sewer, and the archaeological remains of St. Anne's Market, home to the Parliament of the United Province of Canada between 1844 and 1849. Visitors will be led to a new exhibition hall, with its entrance on McGill Street, for future international exhibitions on ancient civilizations and their cultures. In 1996 the museum held its first travelling exhibition, ''Water In, Waste Out'', presented at the Musée de la civilisation (

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

) and the Musée et sites archéologiques Saint-Romain-en-Gal ( Vienne, France). In 1997, at the ''Art and Archaeology'' exhibition twenty Montreal high school students were able to exhibit their works at the Musée et sites archéologiques Saint-Romain-en-Gal. ''1690: The Siege of Québec... The Story of a Sunken Ship'' has travelled to different locations in Quebec and internationally since 2000. ''France / New France. Birth of a French People in North America'', which has already been presented in the

Maritimes The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of ...

, toured internationally. The museum also has an exhibition on underground Montreal as part of a cultural route in the underground pedestrian corridors of the Quartier international de Montréal.

Museum complex

The Pointe-à-Callière stands above several historic and archaeological sites of national significance, showcasing major periods in the history of Montreal. Some of the archaeological remains exposed during construction of the building has been left ''in situ'' as part of the museum's permanent display on the history of the city. The museum was constructed on pilings to preserve existing finds undisturbed and protected. The main entrance of the museum rises above the point of land where Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve,

Jeanne Mance Jeanne Mance (; November 12, 1606 – June 18, 1673) was a French nurse and settler of New France. She arrived in New France two years after the Ursuline nuns came to Quebec. Among the founders of Montreal in 1642, she established its first hos ...

and other French settlers landed in 1642."Pointe-à-Callière and Place Royale", ''Vieux Montreal'', City of Montréal
/ref>

Complex components

* L'Éperon building * Old Custom House - built in 1836

Exhibits

The museum displays archaeological remains from every period in the city's past, and the sites it protects have produced one of the largest archaeological collections in Canada. The museum's staff specialize in

research Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

, conservation,

outreach Outreach is the activity of providing services to any population that might not otherwise have access to those services. A key component of outreach is that the group providing it is not stationary, but mobile; in other words, it involves meetin ...

activities and managing archaeology and history. In partnership with

universities A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

, it conducts research on the city's archaeology and history, and its ethnohistorical collections include artifacts and

document A document is a writing, written, drawing, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of nonfiction, non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin ', which denotes ...

s donated locally. The museum also displays exhibits on the city's built and industrial heritage. Permanent exhibitions include ''1701 - The Great Peace of Montréal'', ''Archaeo-Adventure'', ''Building Montréal'', ''Crossroads Montréal'', ''Memory Collector'', ''Pirates or privateers?'', ''Where Montréal Began'', and ''Yours Truly, Montréal multimedia show''. Along with its permanent

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibiti ...

s, since it opened the museum has presented more than thirty temporary exhibitions on themes relating to local and international archaeology, history and heritage, culture and artistic creativity, and

multiculturalism Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''Pluralism (political theory), ethnic'' or cultura ...

. Education and outreach programs and cultural activities are available for school groups and the general public on other aspects of archaeology and history. The museum also hosts musical

performance A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Performance has evolved glo ...

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

and demonstrations, including

lecture A lecture (from ) is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical information, history, background, theo ...

debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse, discussion, and oral addresses on a particular topic or collection of topics, often with a moderator and an audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for opposing viewpoints. Historica ...

s and participation in Montreal, Quebec, cross-Canada and international events. The museum works with Native and cultural communities. For ceremonies commemorating the 300th anniversary of the 1701 Great Peace of Montreal in 2001, the museum’s main partners were aboriginal groups from

, the rest of

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Temporary exhibitions

;2014-2015 *The Greeks: Agamemnon to Alexander the Great ;2014 *Marco Polo: an epic Journey ;2013-2014 *Lives and Times of the Plateau *The Beatles in Montréal"Beatles in Montréal 1964 – Exhibition at Pointe-à-Callière Museum", Suites Culturelles, August 5, 2013
/ref> ;2013 *The Tea Road ;2012-2013 *Samurai: The Prestigious Collection of Richard Béliveau ;2012 *The Etruscans: An Ancient Italian Civilization ;2011-2012 *Colors of India ;2011 *To Your Health, Cesar! Wine with the Gauls ;2010-2011 *St.Catherine Street makes the Headlines ;2010 *Easter Island: An Epic Voyage *100 years underground *Discovering legends with Jean-Claude Dupont ;2009-2010 *Pirates, Privateers and Freebooters;2008-2009 *Costa-Rica: Land of wonders! ;2008 *''France, New France: birth of a French people in North America' ;2007-2008 *''1837•1837, Rebellions, Patriotes vs Loyalists'' ;2007 *''First Nations, French Royal Collections'' ;2006-2007 *''St. Lawrence Iroquoians, Corn People'' ;2006 *''Japan'' ;2005-2006 *''Jules Verne, Writing the Sea'' ;2005 *''Encounters in Roman Gaul'' ;2004-2005 *''Old Montréal in a New Light'' ;2004 *''Oceania'' ;2003-2004 *''Dreams and Realities Along the Lachine Canal'' ;2003 *''Archaeology and the Bible – From King David to the Dead Sea Scrolls'' ;2002-2003 *''Varna – World's First Gold, Ancient Secrets'' *A Collection from the Varna Museum, Bulgaria ;2002 *''Saint-Laurent, Montréal's "Main”'' ;2001–2002 *''Mysteries of the Moche of Peru'' ;2001 *''1701 – The Great Peace of Montréal'' ;2000–2001 *''Africa Musica!'' *Exploring a Collection from the Museo Pigorini ;2000 *''1690: The Siege of Québec... The Story of a Sunken Ship'' ;1999–2000 *''Treasures from the South of Italy — Basilicata, Land of Light'' ;1999 *''Montréal, by Bridge and Crossing'' ;1998–1999 *''Art and Archaeology: Young Artists from Lyon at the Museum'' *''Treasures from the Ukrainian Steppes'' ;1998 *''The Ravages of Time: Restoring Heritage Objects from France'' *''Crucifixion: Unique Archaeological Evidence from Jerusalem'' ;1997–1998 *''Bannock, Baguette, Bagel – Montréal Bread'' ;1997 *''Abitibiwinni, 6,000 Years of History'' *''Art and Archaeology'' ;1996–1997 *''Ancient Cyprus: 8,000 Years of Civilization'' ;1996 *''Dream Merchants. The Emergence of Cinema in Quebec'' *''Water In, Waste Out. The History of Aqueducts, Water Mains and Sewers in Montréal'' ;1995–1996 *''Window Stories'' ;1995 *''The Port as Seen by

Pierre Bourgault Pierre Bourgault (January 23, 1934 – June 16, 2003) was a politician and essayist, as well as an actor and journalist, from Quebec, Canada. He is most famous as a public speaker who advocated sovereignty for Quebec from Canada. Biography ...

, Gilles Vigneault and Helmut Lipsky'' ;1994–1995 *''Bones and Bottles — Fragments of History''

References

External links

*
Pointe-à-Callière Museum
within

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pointe-A-Calliere Museum Archaeological museums in Canada History museums in Quebec History of Montreal Museums in Montreal Old Montreal Postmodern architecture in Canada