Jean Drapeau's personal archives are now open to the public

Jean Drapeau (image: Archives Montreal)

MONTREAL – Have you ever wanted to take a peek at the mayor's diary? Well, now you can.

Archives Montreal is making former Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau's personal archives – everything from his letters, photographs, diaries and records – open to the public.

Mayor of Montreal from 1954 to 1957 and again from 1960 to 1986, Jean Drapeau kept extensive records; so many that there are more than 700 boxes of papers, which, when laid out side by side, span 152 metres.

The archives are now available because former mayors typically make their records public 20 years after their death.

You won't have to sift through the piles of records randomly (thankfully!), because they're sorted by theme.

The first deals with municipal council operations from 1966 to 1986. Another consists of 15 metres' worth of documents and 10,000 photos, covering the various activities the mayor got up to during his time in office.

image: Archives Montreal

The "major projects" series includes 3,000 photos and 300 plans from projects including Place des Arts, the Metro, Expo 67 and the 1976 Olympic Games.

The archives on Expo 67's 'Man and His World' installation and the Cité du Cinéma film studio complex are found under "Arts and Culture." In this section, there are also documents on the creation of the Montreal Arts Council, the Bureau of International Expositions, popular concerts, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and the concert hall project.

image: Archives Montreal

Other archives go back to when Drapeau was a lawyer at the Caron Inquiry into organized crime and when he served as Canada's ambassador to UNESCO. Documents also touch upon the years in which Drapeau owned the Le Vaisseau d'Or restaurant.

Digital versions of the archives are available online. The public can check them out in person by making an appointment.