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Maritime Museum of BC


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#1 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 19 September 2010 - 11:52 AM

There is quite an extensive set of articles in today's TC Monitor section about the museum.

TC

But last year, the museum attracted just 21,000 visitors -- an average of 50 a day. That puts it in the same boat it was in nearly 50 years ago, despite having the largest collection of maritime artifacts in Canada.


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#2 Baro

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Posted 19 September 2010 - 10:11 PM

If it was a little cheaper they might get more visitors. I'm sure they've done their marketing studies, but they may want to experiment with a lower ticket prices to attract more people. For me, it's just over that limit of what I'd be willing to spend.

*edit*
Ok I'm looking at their website right now and it's saying their adult admission is only $12? For some reason I always thought it was in the $20 range, maybe I read a sign wrong. Although still at 12 it's not that much of a drop to get it to 9.95 or something, and making it single-digit may be a huge psychological boost for people to buy.
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#3 D.L.

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Posted 19 September 2010 - 10:17 PM

Everyone's hooked on the internet now, few care about real world artifacts.

#4 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 19 September 2010 - 10:21 PM

Everyone's hooked on the internet now, few care about real world artifacts.


I think visitors would be very interested. But alas, it's hard to get the word out without spending lots of money. I think growing a membership might be key.
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#5 Mike K.

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Posted 20 September 2010 - 11:32 AM

Why not combine it as part of a museum district on one of the massive parking lots fronting the waterfront?

The Maritime Museum, a children's museum, maybe even the wax museum (which is closing up shop soon) could spearhead something.

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#6 Hotel Mike

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Posted 20 September 2010 - 07:40 PM

Not to forget the downtown Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. And new central library anyone?

#7 Ms. B. Havin

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Posted 20 September 2010 - 08:15 PM

There has been talk for years that circles around the issue of putting a complex of new buildings together on one site to create some kind museum district/ museum block. Hasn't gone anywhere.

The other day some tourists sitting on the steps of the Art Gallery asked me where they could go for a coffee. I directed them to Fort & Cook, blocks away. The location of the present AGGV is a joke.

Meanwhile, the Maritime Museum is overstuffed, and the RBCM has huge swathes of its collection in archive, never to be seen - because it hasn't the room to display them - yet charges admission prices as if the whole collection were on view. (Now, admittedly, the RBCM is planning an expansion - their 100-year plan...)

The AGGV also has lots of stuff in archive, in particular Asian art - a crime (or at least a shame) that it can't be seen - the largest in Canada, I believe, and definitely one of the finest in North America. It also owns the Emily Carrs that are currently in Vancouver - which refuses to hand them back to the AGGV because there isn't a proper place to display them.

The plan for a Children's Museum also keeps stalling - the last glimmer of hope for it was in conjunction with the (imo) ridiculous idea of paving over the lawn bowling club and building a museum district there.

And all this time, surface parking lots sit on the Inner Harbour, being a waste of space in an architectural sense - nothing to tear down, nothing to destroy: just build. But somehow, those g-d parking lots keep hanging on. What's up with that?

Whenever the city gets "serious" about actually building a museum complex, it seems to involve destroying stuff that works in bringing diversity and difference to the city (knock out the lawn bowling green, move the Coho out of the Inner Harbour, and other nonsense), yet we leave the ugly parking lots alone. I don't get it. (Don't get me started on how big a mistake I think it is to knock out the old Johnson Street Bridge. We should stop destroying all the things that are different and unique, and instead build and develop and allow growth in all the dead spaces in town - there are plenty of them.) (PS: I also don't like the idea of a museum district out in Rock Bay - that would be like moving the AGGV from its splendid isolation in Rockland to a different kind of splendid isolation in Grungeland-on-the-Moon. Not gonna work, imo. These places need foot traffic.)

By the way, I completely missed that the Maritime Museum has a new director and that Greg Evans is gone. When did this happen? Anyone have any details?
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#8 Hotel Mike

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Posted 22 September 2010 - 02:07 PM

Greg Evans was shown the door several months ago. Kevin Carle is a good guy, and had been with the navy in Esquimalt for a number of years before his "retirement". Good luck to him. This is one tough assignment.

Nothing will happen, Ms.B, to create a cultural precinct or museum complex in Victoria until the provincial government gets serious about being a major player. And given the way Victoria has always been totally ignored when it comes to funding, I wouldn't hold my breath.

#9 Sue Woods

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Posted 24 September 2010 - 07:25 PM

By the way, I completely missed that the Maritime Museum has a new director and that Greg Evans is gone. When did this happen? Anyone have any details?


Greg Evans is the new Archivist for Esquimalt Municipality.

#10 gumgum

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Posted 31 January 2012 - 07:55 PM

Floating Maritime Museum?


Price guesstimated for floating museum

January 31 2012

The President of the Maritime Museum Society suggests a floating museum ...larger than the current premises in Bastion Square...might be built for as little as ten million dollars.

Barry Rolston first raised the idea of a floating museum late last year, after the organization failed in its bid for the lease on the historic CPR steamship building.

Since then, Rolston has been working with a committee to flesh out details...

"The actual floating structure will be 2...2 1/2 million (dollars), that's the actual platform. Then on top of that we'd be building a two storey, perhaps with a larger gable for a tall exhibit, structure on the top"

He says there are several examples, some of them in B-C, of floating structures of the size that the museum would need. Rolston says early discussions are already underway with a variety of stakeholders, who's approval would be needed for such a structure in the harbour.

Frank Stanford

from cfax

#11 G-Man

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Posted 31 January 2012 - 08:48 PM

Can anyone say KALAKALA??!!

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#12 Holden West

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Posted 31 January 2012 - 08:58 PM

^Wow, that's a brilliant idea!
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#13 gumgum

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Posted 31 January 2012 - 09:37 PM

Yeah that's a great idea for sure. I doubt they'd be able to do it on a similar budget through.

#14 Bingo

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Posted 31 January 2012 - 09:49 PM

Where is this barge going to be moored?

#15 aastra

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Posted 31 January 2012 - 10:01 PM

I wonder how Songhees residents would feel about having the Kalakala permanently moored over there? Despite their almost pathological open-mindedness, something tells me they wouldn't be thrilled about the prospect.



#16 Van

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Posted 31 January 2012 - 10:06 PM

Maybe they should just merge with Undersea Gardens and finally get some value out of that tourist trap :)

#17 Mr_E_Squirrel

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Posted 31 January 2012 - 11:52 PM

Floating maritime museum? I thought we had one already........ "The Coho"

#18 Bingo

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Posted 01 February 2012 - 02:11 PM

Todays comments by Frank Stanford on CFAX suggest that if a floating Martime Museum can't find space in the Inner Harbour, put it in the Upper Harbour.

I like that idea.

Float it in Rock Bay and use the JSB rail span from the shore, with a movable ramp to the museum to accomodate for tide changes. It could be the start to bring life to that section of town.

Franks comments here;
http://www.cfax1070....ials&Itemid=115

#19 G-Man

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Posted 01 February 2012 - 03:58 PM

I was thinking the same thing. Rock Bay would be a great place for this.

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#20 spanky123

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Posted 01 February 2012 - 05:34 PM

^Wow, that's a brilliant idea!


From what I have heard the museum has been losing money for years even though it has a pretty good display. If I was the executive director and I saw money on the table then I would be jumping all over it to, but expecting things to change based solely on a barge is a pipe dream.

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