For the first time in years, an extensive tour through the Gravelbourg convent will show off the basement and the fourth floor of the century-old building, the latter of which has been closed to the public until now.
Isabelle Blanchard is spearheading the tours, booking groups of curious attendees to wander the mostly empty building from the basement all the way up to the top floor, while giving them a history of the place.
“It's kind of a guided tour of what the building used to be and what it is now. The building is a little bit creepy to a lot of people, especially the fourth floor because it was always closed off,” said Blanchard. “It's really about how pretty the building is, there's lots of woodwork and it's a building you'd never see in present-day [architechture].”
The convent was built in 1916 and was home to the Sisters of Jesus and Mary, who ran a boarding school for young girls until 1970, when they sold it to the public school system and it became an elementary school.
Despite changing hands since then, the building has maintained many of the intricate details from its original state, including the towering columns in the chapel and several classrooms still set up with antique desks and chalkboards.
The fourth floor was originally used as dorms for the students under the tutelage of the Sisters, and still has the intact music room, featuring eight wooden piano cubicles that helped dampen the sounds so music students weren’t disturbed by each other’s lessons.
Blanchard began offering evening tours of the building on Oct. 16, after a request from a member of the community to see the whole building.
“I thought it would be something that a lot of people would be interested in, and it's really a good way to raise money for the building as well,” said Blanchard.
The convent is currently a heritage property, but is in need of maintenance while the local preservation society — Friends of the Convent — and the municipality work on a future use for the building.
For now, between her and a few other volunteer tour guides, Blanchard is offering a chance to see the building every night of the week. She has time slots at 6 p.m and 7:30 p.m. each evening, with an additional 9 p.m. tour on Friday and Saturday evenings.
The tour is entirely family-friendly and welcomes all ages to take part, although it does involve a large number of stairs. Admission for the tour is $5 a person.
Blanchard is planning on continuing the daily tours until Halloween night, on Oct. 31. After that, she’s willing to offer evening tours on a case-by-case basis.
Those interested in tours are to call Blanchard at 1 (506) 790-4518 and book a time slot, as she has had plenty of interest and could fill up quickly as Halloween approaches — the old building at night has a creepy feel perfect for the season.
