Provincial museum could cost $41M: report

As published by CBC News - Wednesday, December 2, 2009

The P.E.I. government says a new provincial museum may cost as much as $41 million and it will be looking to the rest of the country to provide some of the money.

The ruling Liberals promised to build a provincial museum more than a year ago. P.E.I. is the only province in Canada without a centrally located museum.

Carolyn Bertram, the minister of communities, cultural affairs and labour, tabled a study in the legislature on Tuesday that laid out several sizes and configurations for a possible museum.

The largest and fanciest of those options would cost more than $41 million.

"Government now has to do some number crunching and see the best solution for Islanders and to secure the resources necessary," Bertram said.

"Again, $40 million is a lot of money right now when we look at the economy and the needs that are presented across our province."

She insisted the project was not dead and that the province hopes to get money from the federal government by linking the museum to 2014 and the 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown conference that led to Confederation.

Bertram said any cost-sharing with Ottawa would likely happen under an infrastructure program.

"Government is continuing to work on this and it's very important in our department," she said.

Ian Scott, a heritage advocate and a former head of the P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation, said he's disappointed the province isn't moving to build a museum right away, but he has hope it will still happen.

"It may not be on this year's capital list, but that's encouraging news that this is still a front-burner project for the provincial government," he said.

Note: - Readers comments related to this item are posted at the CBC site which hosts the original article.

A museum to house our heritage

Editorial as published by The Guardian, Dec 5, 2009

We, as a province, have to decide if our history is worth preserving

Members of the P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation and its many supporters must be disappointed with developments, or lack of, in recent weeks in connection with a provincial museum.

Last fall, the province made a firm commitment to proceed with a centrally-located provincial museum, and stated that plans to build such a facility would proceed "within a few years." Nothing has happened since then.

There was no mention of a provincial museum in the speech from the throne, or in the capital budget released last week. The province detailed nearly $500 million in spending priorities for the next five years but among the schools, manors and roads, there was nary a mention of a museum.

All the signs indicate that the province is backing away from fulfilling its museum promise. The provincial government's stimulus spending binge does appear to have a limit after all.

A study was released this week that suggested a facility to house a provincial museum, archives and records facility under one roof is estimated at a staggering $41 million. There are obviously other less expensive options for a museum. The former Dominion Building on lower Queen Street has always been a favourite among some museum supporters. One of the recently closed schools in the Eastern District could be utilized as well.

There comes a point when action must be taken. When the Liberals killed plans to build an artifactory in Murray River two years ago, it left more than 80,000 items of historical significance languishing in a warehouse at the West Royalty Industrial Park. The Opposition may be going too far by suggesting that the government has no intention of building a museum. Government says it will, but apparently only if Ottawa and other provinces help out as part of the 150th anniversary celebrations of the 1864 Charlottetown Conference. Provincial Treasurer Wes Sheridan waxed on last week about this option but he made a poor job of trying to explain his rationale, leaving people wondering why P.E.I. was trying to 'pick the pockets' of Ottawa and other provinces.

What Mr. Sheridan seemed to be talking about was the suggestion first formulated and forcefully presented by Edward MacDonald of the Department of History at UPEI.

MacDonald sees the upcoming 2014 sesquicentennial celebrations of the Charlottetown Conference as a funding opportunity to create a memorial similar to the Fathers of Confederation Memorial Trust built to mark the 100th anniversary of Confederation. He says a state-of-the-art provincial museum to complement the province-wide network of small, theme heritage sites would be a suitable memorial for the nation. It's a solid argument.

More than $400-million of tax dollars helped mark the 400th anniversary of the founding of Québec City. This province contributed $500,000 to the Vancouver Olympics and another $500,000 to operate Atlantic Canada House during those games. No one can argue that we don't pay our share. There is a valid argument that a museum should be the major legacy of the 2014 celebrations.

There will always be solid arguments that the money for a museum would be better spent elsewhere, whether it be on a catastrophic drug program, seniors housing or any number of similar pressing issues. But as a province we have to decide if we think our heritage, our history and our accomplishments are worth preserving and showcasing. We are the only province without a central museum. It's an embarrassment and a solution must be found quickly.

Something needs to be done and done soon.

As first published on The Guardian website Dec 4, 2009
This excellent response to a recent Guardian article on the state of planning for the long promised new Provincial Museum building is well worth reading as it reflects well the voice of a young person who understands the value of museums.

Jennifer Donovan from Prince Edward Island writes: . . . As a young museum professional who has worked on the Island, all over the Maritimes, Canada, U.S., and even abroad, I can tell you that a provincial museum is needed more than ever on Prince Edward Island. Museums are institutions that inspire, educate, and connect us to our communities--they are more than mere tourist attractions. The PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation has an outstanding collection of material culture objects. Islanders need to see this stuff and have faith knowing that their history and heritage will be preserved for generations. We can't understand the present until we understand the past.

The government needs to build this museum! But does it have to cost 41 million dollars? I don't know, but something needs to be done and done soon.

Liberals have killed museum plans twice, Currie charges

by WAYNE THIBODEAU
as published by The Guardian on Dec 4, 2009

A new report suggests a provincial museum could cost P.E.I. taxpayers as much as $41 million but Conservative MLA Mike Currie says the price tag is irrelevant because the Liberal government has no intention of building it anyway.

Currie accused the province of scuttling plans for a provincial museum not once but twice.
When the Liberals were elected, Currie said they scrapped plans for a provincial artifactory in Murray River and then they failed to include the museum in last week’s capital budget.
The capital budget lays out the provincial government’s spending priorities for the next five years.

“This was a promise of yours,” Currie said during question period.

“Did you not have the support of your cabinet colleagues to go forward with construction of a new museum?”

A report released earlier this week said the museum could cost as much as $41 million.

That interim report prepared by Bergmark Guimond Hammarlund Jones Architects and Lundholm Associates Architects said P.E.I. needs a “… strong central institution that can provide a comprehensive overview of the Island’s natural and human history and serve as a strong support to a network of heritage sites.”

The authors of the report say there are benefits to combining a central museum with the public archives.

The report then outlined a series of options ranging from a museum facility alone with reduced permanent exhibition space at 12,000 square feet at a cost of $24 million to the Cadillac version, which would include a full program museum and archive facility with 20 years of planned on-site collection storage and 20,000 square feet of permanent exhibition space at a cost of $41 million.
Cultural Affairs Minister Carolyn Bertram said her government remains firmly committed to a centrally located museum.

“We are doing our homework before we get into this too far unlike the previous government that was just going to build a storage facility with no thought or planning into it,” Bertram said.
“Our government is committed to a provincial museum.”

When the Liberals were elected they killed plans by the former Progressive Conservative administration for an artifactory in Murray River.

That facility would have stored the nearly 80,000 artifacts that are currently being housed in a warehouse in the West Royalty Industrial Park in Charlottetown.

The province wants the federal government and other provinces to contribute to a new,
central museum as part of the 150th anniversary celebrations of the 1864 Charlottetown Conference.

Currie then suggested during question period that the province should
work with the Town of Stratford to locate the provincial museum in Stratford.

“Now, that’s something that his administration would have done,” said Bertram.

“We are not going to go and pit one community against the other. We’re taking the recommendation of the study that it should be centrally located.”

See responses to this article at The Guardian site.

P.E.I. wants others to pay for new museum

by WAYNE THIBODEAU
As published by The Guardian Nov 30, 2009

The Prince Edward Island government wants to pick the pockets of other provinces in an effort to secure the money needed to build a new provincial museum.

The Liberals have long promised to build a centrally located provincial museum.
P.E.I. remains the only province in Canada without one.

But once again there was no money in the capital budget released last Friday for the project.
Provincial Treasurer Wes Sheridan says that’s because the province is lobbying the federal government and other provinces to pay for the museum.

“The dollar value was huge as to what they thought was needed for a provincial museum here in Prince Edward Island,” Sheridan said.

“What we have done . . . as we move forward with our partners in Confederation to say in the 2014 year, when we’re celebrating the 150th year of Confederation and the meetings here in Charlottetown, we’re going to ask our partners to work with us towards this end.”

Last November the provincial government said it was going to build a provincial museum.

While a provincial museum has been promised, no money has been budgeted for the project.
The former government had promised to build a provincial artifactory in Murray River. The $4.9-million project would have housed more than 80,000 items that are currently
being stored at the West Royalty Industrial Park.

But the Liberal government killed those plans, saying Murray River was too far off the beaten track to house the facility.

The idea of having somebody else pay for the provincial museum is not new.
Edward MacDonald of the department of history at UPEI, described the 2014 celebrations as “…a rare and wonderful opportunity” for P.E.I.

“The year 2014 will mark the sesquicentennial of the Charlottetown Conference of 1864, now recognized as a critical milestone on the road to Confederation,” MacDonald wrote, in an opinion piece in The Guardian in September.

“In a small province with limited resources, where it always costs us proportionately more to keep up with the Joneses, 2014 offers a rare and wonderful opportunity. Why not use this ‘one-of’ funding opportunity to create another cultural legacy that will enrich the lives of Islanders, both present and future?

“Let’s use the special funding opportunity of the upcoming sesquicentennial of the Charlottetown Conference to complete the task begun so bravely in 1973 by building a state-of-the-art provincial museum to complement the province-wide network of small, theme museums that currently exist.”

In the throne speech delivered Nov. 12, the province said it’s planning a major celebration to mark the 150th anniversary of the 1864 Charlottetown Conference, which gave birth to Confederation.

Sheridan said the idea is not new. He said more than $400-million went to Quebec City during its recent celebrations.

Those celebrations marked the 400th anniversary of the founding of Québec City.

“We’ll be looking to collect some of those funds as well.”
See comments to this story by readers published on the The Guardian site - Nov 30, 2009

Collaborating on a museum

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR as published in The Guardian Nov 7, 2009
Editor:

I fully agree with Dr. Ed MacDonald's letter 'Let's build a provincial museum' (The Guardian, Sept. 26, 2009).

One thing I would like to add is the need for collaboration amongst all levels of government as was the case in 1964 with the building of the Confederation Centre of the Arts.

Back then, the government of Canada provided the cash investment and the provincial legislature conveyed all of the property (approximately one acre) to the Fathers of Confederation Building Trust. The City of Charlottetown's contribution came in the form of an annual grant in lieu of taxes. Consequently, the Confederation Centre does not pay municipal taxes on the buildings or property. In 2009, this grant amounted to $208,000.

We need to encourage the province to lead the charge in announcing, within the very near future, the formation of a working group to plan a grand celebration of the sesquicentennial of the Charlottetown Conference of 1864. This plan must include the Parliament of Canada acknowledging Charlottetown's place in Canadian history as the Birthplace of Confederation by an Act of Parliament. As well, the new museum should incorporate this important and historical contribution including the many other facets of Island history.

A citizens group worked together to bring about the Confederation Centre of the Arts. Now it's time for the provincial government to provide the leadership to move forward and build a new museum with collaboration from the federal government and the municipal government of Charlottetown.

Philip Brown,

Charlottetown

Capital Lobbies for Provincial Museum

WAYNE THIBODEAU
As published by The Guardian, Oct 15, 2009

The City of Charlottetown is joining a growing list of Prince Edward Island municipalities that want to be home to a proposed provincial museum.

During a meeting of Charlottetown city council on Tuesday, Coun. Kim Devine commended the provincial government for deciding to build a new provincial museum.

Devine said she plans on outlining Charlottetown’s case to the Department of Communities, Cultural Affairs and Labour. She said Charlottetown’s proposal would be “sustainable, feasible and a very appropriate location” that would provide year-round traffic to the museum.

“We are a city that has a rich history,” Devine told councillors.

Charlottetown’s pitch is that it is a capital city for the whole province, the centre with the largest population, as well as a well-established tourist destination.

The capital city says locating the provincial museum in Charlottetown would enhance other cultural centres in the city, including the Confederation Centre of the Arts, as well as strengthen existing historical resources, including the Public Archives located in the Coles Building.

Charlottetown isn’t the only municipality looking to be home to the provincial museum.

The Town of Stratford also wants the honour.

But the capital city may have an edge in the competition.

A firm specializing in planning and designing museums has completed a study looking at the possibility of converting the vacant Dominion Building on Queen Street into a provincial museum.

Lundholm Associates carried out the study for Canada Lands Company, the company that has control of the Dominion Building.

But Cultural Affairs Minister Carolyn Bertram said Wednesday no decision has been made on a location for a provincial museum. She did say the province is committed to creating a “centrally located” provincial museum.

“We are not going to prejudge where it is going to be, that is part of the upcoming process,” Bertram said last November.

Last November the provincial government said it was going to build a provincial museum.

But it may be years yet before construction actually begins. While a provincial museum has been promised, no money has been budgeted for the project.

The former government had promised to build a provincial artifactory in Murray River. The $4.9-million project would have housed more than 80,000 items that are currently being stored at the West Royalty Industrial Park.

But the Liberal government killed those plans, agreeing with some history buffs that Murray River was too far off the beaten track to house the facility.

Devine said creating a provincial museum to interpret and celebrate the Island’s history is long overdue.

“We are currently the only province that does not have a provincial museum,” said Devine. “But we are a province that is rich in its history.”

Let's build a provincial museum

As published by The Guardian September 26, 2009

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Editor:

If 'location' is the watchword of the real estate industry, so timing is everything when it comes to heritage. Last year, the provincial government announced its commitment to the construction of a central museum complex to complete the provincial museum system that was begun in 1973. That system was created by a provincial government committed to preserving the Island's heritage and funded in large measure by federal monies made available to mark the centennial of Prince Edward Island's entry into Confederation.

The provincial museum system, preserving and interpreting the Island's past for Islanders and visitors, became the chief legacy of our centennial year.

Another anniversary now nears. The year 2014 will mark the sesquicentennial of the Charlottetown Conference of 1864, now recognized as a critical milestone on the road to Confederation. In the early 1960s, Ottawa formally recognized the centennial of the conference as the launching pad for the celebration of Canada's centennial and invested the remarkable sum - for that time - of $2.8 million to help a citizens' group fund a national shrine in downtown Charlottetown to the Fathers of Confederation. That "living memorial", the Confederation Centre of the Arts, has become an architectural landmark, cultural mecca and tourism anchor in the province.

In a small province with limited resources, where it always costs us proportionately more to keep up with the Joneses, 2014 offers a rare and wonderful opportunity. Why not use this 'one-of' funding opportunity to create another cultural legacy that will enrich the lives of Islanders, both present and future? Let's use the special funding opportunity of the upcoming sesquicentennial of the Charlottetown Conference to complete the task begun so bravely in 1973 by building a state-of-the-art provincial museum to complement the provincewide network of small, theme museums that currently exist. If not now, will we have to wait until the bicentennial before there is another such chance?

Edward MacDonald,

Provincial museum acquires Trueman Pate collection of oil lamps

As published by The Guardian on Sept 29, 2009
EDITORIAL STAFF
The Guardian

The Trueman Pate Lamp Collection has been added to the provincial museum collection.

The Department of Communities, Cultural Affairs and Labour, along with the P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation, announced the acquisition and said the addition is thanks to the generosity of Hyndman & Company Ltd., The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company and the family of Trueman Pate.

“This group of lamps is thought to be the largest museum collection of its kind in the country and the museum is proud to have it as part of the provincial collection,” said David Keenlyside, executive director of P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation.

The Pate Collection was the lifelong passion of Trueman Pate from Summerside, who amassed a large number of beautiful oil lamps over many years. It was his wish that the approximately 570 lamps stay together on P.E.I.

After an exhibit of the collection at Eptek Art & Culture Centre in 2008, negotiators began investigating the possible acquisition of the entire lamp collection by the P.E.I. Museum. A government news release says it would not have been possible without Pate’s tenacious collecting spirit and his family’s kind offer to help make his lifelong interest a part of the provincial museum collection for Islanders now and always.

Celebrating its 100th anniversary, Hyndman & Company and The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company made a significant donation to the P.E.I. Museum in order to assist in the acquisition of the Pate lamp collection.

“Hyndman & Company Ltd. and Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company are pleased to fund the acquisition by the P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation of The Trueman Pate Collection of lamps and lanterns to become part of their permanent collection for the benefit of future generations,” said a company representative.

On the Net: www.peimuseum.com

Architect sparks excitement about bid for museum in Stratford

as published by The Guardian on Oct 1, 2009
NIGEL ARMSTRONG
The Guardian

Passion and excitement swept through a meeting in Stratford Wednesday as the town pushes on with a bid to have a new P.E.I. museum on its waterfront.

An informal committee of interested people, led by Stratford deputy mayor Sandy McMillan, has for the past few days been hosting one of the world’s most famous architects, Douglas Cardinal.

He spoke at a public meeting attended by nearly 50 people at Stratford Town Hall Wednesday. Afterwards, the excitement was palpable.

Edward Rice presented his enthusiasm for the project to area MLA Cynthia Dunsford and Mayor Kevin Jenkins.

“All inclusiveness, the inspiration of a new building that is allowed to be free, to be formed, something new and imaginative, the site — which I think is ideal — somebody put all this together and that hasn’t happened in Charlottetown,” said Rice.

Cardinal spoke of the need for strong, determined vision and commitment to make projects happen even when it seems unlikely. He persevered for many of his renowned, curving structures, be it the National Museum of the American Indian on the Washington Mall beside the Capitol, or a northern Canadian hospital combining aboriginal and western medicine.

“It takes imagination, which everything starts with, your vision, your belief, and (Cardinal) brought that to us tonight,” said Rice. “Somebody somewhere in this group had the brains to put that together. They have a bid committee. Where are the rest of the few communities that could be interested? I see big players here and big dreamers too.

“Remember Frank MacKinnon built Confederation Centre of the Arts on a dream, with not a . . . hope . . . of getting a dime to do that, and he and a few other people did it. Not that I agree with it.”

Jordan Brown is the unofficial co-chair and sometime spokesperson for the Stratford museum bid committee. He lives in Frenchfort but was impressed with the idea of Stratford being home to a P.E.I. museum. He knows that the current town sewage lagoon will have to be moved if the museum is to occupy the open waterfront space south of the Hillsborough Bridge approaches.

“From a provincial perspective it makes so much sense to have it there, it is almost nonsensical to think of it being any place else,” said Brown.

He invited any interested Islander to contact him, McMillan or the Stratford town office to volunteer for the growing ad hoc museum committee.

“Government right now has announced its intention to build this museum and is currently undertaking a study . . . to define the scope of the museum, where it would go, what kind of facility it would need, parking, etc.,” said Brown. “Like (Cardinal) said here tonight, we have stated our intention that we want it here, now we are enrolling the people to do that.”

“The first step is to declare a very powerful intention,” said Cardinal in his address Wednesday.

Then it must be nurtured, he said.

“When you state your word, and you say it in a powerful way, the hardest thing is to keep your word because human beings have a whole bunch of agendas going on in their heads,” said Cardinal. “To bring a vision into reality, you keep your word, you keep your intentions pure which requires an unwavering commitment. You operate by commitment, rather than fear.

“Fear keeps us powerless and small and collapse the power of our intention.”

See public responses to this article at the Guardian site.

Historic Catalogue of Birds of Prince Edward Island - now online

Dalhousie University now has published online, an historical reprint of A Catalogue of the Birds of Prince Edward Island. By John MacSwain, Charlottetown, P. E. I. (Read 13th November, 1905; revised to 1907.)

This catalogue of the birds of Prince Edward Island has been compiled chiefly from field notes, beginning in 1895 and continued to the present time. It contains the names of two hundred and three birds seen by the writer during this period of thirteen years ; and a supplementary list of thirteen additional birds stated to occur in Prince Edward Island in the "Catalogue of Canadian Birds" by Prof. Macoun. There is a similar list of four species from "Birds of Prince Edward Island," by the late Mr. Francis Bain.

Give Island children, and visitors, a place to discover

Commentary
GUEST OPINION
PAMELA KORITANSKY
as published in The Guardian, March 24, 2009


I have returned to P.E.I. to raise a family after several years of being away. Since returning I have often heard it said that P.E.I. is the ideal place to raise a family. This has given me reason to wonder if this is really true.

My husband and I and our children recently took a trip to Portland, Maine and while there visited a "children's museum." The museum was an interactive discovery centre that engaged children in exploring and discovering lots of interesting things about the way the world works: how wind affects the movement of balls, how gravity affects different objects and what the inside of the space shuttle looks like. It afforded our children the opportunity to step inside a life-size fire engine and press buttons and see lights flash, to walk through a child-size storefront, take out money at an imitation ATM machine, pretend to be a veterinarian at the child-size clinic complete with stuffed animals in need of medical attention, and a tree for climbing, to mention only a few. It was a welcome place to visit as a family where we could explore and run around indoors on a cold February day. It was open every day, all day and offered a variety of really great programs for children of all ages.

My children are preschool-aged and I have found it difficult to find things to do with them and as a family here on P.E.I. We love being outdoors and enjoy all the excellent parks in Charlottetown, but often find ourselves "stuck" indoors due to weather that is too harsh for preschool children. We do enjoy visits to the CARI pool and the library, but apart from time and day specific playgroups there is no facility (to my knowledge) that families can visit together for children to run, play and discover.

It seems to me that as a family-friendly tourist destination, Charlottetown would be proud to add to its repertoire a state-of-the-art children's discovery centre that would beckon families to visit here year round. It would be an asset to many of the already popular Island festivals for families and children, and would not be dependent on the weather.

I just recently read the Island prosperity plan and couldn't be more convinced that an essential part of "creating a brighter future" and "investing in the people" is to build a place for children to explore, learn and discover. An interactive discovery centre or museum like the one I visited in Portland would promote creativity and a love of learning among Island children. The exhibits and displays could inspire Island children with ideas about renewable resources like wind energy and aquaculture innovations. I would love to see federal infrastructure money and provincial spending delegated to a project like this. With all the plans for a bioresearch park in place, perhaps the government should consider integrating an investment in the futures of Island children by committing to establish a children's discovery centre in Charlottetown as a part of this innovative plan.

The City of Charlottetown and the province would do well to put its heart, soul and resources into supporting a children's discovery centre because it would be an investment in the prosperity of Island families and that is an investment worth making.

A children's discovery centre would give families a destination to be together and "take 30 for the family." It would be an attraction for any family contemplating moving to P.E.I. as well as retaining Islanders who live here now and are starting their families. Not to mention the fact that this discovery centre could be a real meeting place for Islanders and newcomers alike to share in the joy and delight of their children learning and discovering together.

Where much can be said of P.E.I. being a great place to raise a family (relatively low cost of living, friendly, safe, etc...) we should not let that stop us from finding a way to make our Island even more family-friendly for residents and visitors alike.

Pamela Koritansky is a native Islander. After years of travel and study abroad, she came back to P.E.I. and earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science at UPEI in May 2003. She is currently a stay-at-home mother of two children, aged 2 1/2 years and six months.

Children's museum worth supporting

As published in The Guardian - March 26, 2009

Editor:

I wish to wholeheartedly agree with the views expressed in the guest opinion 'Give Island children, and visitors, a place to discover' (The Guardian, March 24, 2009)

I have long held the view that a children's science museum here on the Island would be magnificent legacy to the Island's children. It could be a place of intellectual exploration, an introduction to important basic scientific ideas, and an enjoyable learning and entertainment experience for all Island children.

I lived in Sudbury when Science North was developed, and visit grandchildren in Vancouver where there is always a visit to the Children's Science Museum on our schedule. These museums are staffed mostly by volunteer retired citizens who have backgrounds in science and engineering, and who are wonderful learning conduits for the children who attend.

A children's science museum - with both basic scientific displays and changeable exhibits - would be useful to every school class on the Island as well as a unique tourist feature during the summer months. This is an idea which looks to the future and would help all Island students. Advancing this as a public project would be a refreshing change from some of the tired and fruitless programs that are funded from time to time here on the Island.

Michael Ross (P. Eng, Retired),

Stratford

The old, threadbare Dominion Building

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR as published in The Guardian, Feb 24, 2009
Editor:

The ease with which some folks are ready to spend other people's money can be breathtaking. Take, for example, the old Dominion Building.

Here's a dated structure that federal government tenants began abandoning years ago. There are rumours the old building is loaded with asbestos insulation. There is also talk the aged structure is unstable, which accounts for the braces on the exterior. An energy audit would almost certainly produce a failing grade. Despite these warning signs, there are some folks who want taxpayers to plow as much as $30 million into the salvage of this worn-out hand-me-down.

Here's the question. Is the Dominion Building worth saving? The architectural design is uninspiring. It can't qualify as a heritage property. And the structure has problems, which will be staggeringly expensive to fix.

By contrast, the estimated cost of demolition is about $2 million. Then what? Islanders can seize the opportunity to create something important and exciting and new on the site of something old and threadbare and lamentable.

Aubrey Bell,

New London

A cultural complex in the Dominion Building

Opinion - as published in The Guardian on Feb 2, 2009

Now that the federal stimulus budget has been passed, let's not forget our government's promise of a new provincial museum. Since a potential location and edifice already exist in the form of the Dominion Building, the Island has a project that is far beyond 'shovel ready'.

The 176,000 square feet of this six-storey structure would provide an ideal location for a provincial museum of culture and nature, with space for a children's museum, as well as for the provincial archives and library. A purpose-built institution may be an ideal, but it would cost more and take longer to realize than recycling an older building.

Many successful museums and cultural complexes have been created in structures where money was spent not on their site or their construction but on their renovation. The Dominion Building's need of new windows, humidity controlled areas and a serious facelift are not unusual ones.

Successful renovations of older structures are too numerous to list but an exemplary one was the National Museum of Science and Technology in Ottawa. The institution grew out of an old bakery made of steel and concrete to become one of Canada's most popular museums during the 1970s and 1980s. Others include a 19th-century prison recently integrated into Quebec's provincial art museum, and an old train station transformed into the Quai D'Orsay, one of the most talked about art galleries in Paris.

The large Dominion Building can accommodate a comprehensive museum, the provincial archives and library and their collections. Centralizing these institutions would facilitate synergies between archivists, curators and librarians and create much-needed efficiencies in space, equipment and personnel. The building could also support complementary educational and entertainment facilities for community and special events.

A cultural centre in a renovated space could work well for teachers, as object-based learning is an excellent complement to that found in schools. Partnerships between the Confederation Centre, the Arts Guild and the MacKenzie Theatre would facilitate the creation of a cultural cluster and in so doing increase educational, leisure and commercial activities for everyone.

The economic and socio-cultural impact of museums and libraries on the revitalization of cities is well documented. Examples include new museums and libraries in Copenhagen, London, Paris, Vancouver, Hull, Montreal and Quebec City. As more residents and tourists are drawn to these institutions, the surrounding neighbourhoods are transformed.

For Charlottetown, the creative use of the Dominion Building would do much more than help counter the flight of businesses from the downtown core.

The creation of a cultural complex and cluster in our capital will create an ambient area where people will converge, where creativity and knowledge will abound, and where business will thrive. As people learn more about the full scope of Island history, they would be directed to regional centres that possess additional artifacts and information concerning different facets of our past and present. A central cultural complex would act as a lead institution, providing leadership, as well as better access to advice, support and training for professionals and volunteers.

As Catherine Hennessey wrote in a recent article of The Island Magazine, people have been dreaming of and planning for a provincial museum since the 1880s. Isn't it time for our governments to seize the occasion to provide Islanders with a dynamic facility that connects them with each other, as well as to their pasts and future?

Terry Ruddel is a former curator of the National Museums of Canada and a former director of Museum Studies at the University of Toronto. He is presently working on the history of blacksmiths in Victoria.

Stratford waterfront a perfect site for provincial museum

Letter to Editor published by The Guardian - January 28, 2009
by DOUG KELLY

I have read with interest your recent articles and letters regarding a site for a provincial heritage museum. I must say that I am in agreement that a museum must interpret the story of P.E.I. by showcasing both our natural and human heritage.

If a museum is to accomplish these goals, and draw Islanders and tourists alike, refurbishing an old, surplus building would not be the way to proceed. The old Dominion Building in Charlottetown was an office building, and would be a poor fit for a museum.

While no expert, I do think that a purpose-built building would be required given the strict environmental controls needed for an artifactory and provincial archives. I am quite sure that among the goals the province might have for investing in a provincial museum, finding a use for surplus office buildings is not among them. A retrofit building would be hard pressed to provide the necessary archival standard for conservation and preservation.

In Harry Baglole's letter on Jan. 5, he stated that a provincial museum should be housed in a purpose-built building located in a setting near woods or the shore. I would like to put forth the idea of Stratford's waterfront as the perfect location.

Central location: The IRIS Group's heritage study recommended a museum be centrally located to make itself accessible to the highest number of visitors. Stratford is in the capital region, and is now connected to Charlottetown via public transportation. The location has the added attraction of sitting on the bank of the Hillsborough River, a designated Canadian Heritage River.

- Space: Stratford's waterfront has adequate space not only for a museum and provincial archives but also for car and bus parking. The location would provide dramatic views of the harbour and Charlottetown's skyline.

- Government presence: The provincial government has demonstrated its commitment to the concept of 'one Island community' by finding new homes for government departments. As the third-largest municipality in province, there is a conspicuous absence of government presence in Stratford. Locating the provincial museum in Stratford would go far to address this deficit.

- Showcase opportunity: A purpose-built museum has the potential to be an architectural gem, reminiscent of the Canadian Museum of Civilization across the river from Ottawa. A provincial museum on the Stratford waterfront would be highly visible from Charlottetown and the Hillsborough Bridge. The design of a museum should be a drawing card in and of itself.

- The future: At some point, a marina is planned for Stratford's waterfront. Both municipalities would benefit if summertime tourists were able to take a pedestrian ferry from historic downtown Charlottetown across the Hillsborough River to the provincial museum in Stratford. A ferry could even complete the triangle, connecting to Rocky Point (Port la Joye/Fort Amherst) before returning to Charlottetown.

Before a location is chosen for the wrong reasons, let's hope the province follows the IRIS Group's recommendation and allows a professionally led study to recommend the preferred site for a provincial museum and archives.

Doug Kelly is chair of the Stratford Heritage Committee.
28/01/09

Two projects worth supporting

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR as published in The Guardian, Jan 21, 2009
Editor:

It is not often that leaders like Premier Ghiz and Mayor Lee have a chance of a lifetime to make decisions that will be remembered for generations to come.

Two related concepts and projects are available to them that would leave a legacy far beyond the norm. The proposed concepts and projects are founded on desegregation over segregation, diversity over uniformity, and inclusion over isolation.

Project number one: build the provincial museum as a centrepiece on the experimental farm property which would be the first step in the development of an inclusive people's park with gardens, playing fields and outdoor venues for all ages, all economic levels, and all backgrounds and beliefs.

Project number two: reconstruct the Dominion Building into a variety of living spaces from large apartments to small studios. A people's co-operative where the traditional and non-traditional families reside side by side. A place with living spaces for young families and elderly citizens, and kids and pets. A home where wealth is measured by kindness rather than by dollars.

Infrastructure money should be applied to more than just roads. Let some of the funds be used to support projects based on societal needs.

Sterling Stratton,

Charlottetown

Orwell Corner offers such a site

As Published by The Guardian Jan 10, 2008

Editor:
In response to Harry Baglole's letter in The Guardian on Monday, Jan. 5, 2009, 'Deja vu - all over again'.

He indicates that "a provincial museum should be located in a lovely natural setting, near woods or seashore and with ample parking in the vicinity for fleets of school buses."

One would wonder why he does not mention that such a site had been prepared at Orwell Corner, which I understand was the original planned location for this structure.

The land was cleared, a large parking lot was made and a new road was constructed. This site is in a lovely natural setting, has a picturesque view and has access to the Trans-Canada Highway.

Louise MacLeod,

Uigg

Déjà vu - all over again

As published in The Guardian - Jan 5, 2008
Editor:

The recent lobbying efforts by various Charlottetown folk to 'shoehorn' the provincial museum entity into a recycled Dominion Building contains, for me, a strong element of 'déjà vu'. In fact, it reminds me of the not-so-distant effort of the previous provincial government to provide a rationale for moving the artifactory to Murray River. In both cases, the facility (new or recycled) and locality came first; and the museum element was seized upon as a means to other ends, developmental and political.

But (attempting to put the horse before the cart), perhaps we should dare to think - to dream - more ambitiously. How about a brilliant purpose-built new building, designed by a modern-day William Critchlow Harris, and located in a lovely natural setting, near woods or seashore, and with ample parking in the vicinity for fleets of schoolbuses. There are, indeed, several such locations available in the Greater Charlottetown area.

Given the present economic down-turn and the stated intention of governments, pretty well everywhere, to 'spend' our way back to prosperity, there may never be a better opportunity to obtain major federal funding for such an undertaking. Suddenly, there's a lot of 'buzz' about large amounts of money becoming available for new buildings and 'infrastructure' generally.

Besides - I'm sure that creative minds can come up with other dynamic and appropriate culture-related purposes for the born-again Dominion Building.

Harry Baglole,

Bonshaw