Railway Heritage
The CASO Station has been transformed. The Elgin County Railway Museum proudly celebrates their 25th anniversary as keepers of the treasure-trove of artifacts housed in the former MCR locomotive shops. The re-created L&PS Station and Railway Corridor will open with special events and fanfare on the September 20th weekend. The MCR bridge over Kettle Creek has been purchased, the first step in ensuring it’s preservation for future conversion to Canada’s first elevated park. Railway enthusiasts converse regularly via their St. Thomas Railway Heritage facebook page, sharing photos, commentary and information and keeping the enthusiasm alive.
Cultural resources (Archives + Stories + Place Names + Heritage Groups + Local Historic Sites + Historic Plaques and Monuments + Railway Festival + Stories +++) = a growing St. Thomas railway heritage momentum.
The CASO Station has been transformed. The Elgin County Railway Museum proudly celebrates their 25th anniversary as keepers of the treasure-trove of artifacts housed in the former MCR locomotive shops. The re-created L&PS Station and Railway Corridor will open with special events and fanfare on the September 20th weekend. The MCR bridge over Kettle Creek has been purchased, the first step in ensuring it’s preservation for future conversion to Canada’s first elevated park. Railway enthusiasts converse regularly via their St. Thomas Railway Heritage facebook page, sharing photos, commentary and information and keeping the enthusiasm alive.
Cultural resources (Archives + Stories + Place Names + Heritage Groups + Local Historic Sites + Historic Plaques and Monuments + Railway Festival + Stories +++) = a growing St. Thomas railway heritage momentum.
 | Streets & Stories Downtown St. Thomas is gradually being wrapped and plaqued with lovely black and white archival photographs. They are an initiative of the Downtown Development Board, an effort to “beautify and promote the historical value of downtown” says DDB chair Dan Muscat. |
The wraps on utility boxes were the first phase of the project; twelve have been installed. The second phase is large plaques installed on former historical building sites or places where they still exist. Three have been placed so far on the Post Office, Victoria Building and Grand Central Apartments. Two more are in the works for the former Richardson’s at the Talbot & Flora corner and at the Bank of Montreal.
Dan says the project will progress further down Talbot Street from Ross Street to First Ave. The initiative was carried a bit outside the DDB footprint with signage at the Wellington Block, location of the historic “Wellington Street Public School”, now Algoma University’s St. Thomas location.
McBain signs produced the wraps and plaques using photographs and information from the Elgin County Archives. The signage also includes scan codes which take you to the Archive website.
Dan says, “I noticed something similar on utility boxes on a visit to Victoria B.C. and thought it was a great idea. And then we wanted to take it a step further with the mounted plaques.”
Cultural resources (Archives + Graphic Designers + Built Heritage Properties + Stories) = a more interesting stroll down Talbot Street
Dan says the project will progress further down Talbot Street from Ross Street to First Ave. The initiative was carried a bit outside the DDB footprint with signage at the Wellington Block, location of the historic “Wellington Street Public School”, now Algoma University’s St. Thomas location.
McBain signs produced the wraps and plaques using photographs and information from the Elgin County Archives. The signage also includes scan codes which take you to the Archive website.
Dan says, “I noticed something similar on utility boxes on a visit to Victoria B.C. and thought it was a great idea. And then we wanted to take it a step further with the mounted plaques.”
Cultural resources (Archives + Graphic Designers + Built Heritage Properties + Stories) = a more interesting stroll down Talbot Street
The City of St. Thomas website outlines three benefits to be derived from building a strong base of information on cultural resources:
The community is being invited to provide input to the Cultural Resource Mapping Project through a community survey and through a community forum. Find the survey at www.surveymonkey.com/s/stthomasculturalmappingsurvey. The forum will be held on October 1st, 2013 at the St. Thomas Elgin Memorial Community Centre Auditorium. Registration will begin at 6:30 pm with the Forum running from 7-8:30 pm. You can register at the following link https://stthomasculturalmapping.eventbrite.ca/ or by contacting the Planning Office.Why take part? Most people will find that they have an involvement in some, if not many, of the areas which have been included in the projects broad definition of cultural resources:
And back to the benefits….
Every asset has the potential to be part of a bigger picture. Combining them in creative ways has the potential for producing interesting, community enhancing and possibly economy enhancing initiatives. People and organizations do their own informal “cultural resource mapping” with positive effect. Some recent happenings serve as examples.
- It improves municipal planning and decision-making through better information;
- It can be used to create interactive maps to better promote the community’s many cultural resources to residents and tourists and;
- It supports stronger networking and collaboration among local cultural groups and activities.
The community is being invited to provide input to the Cultural Resource Mapping Project through a community survey and through a community forum. Find the survey at www.surveymonkey.com/s/stthomasculturalmappingsurvey. The forum will be held on October 1st, 2013 at the St. Thomas Elgin Memorial Community Centre Auditorium. Registration will begin at 6:30 pm with the Forum running from 7-8:30 pm. You can register at the following link https://stthomasculturalmapping.eventbrite.ca/ or by contacting the Planning Office.Why take part? Most people will find that they have an involvement in some, if not many, of the areas which have been included in the projects broad definition of cultural resources:
- natural heritage (botanical gardens, significant local parks, trails, nature centres, conservation areas);
- festivals & events (art festivals, gallery or studio tours, fall fairs, street festivals, music festivals, food and wine festivals);
- cultural enterprises (libraries and archives, music studios, performing art enterprises, broadcasting enterprises; breweries & wineries, art galleries, book stores, museums, antique dealers);
- cultural occupations (architects, writers, cultural managers, musicians, graphic designers, film technicians, photographers, actors);
- community cultural organizations (aboriginal groups, art groups, community bands & choirs, heritage groups);
- cultural spaces & facilities (cultural centres, cinemas, religious institutions, food establishments with live music, performing art venues, urban spaces and event zones, educational institutions);
- intangible assets (stories, customs, oral traditions, place names, ceremonies);
- cultural heritage (local historic sites, archeological sites, public art installations, heritage districts, built heritage properties).
And back to the benefits….
Every asset has the potential to be part of a bigger picture. Combining them in creative ways has the potential for producing interesting, community enhancing and possibly economy enhancing initiatives. People and organizations do their own informal “cultural resource mapping” with positive effect. Some recent happenings serve as examples.
 | Some St. Thomas organizations have been mixing cultural ingredients together to dish up some interesting initiatives. A cultural mapping project being launched by the City of St. Thomas should help them and others do more of this by creating an extensive database of the city's cultural assets. The City of St. Thomas is undertaking a project to identify the community’s cultural resources in order to understand the role played by culture in growing the local economy and enhancing quality of life. |
The process is called Cultural Mapping. It will “lay the foundation for a better understanding of the City’s unique cultural assets which can be used to increase our cultural vitality and support economic development and community-building opportunities” says Mayor Heather Jackson.
A Design Charrette
Up to 160 students and faculty from Fanshawe College (GIS, Urban Planning and Landscape Design programs) will undertake a Design Charrette of the St. Thomas Talbot Street corridor, from the MCR bridge in the west, to the CASO Station and ECRM in the East. The students will work in teams of 12 to come up with a solution or plan to preserve the city’s numerous built heritage assets with a view to enhancing the economic and community development of the downtown core.
The initiative kicks off on Wednesday Sept 18th with a series of events designed to introduce Fanshawe students to St. Thomas and its heritage assets. Some of the students will join members of the public for an evening town hall meeting (7pm) at the St. Thomas Elgin Public Art Centre.
Students will return in February for an intense week of site study, consultation, mapping and design preparation. Final designs will be judged by a combination of faculty and local experts.
The project was initiated by the Municipal Heritage Committee. They, in turn, have sought out partnerships with other organizations and identified resources to aid in the process.
The students will look at a wide range of cultural assets to come up with their plan – the ideas and perspectives are bound to be exciting and thought-provoking.
Up to 160 students and faculty from Fanshawe College (GIS, Urban Planning and Landscape Design programs) will undertake a Design Charrette of the St. Thomas Talbot Street corridor, from the MCR bridge in the west, to the CASO Station and ECRM in the East. The students will work in teams of 12 to come up with a solution or plan to preserve the city’s numerous built heritage assets with a view to enhancing the economic and community development of the downtown core.
The initiative kicks off on Wednesday Sept 18th with a series of events designed to introduce Fanshawe students to St. Thomas and its heritage assets. Some of the students will join members of the public for an evening town hall meeting (7pm) at the St. Thomas Elgin Public Art Centre.
Students will return in February for an intense week of site study, consultation, mapping and design preparation. Final designs will be judged by a combination of faculty and local experts.
The project was initiated by the Municipal Heritage Committee. They, in turn, have sought out partnerships with other organizations and identified resources to aid in the process.
The students will look at a wide range of cultural assets to come up with their plan – the ideas and perspectives are bound to be exciting and thought-provoking.
West End Arts Mingle
“Culture” is sometimes equated with art galleries and museums. A look at the broad range of “cultural assets” to be considered in the St. Thomas Cultural Mapping project demonstrates that it can encompass a whole lot more. However, in our community, the St. Thomas Elgin Public Art Centre is an important part of our cultural landscape and they have a brilliant way of recognizing the positive community building potential of being aware of and building collaboration involving other cultural assets.
Their “West End Arts Mingle” illustrates this nicely. Last year’s “Mingle” showcased the established arts, culture and culinary businesses located at the west end of Talbot Street which is also home to the Arts Centre. Artists set up easels and aimed cameras on the street between Elgin and Pearl to share their impressions and interpretation of the west end streetscape. Visitors to the event had stories about the west end, some of which have since been documented.
At this year’s “Mingle” in late August artists were on hand for the opening of the exhibit of their artwork; a display of Wayne McKinnon’s miniature circus was unveiled, and a travelling parade of elephants created by Elgin County artists came to the centre for their finale exhibit. There were circus-themed kid’s activities and entertainment compliments of local musicians.
The staff at the Art Centre seem to have an extensive "cultural map" implanted in their psyche – and they know how to use its elements in inspired ways to build community.All of the examples above demonstrate ways in which organizations have brought cultural assets together with positive results. The strong base of information which will be created with the Cultural Mapping Project could enable community organizations to achieve similar creative endeavours more often and more
easily. It could help to increase awareness of assets and how they can be put to best use in collaborative and imaginative ways.
“Culture” is sometimes equated with art galleries and museums. A look at the broad range of “cultural assets” to be considered in the St. Thomas Cultural Mapping project demonstrates that it can encompass a whole lot more. However, in our community, the St. Thomas Elgin Public Art Centre is an important part of our cultural landscape and they have a brilliant way of recognizing the positive community building potential of being aware of and building collaboration involving other cultural assets.
Their “West End Arts Mingle” illustrates this nicely. Last year’s “Mingle” showcased the established arts, culture and culinary businesses located at the west end of Talbot Street which is also home to the Arts Centre. Artists set up easels and aimed cameras on the street between Elgin and Pearl to share their impressions and interpretation of the west end streetscape. Visitors to the event had stories about the west end, some of which have since been documented.
At this year’s “Mingle” in late August artists were on hand for the opening of the exhibit of their artwork; a display of Wayne McKinnon’s miniature circus was unveiled, and a travelling parade of elephants created by Elgin County artists came to the centre for their finale exhibit. There were circus-themed kid’s activities and entertainment compliments of local musicians.
The staff at the Art Centre seem to have an extensive "cultural map" implanted in their psyche – and they know how to use its elements in inspired ways to build community.All of the examples above demonstrate ways in which organizations have brought cultural assets together with positive results. The strong base of information which will be created with the Cultural Mapping Project could enable community organizations to achieve similar creative endeavours more often and more
easily. It could help to increase awareness of assets and how they can be put to best use in collaborative and imaginative ways.
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