Ha! Ha! Pyramid

File:Pyramide des Ha! Ha!.jpg

The area of Grande-Baie suffered heavy damage from the flood of 1996. Ten people died, and between 12,000 and 16,000 residents were displaced. Some 500 to 800 buildings were destroyed, more than 1,200 damaged, and damage estimates ranged from {{CA$|300–700 million}}.{{Cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/saguenay-quebec-floods-20-year-anniversary-1.3684983 |title=Devastating flood in Quebec's Saguenay region remembered on 20th anniversary |website=cbc.ca |access-date=25 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180318031154/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/saguenay-quebec-floods-20-year-anniversary-1.3684983 |archive-date=18 March 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/saguenay-floods-kill-10|title=Saguenay Floods Kill 10|website=The Canadian Encyclopedia|accessdate=September 1, 2019}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/sos/002028-1300-e.html |title=SOS! Canadian Disasters Saguenay Flood July 1966 |website=collectionscanada.gc.ca |access-date=25 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180309165554/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/sos/002028-1300-e.html |archive-date=9 March 2018 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}

The project was therefore seen as a form of therapy to help residents recover from the traumatic events of the flood, and to revitalise the area by adding a new tourist and artistic attraction. A group of local citizens formed The Restoration Committee of Ha! Ha!, put forward the idea for a new art installation, and requested help from local artist Jean-Jules Soucy.{{Cite web |url=https://grandquebec.com/saguenay-lac-saint-jean/pyramide-ha-ha/ |title=Pyramide des Ha ! Ha ! |website=grandquebec.com |access-date=25 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170108063317/http://grandquebec.com/saguenay-lac-saint-jean/pyramide-ha-ha/ |archive-date=8 January 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }} Soucy submitted a contemporary design that would express both "originality and a sense of humor".{{cite press release|title=Présentation de la ville de Saguenay au concours Les Arts et la Ville|url=http://www.arts-ville.org/media/upload/fichiers/saguenay_07.pdf|access-date=2011-04-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303184642/http://www.arts-ville.org/media/upload/fichiers/saguenay_07.pdf|archive-date=3 March 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}

The project called for the full restoration of the Ha! Ha! River, on whose banks the project is situated, and the construction of a new public park in the area where a bridge once stood, which would contain the {{convert|21|m|ft}} high pyramid and an area for public performances.

The project was estimated to cost $2 million, and was completed in several stages. The Ha! Ha! park was completed in 1998 for a total of $1.3 million, and was officially inaugurated during the 2000 Festival of Lac-Saint-Jean. Financing was achieved through a public-private partnership, including a fund-raising campaign that netted $300,000. Finally, in 2005, a public square was completed next to the project at a cost of $35,000.

The pyramid is a {{convert|21|m|ft|adj=on}} high aluminum structure covered in 3,000 yield signs with standard reflective coating.{{Cite web |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/pyramide-des-ha-ha |title=Pyramide des Ha! Ha! |website=atlasobscura.com |access-date=25 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170927161008/http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/pyramide-des-ha-ha |archive-date=27 September 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}{{Cite web |url=https://www.quebecoriginal.com/en-ca/listing/things-to-do/heritage-sites-and-attractions/scenic-points/pyramide-des-ha-ha-9252319 |title=Pyramide des Ha! Ha! |website=quebecoriginal.com |access-date=25 September 2018}} The design of the signs were noted by Soucy to be similar to the Greek delta (Δ).{{cite web|url=http://www.arts-ville.org/media/upload/fichiers/saguenay_07.pdf|title=PYRAMIDE DES HA! HA!|work=City of Saguenay|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110427200841/http://www.arts-ville.org/media/upload/fichiers/saguenay_07.pdf|archivedate=27 April 2011|accessdate=23 November 2018|url-status=dead}} The signs are meant to encourage people to help one another, as the French word for "yield", céder, is pronounced the same as s'aider, meaning "to help each other".{{Cite web |url=http://museedufjord.com/en/exhibitions-and-activities/pyramide-des-ha-ha/ |title=Pyramide des Ha! Ha! |website=museedufjord.com |access-date=25 September 2018 |archive-date=25 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180925115851/http://museedufjord.com/en/exhibitions-and-activities/pyramide-des-ha-ha/ |url-status=dead }}

A central staircase provides access to an observation deck which allows views of the Haha portion of the surrounding Saguenay River valley. On the pyramid's interior walls there are a number of plaques dedicated to local families engraved with the names of those who were directly affected by the flood.{{cn|date=October 2018}}

In 2007 the pyramid was one of three finalists for the "new development prize" from Les Arts et la Ville, a nonprofit organisation that supports the artistic and cultural life of smaller municipalities.{{Cite web |url=https://kollectif.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/bulletin-special-prix-les-arts-et-la-ville-2007.pdf |title=BULLETIN SPÉCIAL Prix Les Arts et la Ville 2007 |website=kollectif.files.wordpress.com |access-date=25 September 2018}}

File:Québec P-020-1.svg

• Saguenay flood
• Canadian contemporary art
• Lists of pyramids

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• [https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/pyramide-des-ha-ha Pyramide des Ha! Ha!] at Atlas Obscura

Category:Pyramids in Canada

Category:Buildings and structures in Saguenay, Quebec

Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1998

Category:1998 establishments in Quebec