Quebec is the cradle of French America. Its role was decisive as a gateway to European immigration to America and as the capital of a huge colonial empire developed from the waterways to Louisiana.
Since its incorporation as a municipality in 1833, the City of Quebec has preserved, in addition to archives, thousands of objects testifying to the various aspects of life in the city, on a sporting, industrial, artistic, social, religious, associative, administrative and economic.
These invaluable ethnological, archaeological, artistic and documentary collections on this unique history and heritage are currently dispersed in several conservation locations belonging to the City.
In addition to these municipal collections, there are also all those preserved by other municipal, provincial, federal and private authorities. Collections, in part or in whole, have been relocated elsewhere in Canada. Elements of interest have even gone abroad.
An architectural treasure
The Saint-Jean-Baptiste church is an exceptional heritage site erected in a flagship location of the city due to its strategic location in the urban landscape, while being part of the historic heart of Quebec.
This church built between 1881 and 1886, according to the plans of the renowned architect Joseph-Ferdinand Peachy, brings together a great wealth testifying to the know-how of several artists and craftsmen from the Saint-Jean-Baptiste district and Old Quebec today. . The architectural value of this church, considered Peachy’s masterpiece, has earned it a heritage building status by the Quebec government since 1991. It is one of the eight churches that the City of Quebec and the Quebec government chose to protect against wind and tide in August 2017.
Unfortunately, it has been prohibited for any use, whether religious, cultural or community, since May 24, 2015.
A history and heritage center
Among the new vocations to be developed in the Saint-Jean-Baptiste church, the firm Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton mentions, in its first report, made public in spring 2023, “a cultural component with spaces for disseminating temporary exhibitions (at level of the nave) and permanent (at the level of the galleries)”.
This church, through its unique architectural and historical qualities, could play this role of reunifying and showcasing these ethnological, archaeological and documentary collections of the City. We are not talking about a new conservation center here, because one already exists and they play their roles very well.
This is why we are proposing the inclusion, in the reuse project of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste church, of a history and heritage center for the City of Quebec — a House of History — as it exists in any self-respecting heritage and tourist town. This center would allow dissemination both in the form of exhibitions and conferences and as a place to bring together societies dedicated to history and heritage, which includes genealogy, archeology and ethnology, which would help to enliven the heritage monument.
The primary need is to highlight the rich heritage and history of Quebec City, including that of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste district, as originally proposed in the report by the firm Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton. The exhibition of heritage objects within the walls of the church could allow “the transmission of heritage and traditions” to the public of all ages, from all origins.
As luck would have it, the government of Quebec has announced that it is embarking on a new adventure, the creation of the National Museum of the History of Quebec, which is to be established in one of the pavilions of the Séminaire de Québec. This Quebec City history and heritage center, which would see the light of day in the Saint-Jean-Baptiste church, would complement the offerings of this future national museum.
Tourism impact, economic impact
We never tire of saying that the Saint-Jean-Baptiste church is one of the most easily identifiable heritage buildings of religious origin in the urban landscape of Quebec. It is also visible within the urban fabric thanks to its imposing dimensions and the spire of its bell tower. This intrinsic visibility should allow tourists and other visitors to easily find this place which will quickly become essential since it is already in the natural orbit of local tourism: proximity to Old Quebec, Parliament Hill, the Convention Center and most of the major cultural facilities in the Quebec region.
This history and heritage center will become a major addition to our tourist attractions, outside of Old Quebec, allowing an extension of our visitors’ visits and a contribution to the neighborhood’s economy. This vision of the future for the past only aims to complete the project of reuse of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste church of its new owner, the City of Quebec: cultural, tourist and community, with the key , income either direct or indirect.