Cranbrook History Centre has a new business manager who will guide and oversee long-term projects, including the renovation of the centre’s upper floor and the rail car preservation project.
Jared Teneese, the centre’s former operations coordinator, has taken over the position of manager from Valerie Bourne and has set his sights on turning the building into a community tourist attraction.
“I’m super excited seeing the changes that could be done, some of things we can focus on streamlining. It’s exciting to start those in motion and start seeing some real change in what we’re seeing for our customers, tourists and guests. We really want to be a nice community staple,” he said.
Renovating the centre’s second floor is at the top of his list. The space will be gutted and rebuilt to accommodate more exhibits, including indigenous and dinosaur displays and travelling shows.
“We’ll be working with a lot of museums to bring in a multitude of travelling exhibits.”
“[It will be] something we don’t see around the East Kootenays, something different, something more interesting. Maybe it’s something that’s normal to see in Vancouver, but not so much here.”
There are also plans to create an indigenous job position to help expand the centre’s indigenous programs, with input from local first nations.
READ MORE: Cranbrook History Centre gets $1 million grant for railcar building project
He’ll be guiding phase two of the rail car building project, which recently received a $1 million grant from the provincial government. Over the course of the coming year, the wooden roof that covers part of centre’s train collection will be extended so that all the cars are protected from the elements.
Additionally, the old walkway will be replaced to allow for self-guided tours of the trains.
Phase three of the project will see an extension built on the southwest side of the building so the trains can become an indoor year-round exhibit.
The centre is home to one of the largest rail car collections in North America, which includes the Soo-Spokane line which once ran through Cranbrook on its way from Spokane to Michigan.
“The trains are extremely fragile and they’re covered with tarps. As we get those covered, we can take the tarps off. They’ll survive longer under cover versus sitting under the elements.”
He would like to see the centre become a place where locals and tourists return to regularly.
“You have a lot of people go, ‘I’ve seen this place all the time, but I’ve never been here.’ We hear that all the time and we want to get out of that. We want people to go, ‘oh I was here for your last event. I was here for your murder mysteries. I was here for your haunted train walk. My kid was here for 60s scoop.’ Less of I’ve-never-been-here-before and more this-is-my-third- or-fourth-time.”
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gillian.francis@cranbrooktownsman.com
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