Sign for the forge
**THANK YOU ALL!
We've won the fight, thanks to you!The City of Montreal has become the owner of the Riverside station land, and we are now on the verge of signing the long-term leasethat will allowusto continue occupying our premises. Thanks to your unwavering support, we can now count on the City to continue our mission. We'll be able to continue offering activities that transmit the knowledge of traditional blacksmithing, while maintaining a place that will benefit the community for generations to come.
http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/
On behalf of the entire Forges de Montréal team,
THANK YOU!
** **
KEEP LES FORGES DE MONTRÉAL IN ITS FOUNDING PLACE
The Riverside pumping station is of priceless heritage value, as is the Forges de Montréal mission. These two jewels have shared their history for almost 20 years. Their future depends on your involvement. Your signature is a vote. Sign and support Les Forges de Montréal now!
The Riverside Pumping Station, an architectural gem located between the Old Port and the Lachine Canal, was built in 1887 to designs by Maurice Perreault (1857-1909) and Albert Mesnard (1847-1909), two renowned architects in Montreal's history.
The Riverside pumping station appears to have a very high degree of authenticity. It is in an exemplary state of preservation, supported by the presence of Forges de Montréal, and shows no signs of significant alteration. With its fascinating underground infrastructures, it is an indisputable witness to the history of the City of Montreal's water and sewer network, one of the oldest in North America. Since 2000, the organization has ensured the preservation of this magnificent structure built of Montreal grey stone.
Les Forges de Montréal s mission is to preserve, disseminate and pass on the know-how of traditional blacksmithing. In the second half of the twentieth century, blacksmiths gradually abandoned their practice, causing this artisan heritage to disappear in Quebec. Thanks to Mathieu Collette, the organization's founder and a blacksmith trained in France, this ancestral knowledge is now being revived here. In fact, this is the only place in Canada where traditional blacksmithing know-how is passed on and shared throughout the year at various levels.
Forges de Montréal's mission is in line with the principles of sustainable development, by teaching the techniques and making the tools needed to preserve our built environment. Those trained in the wrought-iron trades have the skills to create and restore typical elements of heritage buildings. Knowing how to work wrought iron is invaluable and essential to the proper restoration of our built heritage. These transmission activities are recognized by many players in the architecture, culture and heritage sectors, including the Conseil des Métiers d'Arts du Québec.
It is vital for the organization to continue its mission at its founding site, the Riverside Pumping Station, beyond the term of its lease, which expires in February 2021. At the end of this lease, the Riverside Pumping Station will fall under the authority of Canada Lands Company (CLC), whose mandate is to administer buildings no longer required by the federal government and to generate profits from them.
A new lease for the Riverside Pumping Station is essential if the organization is to continue and develop its activities. les Forges de Montréal and the Riverside Pumping Station must continue their happy alliance!
Sign up for a commitment from the responsible authorities to support Les Forges de Montréal in their project for an interpretive center and workshop for the trades at traditional blacksmithing in the Riverside pumping station.