Construction will begin on the $500,000 outdoor courtyard upgrade to the Laurel Packinghouse in Kelowna’s Cultural District within the next six months.
The project will combine an outdoor park setting with heritage exhibits that celebrate the valley’s fruit growing industry, including an irrigated fruit garden.
“You can imagine it as being a little bit outdoor museum, a little bit urban design, a little bit heritage planning and a little bit of play,” said Lindy Digby, executive director of Kelowna Museums Society.
Digby said the project was originally envisioned as part of the recent major restoration of the Packinghouse but was put on hold due to a funding shortfall.
Last December, the society was awarded a BC Gaming grant of $235,000 towards the courtyard project, with the remainder to be made up by the museum society and the City of Kelowna.
The city owns the Packinghouse and the society has a lease and operating agreement for the facility.
Digby said much discussion has already gone into what the courtyard, located at the west end of the complex on Cawston Avenue, could incorporate, and the final touches are still be worked on.
“We still haven’t filled in all the blanks yet on the final design,” Digby said.
“Right now it is a little bit of a wasteland. Some people walk their dogs there or hang out a bit, and there is a picnic table, but it doesn’t look cared for and that reflects it being a public space that has been in limbo.”
She sees a finished courtyard as another downtown gathering place for people visiting the Cultural District, drawing an analogy to what Kasagai Gardens has meant to the city hall complex.
“Finding creative ways to make learning about our history fun is one of our guiding principles,” Digby said. “How to make history fun, and how to make it real and authentic.”
Enhancing the Laurel Packinghouse history is important, Digby added, because of the role the 100-year-old structure plays in Kelowna’s heritage.
It was the first building designated as a heritage building by the city in the 1980s when it was facing demolition, thanks to the efforts of a grassroots community campaign to save it.
“Saving the Packinghouse launched a heritage designation program that still exists today,” Digby said.
“It is also the last remaining structure from its era that remains largely what it used to look like. Other buildings over time have seen their appearance change profoundly and adapted to changing times. The Packinghouse still looks much like it did back in the early heyday of the orchard industry and continues to be a heritage icon for our city.”
Today, the Laurel Packinghouse is rented out for events and houses the Okanagan Orchard Industry Museum, Okanagan Wine Industry Museum and The Laurel gift shop. In 2017, the facility hosted 192 events which attracted 24,270 people.
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