Future of a quintessentially Canadian landmark in doubt
More than 80 years after the Dionne quintuplets were whisked away from their family and transformed into human tourist attractions that drew millions, the home where they were born could be on the move.
The house has served as a museum in North Bay for the past 30 years, but recently closed because tourist numbers have dwindled. Appraisals of the property show it could be worth more than $975,000. The city is considering using the land for other purposes, sparking a rallying cry among those who view the house as an important symbol in Canadian history.
It was where five young girls became worldwide sensations as the first quintuplets known to have survived infancy.
The original building in which they were born in Corbeil, Ont., was moved in the 1960s and again, in 1985, to nearby North Bay, where it remained. Until last year, the city’s chamber of commerce operated the Dionne Quints Museum in the home as a not-for-profit, where visitors could learn about the sisters’ upbringing.
In 2015, the city of North Bay declared surplus the land where the structure sits, and explored the possibility of selling it. The decision has left some residents worried about the building’s future.
“We have to save this museum,” said Carlo Tarini, a family friend and spokesperson for the two surviving Dionne quints, Annette and Cécile. “They’re obviously upset, this is the house where they were born and I think it’s an important part of Canadian history . . . It’s a story of miracle birth but also of terrible abuse.”
Born in 1934, the babies were soon made wards of the King under the Dionne Quintuplets’ Guardianship Act. The government moved them across the road from their birthplace to a tourist theme park that became known as “Quintland.”
The quintuplets were exposed to the public three times each day in an exhibit enclosed by one-way viewing windows, as well as a playground that doubled as a public observation area. Quintland brought in about $500 million during the near-decade it operated.
“This story still resonates today because it’s a story about child exploitation,” Tarini said. “Although it was never labelled a ‘freak show,’ it was certainly strange to take away children from their parents in order for them to be viewed three times a day by the tourists.”
With 2017 approaching and Canada about to celebrate its 150th anniversary, he said, “we’re about to throw away a very important memory.”
“During the 1930s, their birth and their survival was one of the only good stories during the Depression years,” Tarini said. “When people went to the movies, the news reel would cover their growing years. It was pictured as sort of a fairy-tale life, but in fact they were treated much more like Cinderellas than princesses.”
Jaclyn Bucik, a spokesperson for North Bay, said the city is looking to relocate the home, which it owns, although she couldn’t yet say where. Following the closing of the museum last year, a transition committee began exploring options for its relocation.
Bucik said there are no plans to tear down the building, despite some rumours to the contrary.
“The Dionne story is an important part of not only the fabric of our community . . . It’s an important part of our history as Canadians.”
Tarini said he’d ideally like the home to stay in North Bay, but the next best option would be the Museum of History in Gatineau, Que. He said he’s emailed the museum to gauge its interest.
North Bay resident Jeff Fournier said the home plays a large role in the cultural heritage of the area. Fournier recently launched an online petition to preserve the homestead and keep it in North Bay.
“There definitely is a lack of direction as to what’s going to happen to it and nobody has come out and made any official statements about what will happen to it,” he said. “There’s a huge concern that the home could be moved out of the city or that it could possibly be dismantled.”
Patti Carr, executive director of the North Bay chamber of commerce and a member of the transition committee, said there’s no need for concern.
“I think everybody’s going to be satisfied,” she said. “It’s going to be wellkept.”
Carr said the chamber decided to close the museum last year because of how few visitors it had recently received. About 2,000 people came to see it in 2015 compared with 15,000 three decades ago.
“I don’t know of any other chamber around the world that runs a museum,” Carr said. “It’s not a moneymaking operation at any stretch.”
But Fournier said it’s important to keep the story of the Dionne quintuplets alive.
“By maintaining the Dionne homestead as a museum, it will help to ensure that the whole story is kept in the forefront of people’s minds,” Fournier said.
“I think if we lose this history, these types of mistakes that occurred in the past to the five quints could reoccur in the future. We don’t want that.”