Thursday, November 29, 2012

We Can’t Miss This Opportunity

Editor:
I was very interested to read a brief item in The Guardian on Nov. 23 in which city councillor Rob Lantz says it's time to rethink the future of Founders' Hall, as part of a new waterfront master plan that will focus on creating a waterfront district that is vibrant and active year-round for residents and visitors alike. "I think Founders' Hall has a huge role to play in that goal and it’s time to rethink the use of that very important building," Lantz said.

That item brought back memories for me: when plans were first underway for construction of the building and I (and others) wrote letters to then-premier Pat Binns urging him to have it designated as a provincial museum.

Obviously that did not happen. Are we now being given the opportunity to rethink that decision? My image for Founders' Hall is to have it not only as a repository for Island artifacts, but as a ‘learning place’ where Island students could be bused to the building to explore some of the Island history and university students could conduct research; that would fit the above goal to make it "vibrant and active year-round for residents and visitors alike."

What an ideal project for 2014. Let’s not miss out on it again.
Laura Mair,
Charlottetown