Westmount opens 100-year-old time capsule found in city hall's cornerstone
Inside were newspapers, photos, stamps, coins and photos from the time
Soon after Anthony Chiasson became head of archives and document management in Westmount, Que., he learned a time capsule had been tucked away in city hall's century-old cornerstone.
That was back in 2015, and he has been determined to uncover the piece of history ever since.
Finally, after careful planning and a delicate extraction, he opened the sturdy metal box in front of a small audience 100 years to the day that the time capsule was placed, revealing to the world on Friday an assortment of historic documents, photos, stamps and coins.
"It was extremely well protected," said Chiasson, recounting how, after the pandemic delayed his efforts, a specialized team was hired to examine the cornerstone with ground-penetrating radar.
That radar found an anomaly in the 100-year-old building's structure. It wasn't exactly where Chiasson thought the time capsule would be based on city archives, but a crew was brought in to carefully dismantle the wall and see what was hidden inside.
Chiasson said that's when they discovered a box carefully placed in a special slot made to hold it and protect it from the elements.
"They cut out a rectangle hole and they put it in a hole so it was protected from any weathering or whatnot," he said.
While the box was extracted about two months ago and opened for a quick peek, Friday was the first time Chiasson fully went through what was inside. A copy of its contents was available in city archives, but there were a few surprises.
Items included newspapers in both French and English, including one, the Daily Star, from Oct. 14, 1922. Its main headline was about the British prime minister defending his policies.
Inside was also a small amount of money from the era in different denominations, including a $5 gold piece.
There were urban planning documents, a list of all the city's employees at the time and a copy of the speech the mayor gave when the cornerstone was laid. There was also a copy of the city's 1921 annual report.
Of particular interest to Chiasson was the assortment of photos and postcards that were perfectly preserved in the tightly sealed box, providing new, never-before-seen images of Westmount a century ago.
The photos are mostly of public buildings and streets, showing the future what it was like in the past.
"We're a city that has always really valued our heritage, especially our architectural heritage, so it's exciting to see photos from 100 years ago," said Mayor Christina Smith, noting the city will be putting the time capsule's contents on display.
"The photos are incredible," she added. "How well-preserved they are is really great because they will make a great display."