Hydro Quebec: Hollow Gravity Dam & Baie Comeau Manor
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Port
Baie-Comeau, Quebec, Canada
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Activity Level
Moderate
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Excursion Type
Local Sightseeing,All
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Wheelchair Accessible
No
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Starting At
$109.95
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Minimum Age
Information Not Currently Available
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Duration
Approximatley 3¼ Hours
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Meals Included
Meals not included
Visit the brilliant Manic-2 hollow-joint gravity dam. It is roughly the size of a Boeing 747 and is the first of its kind to be put into service at the Manic-Outardes complex. In 1965, Hydro-Québec operated the first 735,000-volt line in the world. This line has now become the international standard for high-voltage transmission. The line is linked to a generating station powerful enough to supply electricity to a city of 250,000 people. Tour the Georges-Dor Pavilion, which holds a turbine, an exhibit hall, and a multimedia room that explains the construction and operation of the dam.
At Baie Comeau Manor -- a famous French-colonial hotel -- longtime resident Walter Bisson will entertain you with anecdotes and stories of the industrial era. The history you'll learn spans from the 1950s to today. Bisson has lived in Baie-Comeau since the early 1940s. His career has spanned three decades, including stints at the Manic 2 Dam, the Spar Mica Wharf in Baie Johann Beetz, Alcoa, and DuPont Canada in the mining and construction divisions. An accomplished speaker, Bisson was on the debating team at Acadia University and a regular speaker at the Rotary Club, where he befriended ex-Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.
Take time to revel in your surroundings -- the hotel is a sumptuous manor, first built in 1937 by Robert Rutherford McCormick but burned to the ground in 1965. Thirty-nine years later, in 2004, the QNSL paper company rebuilt it on the same site, wisely using stone instead of wood. A great collaboration with the nearby St-Pancrace microbrewery allows you to enjoy a beer (or wine) on site.
Notes:
Bring photo ID for entry. Pregnant women are not allowed to participate.