Gilles-Hocquart Building, Archives building in Quartier Latin, Montreal, Canada
The Gilles-Hocquart Building is located at 535 Viger Avenue East and features Beaux-Arts architecture with symmetrical columns and ornamental relief sculptures across its facade. Today it houses the Centre d'archives nationales across five floors, with administrative offices, storage vaults, and public reading areas for researchers.
The building was erected between 1908 and 1911 as the Ecole des hautes etudes commerciales, serving that purpose until 1970. It then became Dawson College through 1988 before being repurposed as the national archives center.
The building takes its name from Gilles Hocquart, the fourteenth intendant of New France, honored since 2004 for his role in preserving French colonial records. Visitors can sense this historical connection through the archives housed within its walls.
The building is located in the Quartier Latin and is easily reached on foot or by public transit serving this central Montreal area. Access to the reading rooms generally requires advance planning, as researchers need to consult materials ahead of time to ensure availability.
The building employs a specialized humidity control system that maintains dry conditions throughout its five floors to protect the valuable documents stored within. This sophisticated climate management operates invisibly to visitors but is crucial for preserving the historical records kept here.
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