If you’ve driven by the new Canadian Canoe Museum currently under construction on Ashburnham Drive in Peterborough, you may be wondering about the progress made during the summer. While the work completed on the exterior of the building may appear obvious, there’s also been a lot of activity you can’t see from the road.
Canoes and kayaks have been making their way to the new museum’s Exhibition Hall, during the final “Big Lift” operation, where a crane lifts the watercraft up to the second floor of the new building.
“Some of you may remember us moving watercraft out of the second floor of the current museum on Monaghan Road around this time last fall,” writes the museum’s executive director Carolyn Hyslop in an email update sent on Friday (September 1). “We’ve come a long way since then and it’s comforting to know that all the watercraft in the collection will soon be able to rest in their long-term home and have their stories shared with the world.”
Along with the “big lift,” racking has been installed in the new museum’s Collection Centre, preparing it to receive more than 500 canoes and kayaks that will enable 100 per cent of the collection to be displayed and cared for under one roof.
Interior framing and drywalling are taking place throughout the first floor of the new building, as well as continued work on the mechanical and electrical systems. The interior fireplace has been installed and work continues on the exterior fireplace.
The Grand Staircase, which leads from the first floor Atrium to the second floor’s Exhibition Hall, is being installed. Glass installation has begun on the west side of the new building, overlooking Little Lake, by the indoor and outdoor terrace off the café.
Outside the new museum, the Canoe House, located beside the Trans Canada Trail running through Beavermead Park and steps from Little Lake, has a completed steel roof.
Part of the museum’s waterfront campus, which will be called the Lang Lakefront Campus in recognition of a transformative gift of almost $1.8 million from former CFL player and businessman Stuart (Stu) Lang and his wife Kim, the Canoe House will host daily canoe and kayak rentals and will also be used as a programming and event space.
A new crosswalk with traffic signals has been installed on Ashburnham Drive, right across from the entrance to the new museum. Once active, it will help visitors safely cross Ashburnham Drive to get to the museum. Extensive exterior work also continues on the driveway and parking areas, along with landscape preparations.
At the end of July, the museum hosted Ontario Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport Neil Lumsden and Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith for a tour of the new museum under construction.
As the new Canadian Canoe Museum moves closer to completion, the museum’s Move the Collection: The Final Portage journey has also progressed during the summer, with lead portagers Mike Judson and Neil Morton recently passing by the Quaker plant and across the Hunter Street Bridge — three-quarters of the way to the museum’s new home.
While the red Chestnut canoe Morton and Judson are carrying is fairly easy to transport, it is a symbol of the museum’s entire collection of more than 600 watercraft that will be housed in the new facility — some of which require a lot more preparation and care to move, including two canoes that weigh than 1,000 pounds each and one canoe that is over 16 metres long.
VIDEO: The Final Portage: Passing Quaker Oats and the Hunter Street Bridge
Canadians from across the country and beyond who want to support The Final Portage of The Canadian Canoe Museum’s collection to its new home can make a donation at canoemuseum.ca/final-portage.
Businesses interested in sponsorship opportunities for The Final Portage can email Megan McShane at megan.mcshane@canoemuseum.ca.
For more information about the new museum, visit canoemuseum.ca/new-museum.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be the official media sponsor of The Canadian Canoe Museum’s Move the Collection: The Final Portage Campaign.
