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Deniz
BARKÝ-BEVAN
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Between the rounds of work and home, and given the usual endless To Do List of Life, it can be easy to fall into daily routines and to let pass events or exhibitions we might otherwise be interested in. Part of our goal for our 'new adventures' has been for my mother and I not only to attempt new experiences, but to discover more about our city. Montreal has all sorts of nooks and crannies, such as underground rivers or, until recently, a stable in the Griffintown neighbourhood. Yet some of its treasures are hidden in plain sight, so to speak. One such location is the Chateau Ramezay Museum, and we took an afternoon off work to visit it for the first time. Situated directly across from City Hall, the museum is the former home of Claude de Ramezay, Governor of Montréal in the early 1700s, whose gardens extended all the way down to the St Lawrence River.
The current
temporary exhibition at the museum highlights the changes in the
city that came about through recurring epidemics, especially in
the city's water supply and delivery systems. Overall, the
Chateau Ramezay is an ideal place to visit to relearn some of the
layers of history - the people and events - that have contributed
to Montreal's growth over the years. Turns out a new experience
sometimes involves exploring old ones!
Old Articles
by Deniz B. Bevan: |
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Not
knowing anything about the museum beforehand, we expected a rather
dry and dusty couple of rooms, and were pleasantly surprised to
find a lively space of exciting - and interactive - exhibits. From
native artifacts to paintings of Montreal in the 18th Century, and
even a 100 year old automobile with the first license plate issued
in Quebec (a bold Q1 painted in gold on the back of the car), the
Chateau is full of treasures. Some of its charm, for me, lay in
discovering more about historical figures whose names are all too
often familiar only from Metro stations or markets, such as Jean
Talon, an early figure in the agricultural and commercial growth
of Quebec.
