For a second year, the National Battlefields Commission (NBC) is proud to present a pop-up installation in memory of Cove Fields-a community that existed from 1945 to 1951. Also known as the Faubourg de la misère ("the poor suburb"), the community had been created out of former army barracks on the land behind the present-day Plains of Abraham Museum. With the help of archival photos, the installation will take visitors back to the homes of those years and bring to life a unique episode of Quebec City's history. Relatedly, an ethnographic survey will preserve the living memory of those times. It is being jointly carried out by three organizations: La Horde Patrimoine appliqué; the Faculté des lettres et des sciences humaines of Université Laval; and the NBC.
After the initial installation of 2022, the NBC is offering a new version to familiarize visitors with the tight-knit community that once existed on the Plains of Abraham. The NBC gave this task to a firm specializing in architecture, urban design, and town planning: Groupe A / Annexe U de Québec. Their installation is inspired by the army barracks that were available at that time and which housed several dozen families. "The Plains of Abraham have a rich history that isn't confined to military history. Besides the great battles, the site has been put to many uses, including its last civilian community. We're working all the time to make these moments of history known to visitors in new and original ways," says Annie Talbot, Secretary and CEO of the NBC.
Archival photos are posted on the six structures of this pop-up installation. By perusing them, the public can learn about this village of over a thousand residents, including nearly 700 children. It had a chapel, a school, and even a police station.
The largest modules are as big as one of the dormitory units (13' x 15'). Each unit could house up to ten people. Visitors will thus be better able to imagine how families went about their lives on Cove Fields.
