Keen on a museum visit but unable to take the stairs? That won't impede visitors (or staff) any longer at Revelstoke Museum and Archives.
A wheelchair-size elevator, servicing the building's Boyle Avenue parking lot and all the way up to the museum's second floor, has been operational for about a month. It offers a north-facing view of the neighbourhood and mountains, and can accommodate two people standing or one person with a larger mobility device.
The elevator is a major step forward 鈥� or lift up, rather 鈥� for the 1926-constructed heritage building, and something museum curator Cathy English has been talking about installing for as long as 15 years.
"This project was a long time coming," she said, adding that ground was broken last August and construction wrapped up by the end of January. "Just trying to do anything in a heritage building is complicated."
While museum staff haven't been regularly advertising the elevator yet, as it requires some final touches for signage, various visitors and even English herself have already benefited from a more inclusive and less cumbersome alternative to the stairs.
Chris Miller, after whom the Miller Time adaptive route at the Mount MacPherson ski trails is named, uses mobility aids and has been among proponents for an elevator, specifically for attending the museum's Brown Bag History lunchtime program with greater ease and autonomy.
"He was happy he could finally get into Brown Bag with someone having to help him," English said. "It just makes it accessible for everyone."
So, how does one operate the elevator?
Using the external panel provided, you hold down the button for the level you're currently on: P is for the parking lot, 1 is for the main floor and 2 is for the museum's upper floor. If someone else is already using the elevator, the panel buttons will glow blue.
Once the lift has made its ascent or descent and the door swings open, you have 25 seconds to enter before it closes. From inside, you use a similar button panel to press for the level you wish to access. A healthy dose of patience is key, but the view outside makes it worth the wait.
"It's been a game-changer for us," English remarked. "Feeling very happy that we finally got here."
On the second floor, the elevator waiting area has replaced the men's washroom. As a compromise, the museum has turned the adjacent ladies' room into an all-gender washroom, also fully accessible with a push-button system.
Funding for the elevator project came largely from the Columbia Shuswap Regional District.
"They contributed a grant of $400,000, which is incredible," English said, noting generous dollars also rolled in from the Columbia Basin Trust (CBT) and the federal government's Canada Cultural Spaces Fund and New Horizons for Seniors Program.
The BC Rehab Society additionally financed the new bathroom.
Meanwhile, another accessibility project is underway for Revelstoke's community: a stair lift accessing the common area at Mount Begbie Manor.
This comes as part of an $83,500 CBT grant for the Revelstoke Senior Citizens Housing Society that targets improving senior living in rental homes, with the lift expected to be installed as soon as Tuesday, March 11.
To learn more about the museum's elevator project and its funding, visit revelstokemuseum.ca/accessibility-lift.
