Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21
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| Established | 1999 |
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| Location | Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Type | Immigration Museum |
| Website | www.pier21.ca/ |
The Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is Canada's national museum of immigration. The museum occupies part of Pier 21, the former ocean liner terminal and immigration shed from 1928 to 1971. Pier 21 is Canada's last remaining ocean immigration shed. The facility is often compared to Ellis Island (1892-1954), in terms of its importance to mid-20th century immigration to Canada an association it shares with 19th century immigration history at Grosse Isle, Quebec (1832-1932) and Partridge Island in Saint John, New Brunswick (1785-1941). The Museum began as an independent institution run by the Pier 21 Society in 1999. It became a national museum run by the Canadian federal government in 2011.
The Museum is located in the former Pier 21 immigration facility built in 1928 as part of the Ocean Terminals development in Halifax. The Pier played a crucial role in World War II and in the peak years of postwar immigration to Canada in the 1940s and 50s. Pier 21 closed as an immigration terminal in 1971. From the 1970s until 1991, Pier 21 housed the Nova Scotia Nautical Institute, a training facility for professional mariners. During the 1990s, the former immigration quarters provided studio and workshop space for artists. The ocean liner pier itself became increasingly used as the Halifax Port Authority's cruise ship dock. On September 22, 1997 the site was designated a National Historic Site by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.
In 1990, the Pier 21 Society was co-founded by J.P. LeBlanc and Ruth Goldbloom to raise funds and renew the public's interest in the derelict shed, which was the last of its kind in Canada. Goldbloom became the organization's second president in 1993, and the push to turn the property into a National Historic Site and museum proceeded quickly. In cooperation with the Halifax Port Authority, Pier 21 was re-opened as a museum on Canada Day in 1999, and began its new role to celebrate the 1.5 million immigrants that passed through its doors.
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