The Old Port sector of Quebec is steeped in history. The hiking route The blue hour you can discover five locations in the oldest neighborhood in North America.
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At five stations, the historian Denis Angers, co-host of the program Des chemins, des histoire… on MAtv, tells anecdotes and historical facts about the Chez Belley building, the former Rioux and Pettigrew import warehouse, the antiques buffet, FAO Square and the Museum of Civilization.
These audio clips, which last four to five minutes, are accessible by scanning the QR code available at each of these stations with your smartphone.
The route, offered until March, unfolds on the Saint-Paul and Dalhousie streets between the Place de Bordeaux and the Museum of Civilization.
“We learn a lot of little things and little winks here and there. It is unpretentious and modest,” said the historian in an interview.
Banks and financial institutions were then present on Rue Saint-Pierre. On Saint-Paul we found the big importers.
“The area became a poor and run-down neighborhood after WWII, with crime, prostitution and sailors partying. The sector then changed in the early 80’s with the conversion of apartments into luxury condos for $250,000,” noted Denis Angers.
The Old Port Business People’s Association presented a first version of the L’Heure Bleue course for eight weeks in December 2020.
“The association wanted to do something to give people some hope in the pandemic. It had worked fine. The content hasn’t changed, but the technology used with QR codes and spotlighting is new,” he said.
Illuminated course
Place FAO, located at the corner of Saint-Paul, Saint-Pierre and Sault-au-Matelot streets, is one of the historian’s favorite stops.
“Here we find the statue of La Vivrière, which is absolutely magnificent. It is the bow of a boat on which is a woman bringing fruit and vegetables. Erected in 1995, this statue marks the 50th anniversary of the Food and Agriculture Organization established by the United Nations in Quebec in October 1945. Quebec was then considered the capital of the free world and 46 countries came there to found the FAO,” explained the historian.
The Hotel Germain was established in 1913 in the Dominion Fruit building, Quebec City’s first skyscraper, where fruits and vegetables came to the old capital.
The blue hour is an illuminated route best discovered after dark. Visit rdvvieuxport.com for more information and to listen to the capsules.