A boulevard named after the singer to Charlemagne.
The house where grew the biggest star of Quebec was completely shaved Charlemagne last Friday, before the impossibility of transforming to accommodate its fans.
Dion family saw the potential for several years to make a house reminding fans of Celine's humble origins of her family.
"When mom returned home, she wanted to make a kind of tourist attraction. That was the goal, "says Michel Dion, Celine's brother and manager of the star in Las Vegas.
Talks had been undertaken in the past with the City and the owners of neighboring buildings, but the project was never realized.
Celine Dion was very attached to the family home in this small city of Lanaudière, which recalled many memories. It has regularly spoken in interviews of family meals with 13 siblings and complete to play music evenings.
House already changed
But the house was already quite changed since it was converted into a store in the early 1980s, and until recently housed a retail doors and windows.
"The interior no longer look anything like (that of) the time we lived there," says Dion. They return for protection. There were lots and lots of money to put into it to what it would have reported. Even emotionally. "
According to Michel Dion, the house was extensively inspected, always aiming to make it a great place for fans of the singer, a rare Quebec - if not the only - to have achieved such status internationally.
"Too broken"
"After inspection and verification, they realized it was too broken, too messed up, so that people can go inside. (...) The City had requirements and there were specialists on site (at the time of the home inspection). We could not do much with it, "says Michel Dion.
The new building will be erected on the site will house the offices of the Maman Dion Foundation, but also one or two units, according to Michel Dion.
Celine is she aware of the fate that was reserved for the house where she grew up? "Mom will talk to him. It's Thanksgiving today (yesterday), so she will call her two daughters in Las Vegas, "says the brother of the star.
It was impossible to talk to Celine Dion and the Mayor of Charlemagne, Normand Grenier.
- In collaboration with Marie-Eve Dumont
LOST BENEFITS
The demolition of the house of the Dion family has disappointed many who saw an important development for the city economic engine.
"It is an affront to me not to have a museum of Celine Dion Charlemagne. It's the least we can do, she put Quebec on the map. Tourists already come just to see the house and take pictures, imagine with a museum, "protested Gaetan Bouchard, a fan of the singer and activist for the creation of a museum in his childhood home.
"Of course it's a shame, because the building had a story and people would come to discover," says Isabelle Grenier, owner of Damybelle restaurant, adjacent to the residence of Dion.
Lack of will
The president of Tourisme Lanaudière, Evelyne Richard did not hide his disappointment at the demolition of a place with interesting potential.
"It has not been developed, it has not been protected, and it has not been preserved, she says. Obviously, there was no willingness on the part of the developer or the municipality. "
Mrs. Richard - as the Dion family - believes that the home of the clan would obviously drew handfuls of tourists, given the special status of Celine on the global cultural scene.
"Obviously it would have brought tourists from outside.What's important tourism is to bring foreign currency. It would have created jobs, there would be an impact on the hotel industry. There is talk of building a convention center, it could help them go faster, "says Ms. Richard.
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