Video presentation of the museum's expansion

a nine-part museum and tourist complex (pdf file)

Pointe-à-Callière was first built, back in the early 1990s, the Museum had plans to open up the William collector sewer and the remains of St. Anne's Market and the Parliament of the United Province of Canada.

The Museum is now entering a new phase in its development, as it moves toward putting these large-scale expansion plans into effect. The goal is to expose the entire 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, devoted to future international exhibitions on ancient civilizations and their cultures. This ambitious expansion will allow Pointe-à-Callière to give the district an exhibition centre of national and international scope.

A NETWORK FOR TOMORROW

1-CANALIZED RIVER
Willliam Collector Sewer
Just as it was long ago, the Little Saint-Pierre River, transformed as a collector sewer, is the backbone of the museum complex, linking together a unique collection of genuine archaeological sites in an underground network. Nevertheless, the collector sewer is also a magical place itself, a dramatic and fascinating journey through the bowels of the historic city.

2-CANADA CUSTOM HOUSE
(Basement)
International and national exhibitions
The vast basement of the monumental Canada Customs House (1934-1936) can be transformed into a "crypt" and a world-class exhibition room measuring over 1,000 m², along with all the technical spaces required by museum standards. The room will be linked directly to the underground museum network.

3-PARLIAMENT OF THE UNITED CANADA AND ST. ANN'S MARKET
Agora and remains
As visitors walk through the former site of St. Ann's Market, they will be surrounded by what was once the parliament of the United Canada. The establishment of the first parliament of the United Canada, in 1844, on the upper floor of the market building, was a major event in Canadian history. A number of key pieces of legislation were adopted here including the act establishing "responsible government" in 1848.

4-FORT VILLE-MARIE
Callière's Residence
Montreal's birthplace
In 2000, with the help of the city of Montréal and the Québec government, Pointe-à-Callière acquired one of the rare sites where the soil had been undisturbed since the 17th century. There, in association with the Université de Montréal, the Museum created an archaeological field school offering internships for urban archaeology students and giving them a chance to contribute to our knowledge of Montreal's birthplace and making it accessible to visitors.

5-ARCHEOSPACE
A young archaeologist's workshop
Educational archaeology
This four-storey utilitarian building, recently acquired by the Museum Foundation, will be transformed into an educational space for introducing young people to history and archaeology. This location also offers the potential of incorporating a multipurpose auditorium for the Museum.

POINTE-À-CALLIÈRE TODAY

6-YOUVILLE PUMPING STATION
Industrial heritage
The Youville Pumping Station was built in 1915. Pointe-à-Callière ushers visitors into the city's first electrically powered wastewater pumping station, conserves and interprets some of our city's industrial heritage, and houses an educational workshop and the Museum's documentation centre.

7-ANCIENNE-DOUANNE BUILDING
Gift shop and exhibition
This impressive historic building has been part of the Museum since the beginning. The exhibition that starts in the crypt continues into its basement, while upstairs is the Museum's gift shop. On the top floor is another semi-permanent theme exhibition, this one devoted to the city's cultural diversity, entitled Montréal Love Stories. The elegant building, with facades on both the city and the harbor, was designed in 1837 by British architect John Ostell as Montréal's first Custom House.

8-PLACE ROYALE
Archaeological crypt
The crypt, carved out in 1992 beneath historic Place Royale, showcases several archaeological strata illustrating how Montréal's first public square grew from its earliest days to the present and is the site of the permant exhibition Ici Naquit Montréal. This site, initially a meeting and trading place for Natives and French, bears traces of over six centuries of history. Today, the square is used for the Museum's visitor activities and cultural events.

9-ÉPERON BUILDING
Multimedia and exhibitions
The masthead of Pointe-à-Callière, the Éperon building is built on the site of and shares the same footprint with the prestigious 19th-century Royal Insurance Company building, which also housed Montréal's second Customs office. Its foundations stand atop even earlier remains, including the city's first Catholic cemetery and the Berthelet warehouse-store, on the bank of the Little Saint-Pierre River.