1. The Monument-National in the City
2. A Community Under Threat in a Changing World
3. The Early Years: the Monument’s "Open Arms"
4. The Monument-National and the Women’s Movement
5. The Monument-National: A Breeding Ground of New Ideas and a Multiethnic Cultural Centre
6. On Stage at the Monument: Innovation and Avant-Garde
7. On Stage at the Monument: Eclecticism and Popular Success
8. The Long Slide Downhill
9. Renaissance: Rebirth, Centenary

1. The Monument-National in the City

Officially opened on June 24, 1893 by the Association Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal (the present-day Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste), the Monument-National used to play and still does play a central role in Montréal life. Located at the historical interface between the Francophone neighbourhoods (to the east) and the Anglophone areas (to the west), it also found itself in the heart of the Jewish and Chinese sections on the most multiethnic street in Montréal.

At the time, the Francophones, who had been the largest population group in Montréal since 1861, did not have the benefit of a decent-sized community hall of their own, nor even a theatre, whereas the Anglophones had three large theatres, a massive concert hall and a host of multi-purpose halls for their social and cultural activities. However, what was even more grating was that, while Canada’s metropolis already contained ten or so monuments honouring British heroes, nothing in the city’s streets or squares recalled the courage of the founders of New France and the city itself.

It was these twin omissions that the Association Saint-Jean-Baptiste wanted to rectify by erecting this huge complex. Designed to serve as both a community facility and a cultural and artistic centre, the Monument-National was the first “monument,” as such, to celebrate the glory of the French-Canadian "nation" and this was why it was called the "National Monument."