May 21, 2015 – Quebec City, The National Battlefields Commission
The National Battlefields Commission wishes to announce that the Discovery Pavilion of the Plains of Abraham has been renamed to better reflect its function and is now known as the Plains of Abraham Museum. It also serves as an information centre for park visitors. The building that houses the Museum at 835 avenue Wilfrid-Laurier celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2014.
Quick facts
- The pavilion was built in 1938–1939 to accommodate the Dominion Arsenal munitions inspection service. Starting May 1947, the inspection service shared the facility with the Royal Canadian Navy, which ended up occupying the whole building and naming it HMCS Montcalm, after the local Naval Reserve. On March 5, 1992, it was designated a federal heritage building and in 1996 became the property of The National Battlefields Commission. Two years later, the Commission inaugurated the Discovery Pavilion to better acquaint visitors with the beautiful Plains of Abraham.
- In the early days, the Commission used the pavilion as a park information and visitor centre, and its main offerings were heritage interpretation activities. The first permanent exhibition, Odyssey Canada, was created in 2001. The pavilion changed considerably in character over time, becoming much more than a building or interpretation centre. Today it is a growing museum that every year welcomes over 150,000 visitors, who learn about the history of the Plains of Abraham as well as related topics.
- A number of exhibitions are currently on tap at the Plains of Abraham Museum. The Traces permanent exhibition, which opened in April 2014, features over 100 artifacts from the park’s archeological collection. The Student Masterworks exhibition, which presents some 100 reproductions by students of historical objects relating to New France, will launch its seventh season this summer. Coming soon is the new Battles exhibition, where visitors will experience the Siege of Quebec and the battles of 1759 and 1760 on the Plains of Abraham, as well as admire a collection of uniforms.
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Contact
Nathalie Allaire
Outreach and Media Officer
Communications Division
418-648-4801, nathalie.allaire@ccbn-nbc.gc.ca
www.theplainsofabraham.ca
