Château Ramezay
Encyclopedia
Notre-Dame Street
Notre-Dame Street is a historic east-west street located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It runs parallel to the Saint Lawrence River, from the eastern tip of the island to Lachine . In French, it is known as rue Notre-Dame....
in Old Montreal
Old Montreal
Old Montreal is the oldest area in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, dating back to New France. Located in the borough of Ville-Marie, the area is bordered on the west by McGill St., on the north by Ruelle des Fortifications, on the east by Berri St. and on the south by the Saint Lawrence River...
, opposite Montreal City Hall
Montreal City Hall
The five-storey Montreal City Hall is the work of architects Henri-Maurice Perrault and Alexander Cowper Hutchison, and was built between 1872 and 1878 in the Second Empire style. It is located in Old Montreal, between Place Jacques-Cartier and the Champ de Mars, at 275 Notre-Dame Street East...
.
Built in 1705 as the residence of then-governor of Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Claude de Ramezay
Claude de Ramezay
Claude de Ramezay, , was an important figure in the early history of New France. He was a military man by training and rose to being commander of the colonial regular troops....
, the Château was the first building proclaimed as a historical monument in Quebec and is the province’s oldest private history museum. It was designated a National Historic Sites of Canada in 1949.
Over the years, the Château changed owners and functions several times, with Ramezay's descendants selling the manor to the fur-trading Compagnie des Indes.
Continental army headquarters
From 1775, it became the Canadian headquarters for the Continental ArmyContinental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
when it seized Montreal. Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
stayed there overnight in 1776, while trying to raise troops to fight for the Americans in the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
.
Governor's residence again
After the conquest until 1849 the house was again used as a governor's residence, this time by the British governors. For official purposes it was known as Government HouseGovernment House
Government House is the name of many of the residences of Governors-General, Governors and Lieutenant-Governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. It serves as the venue for the Governor's official business, as well as the many receptions and functions hosted by...
and was the governor's official Montreal residence which complimented his other residence in Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
(the Chateau St. Louis
Chateau St. Louis
The Chateau St. Louis in Quebec City was the official residence of the French Governor of New France and later the British Governor of Quebec, the Governor-General of British North America, and the Lieutenant-Governor of Lower Canada....
), and a country retreat in Sorel.
University building
In 1878, the building opened its doors to host Université de MontréalUniversité de Montréal
The Université de Montréal is a public francophone research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises thirteen faculties, more than sixty departments and two affiliated schools: the École Polytechnique and HEC Montréal...
's first Faculty of Medicine.
Museum
The building was bought by the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Montreal and converted into an historical museum and portrait gallery in 1894. Sir Andrew Taylor (Architect)Andrew Taylor (architect)
Sir Andrew Thomas Taylor J.P., R.C.A., F.S.A., F.R.I.B.A. was a British architect and Conservative Party municipal councillor. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and practised architecture in Scotland and London before immigrating to Montreal, Quebec, in 1883, where he designed many of the...
designed alterations to the Chateau in 1895.
Today, the museum's collection is composed mainly of gifts from private Montrealers and is estimated at 30,000 objects, including manuscripts, printed works, numismatic items, ethnological items, works of art, paintings, prints and furniture.
From 1997 to 2002, the Château Ramezay underwent indoor and outdoor restorations, including the creation of the Governor’s Garden, inaugurated in 2000. In 2003, the Château Ramezay Museum earned the National Award of Excellence from the Landscape Architects of Canada. It has greeted more than a million visitors.