Rossland Museum Gateway consultant named
By Contributor
Since 1967, the Rossland Museum has been gathering the artifacts and telling the stories of Rossland to school children, tourists and residents. It also showcases how mining in Rossland lead to the construction of the first smelting and refining facilities at the Teck Trail Operations site more than 115 years ago. From the time of its inception, the Museum, and its historic Le Roi Mine site, has become an anchor of the region’s heritage experiences.
For more than a year now, the Rossland Museum Gateway Project (RMGP) has been working through the planning steps that will help integrate the Museum’s exhibits and programs with the community in exciting new ways. All of the community engagement work to date has resulted in the hiring of a museum and heritage specialist, Don Luxton and Associates. Over the next two months, the team will identify the planning stages and cost estimates that can assist the Rossland Museum in telling even more of the community’s stories and celebrating its unique identity for residents and visitors alike.
Don Luxton and Associates was selected through a request for proposals process. The work will be completed for a cost of $48,500 (plus GST and including all fees and disbursements). Teck Trail Operations has contributed $47,962 of this budget, with the City of Rossland funding the remainder.
Building on surveys and community engagement work over the past year, Don Luxton’s team will be in Rossland several times to gather more data and to meet the community.
Teck Trail Operations has also provided the funding for the initial planning work and facilitation, with the project being administered by the municipality.
Mayor Greg Granstrom noted, “The Rossland Museum is important to our community identity, and it’s a valuable link to the area’s tourism mix. We are very happy to have the support of Teck to see this planning project move forward.”
Libby Martin, the Museum Association’s President, is equally enthusiastic commenting that, “The entire Board has come together to work on strengthening the Museum. Careful planning steps will bring Rossland even closer to its exciting history.”
Don Luxton, an Architect himself, brings award-winning project experience and a team of creative researchers to the task. In the end, says Luxton, “It’s about identifying ways to enliven and deepen the connections between the Museum and the community. We’ve worked with many different sized museums and heritage sites, and we are committed to balancing fiscal responsibility with the creation of an exciting and dynamic concept for a renewed Rossland Museum.”
Site visits to Rossland in August, September and October will give the consulting team ample opportunity to study the Museum’s buildings, grounds, and collections. These occasions will also provide important community feedback as the planning begins to take shape. “You have all the essential elements here,” says Luxton, “a wonderful collection of artifacts, a nationally recognized heritage site featuring the importance of mining, and a strong and supportive committee and community.”
The Rossland Museum Gateway Project committee members are looking forward to receiving the final report in November this year and bringing the plans to the citizens of Rossland.
