Heritage tourism plan moving along

With renovations on the Fort Frances Museum wrapping up Phase One of the Fort Frances heritage tourism implementation plan, work on Phase Two has been ongoing.
The planning committee and consultants have been working out the details, such as where to relocate the Lookout Tower and Hallett, as well as making other enhancements to the waterfront and downtown area here.
Museum curator Pam Hawley said the draft report of the heritage tourism plan came out late last year and that the heritage tourism committee has been meeting with stakeholders, such as the Rainy River Future Development Corp. and Abitibi-Consolidated, to discuss what options outlined in the report will and won’t work.
Hawley said she’s scheduled to meet with consultants Hilderman, Thomas, Frank and Cram next week to further discuss details of the plan, after which a date will be scheduled for a public meeting next month.
While details of the plan still have to be finalized, the projects under Phase Two are expected to be carried out this year.
“We hope to be doing it this summer. We have money in place—a good portion of it,” noted Hawley. “Once we have the public meeting and accept the report, we’ll put it out to tender in the spring, and then go on to the moving and construction and such.
By this fall, hopefully, it will all be in place.”
Phase Two of the heritage tourism project is expected to cost about $2.2 million.
As mentioned above, details of the plan still have to be finalized. But until then, here’s information from the current draft of the study:
< *c>Lookout Tower
One of the decisions to be made in the plan is the relocation of the Lookout Tower.
Originally, there were two options being looked at: moving it to the corner of Front Street and Minnie Avenue or onto the median on Front Street across from the Sorting Gap site.
But Hawley noted because the site must be on town-owned land, the Lookout Tower likely will be erected at a third proposed location—onto the land on the same side as the Sorting Gap, where the mermaid sculpture sits.
Hawley added this site previously had been looked at for a fishing museum.
As well, technical considerations for the Lookout Tower include:
•foundation requirements;
•ease of dismantling and re-assembling;
•site access for construction and future use;
•site laydown space for construction;
•site servicing;
•means of providing long-term security;
•extent to which traffic flow and other activities may be compromised;
•cost;
•long-term maintenance;
•parking; and
•site topography
< *c>The Hallett
The two site options for the Hallett include being located in the Rainy River, west of the Sorting Gap Marina, or partially buried—to simulate a docking situation—into the median on Front Street across from the Sorting Gap.
The first option would be a more realistic display of the boat, but its rudder would be underwater and not visible as part of the exhibit. Likewise, ice flow and water damage could be a factor.
The second option would be a more “stable structural installation,” but its “interpretive value” would not be as strong as if the Hallett were docked in the river.
Hawley noted the first option—the boat in the water—seems to be the favoured one at this point.
She noted technical considerations for the Hallett include:
•river elevation (how much the water may go up or down each year);
•environmental impact;
•the fact the boat must be seaworthy for in-water sitting;
•site access for construction and future use;
•site servicing;
•means of providing long-term security;
•foundation requirements for in-ground sitting;
•extent to which traffic flow or other activities may be compromised;
•long-term maintenance; and
•parking
< *c>Interpretive concepts
The study also outlines “interpretive concepts,” or themes, that can be tied into the sites from a tourism perspective. These would be expressed through the use of interpretive panels to inform tourists.
For example, the Lookout Tower would be a site to educate tourists on forest fires (their cause and effect, succession growth, etc.), how the tower would have been used, and current fire detection methods.
Interpretive concepts tying into the Hallett would include the history of logging on the Rainy River and Rainy Lake, as well as the story of the Hallett itself (its construction, logging stories, decommissioning, etc.)
These interpretive concepts also tie into pavilions that will recount the history of the area and the forts that have been here in the past, which, for obvious reasons, won’t be rebuilt but instead be represented through these pavilions.
These pavilions, which may be located at the handful of red-roofed kiosks along the La Verendrye Parkway, will feature interpretive signs telling the story of the Rainy River forts in chronological order, as well as interactive components for children, like a canoe to climb into and binoculars through which to view historic scenes of the various forts.
The heritage tourism plan also outlines a “way finding” system, which includes a series of street identification signs to be located on all street corners downtown and along the heritage route.
They will identify routes from the east to west ends of town, and from the border and Canada Customs through the downtown and the La Verendrye Parkway.
These signs would follow the appearance of the blue ones already seen near the gateway and along the waterfront, Scott Street, and Second Street East.
The way finding system also includes a series of banners based on themes, whether they be “welcome banners,” heritage banners, or seasonal and event-based banners.
Banners would be changed on a regular basis.
Another aspect of the heritage tourism plan is the “Discovery Centre Plaza,” which essentially is a series of elements located around the museum to make it a centre for heritage tourism in the town.
These elements vary from trees planted in front of the museum, accompanied by interpretive signs regarding the boreal forest, to banners and planters on light standards and a “boulder bench,” to a Canadian Mountie statue and an interactive electronic information kiosk.