Morrin Center
| Morrin Center | |
|---|---|
 Lieu patrimonial du Canada |
|
| Recognized since | November 13, 1981 |
| Type | National Historic Site |
| ID | 2197 |
| place | Quebec |
| Coordinates | 46 ° 48 '45.7 " N , 71 ° 12' 37.8" W |
| Recognized by | Canadian Federal Government |
| Approved by | Historic Sites and Monuments Act |
| Entry Canadian List of Monuments | |
The Morrin Center is a historic building in the Canadian city of Québec . It is located on Chaussée Écossais in the center of the old town and serves as an English-speaking cultural center. It is also the seat of the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec , the oldest scholarly society in Canada. The Palladian- style building was built in the early 19th century and initially served as a prison , then from 1862 to 1902 as a school building. The Morrin Center has been classified as a National Historic Site since 1981 .
history
During the French rule, from 1712 the royal redoubt was located at the site of today's Morrin Center , which was attached to the city walls . It was mainly used as a barracks , but also as a camp for prisoners of war. After the conquest by the British in 1759, the Redoute was initially used as a municipal prison, and from 1787 as a military warehouse. In 1808 it was demolished.
The current building with a T-shaped floor plan was built between 1808 and 1813, based on plans by the architect François Baillairgé, who used the Palladian style that was popular at the time . It served as a prison for the next five decades and was the first on Canadian soil to implement the principles of British prison reformer John Howard . Due to the strict legislation at the time, which also provided for prison sentences for minor offenses, the prison was soon overcrowded and no longer met the requirements. It was closed in 1867 and the prisoners moved to a new institution on the Abraham plain (now part of the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec ).
In 1862, Morrin College was established under the legacy of former Mayor Joseph Morrin . The first English-language higher education institute in Québec was initially housed in the premises of the local Freemasons and in 1868 moved into the former prison. Through the collaboration with McGill University in Montreal , the school was able to award bachelor 's degrees, as well as training Presbyterian clergy. From 1885 women were also allowed, because of the generally low number of students, the training was co-educational (which was unusual at the time). A lack of students and lack of money led to the school being closed in 1902.
Also in 1868 the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec moved into the building. It was founded in 1824 by Governor General Lord Dalhousie and is the oldest scholarly society in Canada that still exists today . She has always been collecting documents, making rare manuscripts accessible and publishing historical research results. In addition, it runs a public library with works in English only. The Morrin Center is now generally an Anglophone cultural center and plays a special role in a predominantly Francophone city.
Web links
- Morrin Center (French, English)
- Entry in the inventory of cultural assets of the province of Québec (French)
- Iron bars and bookshelves: A History of the Morrin Center (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Histoire du center. Morrin Center, accessed November 4, 2014 (French).