Tag: Heritage

Once again this year, The Canadian Heritage of Quebec will organize a series of conferences for its donors and partners. In order to celebrate the 375th anniversary of Montreal, the theme of the conferences will be on the “Hurtubise Family and Farmhouse”.

You are cordially invited to the fourth conference which will take place on Wednesday, March 29, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. at the Hurtubise House, 563 Côte St-Antoine Road in Westmount (corner Victoria). The subject of this conference will be “Préserver le patrimoine végétal par la reproduction”.

This conference will be bilingual and divided in two sections of 30 minutes each as follows:

1. Patrice Fortier: Background in Visual Arts and gardener and seed sowerbytrade: Patrice will share his experience in the dynamic preservation of plant heritage and its importance for future generations. This conference will bring new prospects for the vegetable garden at the Hurtubise House.
   
   Biography: After getting involved in community gardening and urban landscaping projects, inspired by Seeds of Diversity Canada, he founded in 2001 «La société des plantes» in Kamouraska: It is a small certified organic farm where he gives workshops and produces seeds of heirloom vegetables and other mostly uncommon crops that are well suited for the northern gardens.
   
   
   
2. Mardjane Amin: 2017 Heritage Gardens at the Hurtubise House. Mardjane will present the kind of vegetables that will be planted and will grow in the Hurtubise House’s gardens during the summer of 2017.
   
   Biography: Mardjane Amin is an Heritage Consultant, Master in Conservation of Built Heritage from University of Montreal. In 2016, she developed the gardens project and created them with the help of 30 students from Université de Montréal and McGill University.
   

As seats are limited, please reserve by email by no later than March 26, 2017. This conference is free for donors and $5 for non-members.

The inauguration of the commemorative vegetable and flower gardens of the Hurtubise House took place on May 17th, 2016. The purpose of this project is to mark the 60th anniversary of the acquisition and conservation of the Hurtubise House by The Canadian Heritage of Quebec. The idea of a commemorative garden comes from Mardjane Amin, heritage consultant, after she discovered the agricultural history of the site of the Hurtubise House. From there started the “agricultural” project in order to revitalize the landscape of the Hurtubise House. Heirloom and heritage seeds were sowed so that the vegetable and flower gardens reflect the agricultural past of the Hurtubise farm.

The realization of the “agricultural” project was made possible thanks to the generous collaboration of the Jardins de l’écoumène who donated heritage seeds, as well as the Cour à bois Villeneuve who offered rebates on wood and hardware. Not to mention the involvement of several students from McGill University and Université de Montréal and some of these students now form part of the young volunteers committee of The Canadian Heritage of Quebec.

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As you will note on the pictures, the landscaping of the gardens harmonizes with the incomparable heritage value of the Hurtubise House. Please come and visit the magnificent gardens of the Hurtubise House and see the remarkable transformation. For a visit of the house, please make an appointment by sending an email to coord@hcq-chq.org. If you want to become a volunteer for the maintenance of the gardens or for any comments, kindly use the same email address.

Here is an article from The Suburban, in the edition of may 25, 2016, on the Hurtubise House and its commemorative gardens. Read the article

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During the summer of 2013 and 2014, two volunteers of the Corporation of Domaine Pointe-de-Saint-Vallier worked hard to restore these splendid gardens.

Terry and Terry Sulymko – a couple from Toronto – spent several weeks each summer to work on the gardens of Domaine Pointe-de-Saint-Vallier. Thanks to them, old stone arrangements have been unearthed. In the summer of 2015, they continue their great work and the small pond at the manor will soon be refreshed.

The transformation is stunning as demonstrated by the photos below. For more information and to view photo gallery, click here 2013 and here for the pictures 2014

It is amazing to see what these gardens have become. This is a very nice place to enjoy the flowers and their colours during summer time. It is really worth a visit! (http://www.pointedesaintvallier.com/)

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Hurtubise House June 2011 – Before the restoration – click to enlarge Phase II of the restoration project began in August 2011 and was completed in late summer 2012. Planning work required preliminary comprehensive studies to effectively coordinate the entire project. Based on these studies conducted by CHQ in collaboration with the Centre de conservation du Québec and Mr. François Varin, architect, it was decided to preserve the finishes of the entire ground floor and to establish specific conservation guidelines which include respecting the physical integrity of the house and applying minimal and reversible intervention. This project, funded mostly by CHQ, received financial support from the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec (MCC) and the City of Montreal.

Hurtubise House June 2012 – After the restoration – click to enlarge CHQ and architects DMA coordinated the project which required hiring several professionals specializing in restoration: masons, curators and archaeologists. CHQ also benefited from the expertise of an architect of the MCC, as well as a structural engineer, a mechanical engineer and two conservation experts. Throughout the work, special attention was paid to the protection of interior finishes and building security.

Outside the house, the work consisted of repairing cracks in the west stone wall as well as restoring the front galleries, its support structures and stairs. Archaeological excavations were also necessary which led to the discovery of an old well.

The Kitchen – click to enlarge On the ground floor, interior finishes (plaster and woodwork) of the walls, floors and ceilings have been restored. The restoration work was done carefully to preserve the traces of time. The curator used only a dry sponge for cleaning. Cracks on the walls were also filled and remain visible. Previously, tapestry dating from around 1900 had been removed, revealing the location of an old armoire (cupboard) inserted in the wall.

In the kitchen, we proceeded to clean the different layers of flooring to revitalize the floor. We also cut much of the damaged parts which allowed us to discover a very old carpet, another remnant of the past. Plexiglas and a carpet now protect parts of these coatings for the benefit of visitors.

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To preserve and capture the spirit of the house, modern elements were removed from the ground floor. The floor structure has been solidified through the basement and the former floor openings (registers) are now again used for the heating and ventilation system. In the basement, the humidity was reduced by covering the ground with plastic sheeting and stone dust. A new heating system (thermo pump) with ducts has also been installed.

On the second floor, the kitchen and bathroom have been upgraded. This work is reversible so as to preserve the integrity of the house. The electrical system has also been upgraded and a new lighting system, installed throughout the house, reveals the vestiges and treasures of this magnificent property built in 1739.

On Sunday October 14th, The Canadian Heritage of Quebec hosted at the Hurtubise House in Westmount a heritage activity organized by the Westmount Historical Society (WHA) in collaboration with the City of Westmount. This activity was part of Montreal Architectural Heritage Campaign 2012, called Les Belles Montréalaises and organized in collaboration with the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications (MCC), Ville de Montréal and Heritage Montreal. This campaign lasted for two weeks, from September 28th to October 14th (www.operationpatrimoime.com).

Old Chemin de la Côte-Saint-Antoine, Walking Tour – click to enlarge. Old Chemin de la Côte-Saint-Antoine, Walking Tour

The purpose of this activity was to do a walking tour on the old Chemin de la Côte-Saint-Antoine to show to the participants, from the street, very interesting heritage houses located on this old road. The Hurtubise House has been used as a welcome place and CHQ’s General Manager, Jacques Archambault, welcomed each group of people and took this opportunity to present CHQ’s history, founders, missions and involvement in Quebec. CHQ also welcomed guides inside and offered them tea, sandwiches and cookies in collaboration with the Westmount Historical Society.

Approximately 65 people did the walking tours in spite of the rain. The volunteers of WHA have prepared all the documents for the walking tour and trained their volunteers to relay properly this information to visitors. All the participants were very happy with the newly restored Hurtubise House which now serves as a key place for the Westmount’s heritage sector. Since the end of the restoration project, the house looks better and CHQ has received a lot of congratulations from Westmounters.

You can also find more information about the Hurtubise House in the September 2012 Newsletter.

Hurtubuise House Guided Walking Tour

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