I don't know if you're like me, but when I visit a foreign city, I almost conscientiously read all the memorial plaques that I come across on my way.
Published at 12:57 am. Updated at 06:00.
Thanks to one of these plaques, I discovered the house – at 11 rue Victor Schœlcher, 14th arrondissement, in Paris – where Simone de Beauvoir lived from 1955 to 1986. The same applies to 32 rue des Bourdonnais in the 1st arrondissement, where Abbé Pierre lived and worked from 1914 to 1954.
These plaques are mementos of history that make our walks even more interesting.
I'm a big hiker and think it's a shame there aren't more of them in Montreal.
Even if our history is not as long as that of Paris or London, there have been enough notable personalities and events to multiply this type of commemorative plaque.
Let's take a random name: Thérèse Casgrain, that feminist who helped win women's suffrage in Quebec. She was born and lived in Montreal, but you wouldn't know it if you walked past her childhood home on Rue du Musée in the Golden Square Mile. This magnificent residence, which bears his father's name (Maison Rodolphe-Forget), now houses the Russian Consulate…
To find a trace of Thérèse Casgrain's memory, you have to travel to Quebec and admire the monument honoring women in politics next to Parliament.
The birth of Refus global
The idea for this column came to me when I attended Robert Lepage's show “Projet Riopelle” last spring. It was recalled that a small group of artists wrote the text of Refus global in the apartment of Claude Gauvreau's family at 75 rue Sherbrooke Ouest. I went to this address, which is now occupied by the airline Royal Air Maroc. There is nothing there to remind passers-by of the historical significance of this building. It's sad.
PHOTO MAURICE PERRON, COURTESY OF LINE-SYLVIE PERRON
Claude Gauvreau, Julienne Gauvreau, Pierre Gauvreau, Marcel Barbeau, Madeleine Arbour, Paul-Émile Borduas, Madeleine Lalonde, Bruno M. Cormier and Jean-Paul Mousseau in February 1947. The photo, which is part of the collection of the Musée national des beaux- arts du Québec, is entitled Second Exhibition of the Automatists at 75 West, rue Sherbrooke, at the Gauvreaus.
I spoke to Yves Bergeron, director of the UQAM Heritage Institute, about my passion for memorial plaques. I found a sympathetic ear with this expert. He confirmed to me that the memorial plaques respond to a collective need for remembrance.
It is a way to reach people outside of museums and institutions. And there is still a lot of mediation work to be done.
Yves Bergeron, Director of the UQAM Heritage Institute
When I ask him to name places where he would place a memorial plaque, Yves Bergeron answers without hesitation: Réjean Ducharme's house in Little Burgundy. It would also underline the importance of Château Dufresne as the starting point of the Quiet Revolution. After all, many Quebec theaters have contributed to Quebec's transformation and Mr. Bergeron believes this should be more clearly recognized.
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
Réjean Ducharme's house in Little Burgundy
I wanted to have fun making a list of people I would like to commemorate, and I admit that one of the first names that came to mind was Michel Tremblay. I quickly found the address of his birthplace and wrote to the famous author asking if there was one of these memorial plaques anywhere on the Mont-Royal plateau. His answer was quick: “There is none. So much better. »
When I ask him if that would make him happy, he replies: “After I die. I have had a Canadian stamp with my image rejected twice. »
Note to self: It is better to check with the person you want to commemorate if they are still alive…
The example of Quebec
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
Chateau Dufresne in Montreal. Yves Bergeron, director of the UQAM Heritage Institute, believes that the importance of the site as the starting point of the Quiet Revolution should be highlighted.
In 2022, the Ministry of Culture and Communications adopted a new commemoration strategy. It is titled “I Remember” and will be used in the coming months. One of the measures concerns memorial plaques.
The provincial government could take a cue from Quebec City, which has its own policies. There are 142 in the Old Capital that honor the place where historical figures or influential personalities lived. New names are added to the list every five years. A committee examines suggestions that can also come from citizens. “These plaques contribute to the influence of the city, which is responsible for their preservation,” Jean-Pascal Lavoie, spokesman for the city of Quebec, tells me.
He tells me that the owners of the buildings are always happy to be welcomed, even if that sometimes means that tourists stop in front of their house.
Think differently
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
The mural in homage to Françoise Sullivan, photographed last September. This is another way to commemorate an artist's history and approach.
I'm somewhat traditional with my plaques, as I realize when I talk to Denis Boucher, president of the Montreal Heritage Council. The historian makes it clear to me that my city is characterized by an innovative approach to commemoration.
Examples: the river-mountain route, the installations in Chinatown, the insertions on the sidewalk of Sainte-Catherine Street or the Peel Street route, which commemorates the encounter between indigenous peoples and newcomers.
We then talk about integrated design, another way of capturing information. According to Mr Boucher, these routes “establish a dialogue with the citizen who walks”.
Another example: the mural in homage to Françoise Sullivan. “It causes us to learn history unconsciously,” says Denis Boucher. It is a form of commemoration that also tells the story of the artist's approach. »
It is true that these innovative approaches are different and arouse curiosity. But that doesn't stop me from coming across more memorial plaques as I walk around Montreal.