Interpretive centre plans are history

Scrapped three years after it was envisioned

Hamilton politicians decided that a proposed $10-million interpretive centre to enhance the Battlefield House and Museum experience is history.

The centre, which was identified as a priority in the Battlefield House and Museum site master plan in 2011, was eliminated by politicians at a recent council meeting after a number of problems were discovered, including the potential high cost of building and operating the proposed 20,000-square-foot facility.

Following through on the master plan recommendations, the city purchased the one-hectare property in 2013 for about $1.8 million at the southwest corner of King Street and Centennial Parkway where the proposed $10-million facility would be constructed.

The centre, championed by former Stoney Creek councillor Brad Clark, was supposed to act as a hub of public education for the War of 1812 and the city’s role.

The centre would have provided information about the Battle of Stoney Creek and interpret the war’s Hamilton and Scourge shipwrecks at the western end of Lake Ontario.

Clark’s vision for the centre would have been a two- to threestorey structure, featuring an amphitheatre for presentations and a room for additional displays of materials from the 1800s.

“I have envisioned this for as long as I’ve been involved in public service,” he said in 2014.

But in 2015, during a series of public forums, questions were raised about how to transport children and adults from Battlefield to the interpretive centre, which would be located across a busy Centennial Parkway.

“We couldn’t get the kids across the road in a safe manner,” said Coun. Doug Conley, who voted to eliminate the centre and now represents the area. Other obstacles became apparent, including archeological issues and limited space for the proposed interpretive centre.

Heritage staff eventually recommended councillors eliminate the centre, sell the property and invest the proceeds into the Battlefield House and Museum facility.

The idea, said Conley, will be for the city to sell the land, with 50 per cent of the proceeds returned to the Terrapure royalties fund while the other 50 per cent would be deposited into the Stoney Creek Urban Design Capital projects fund.

Conley said there have been discussions about using some of the proceeds to improve Battlefield House Museum and Park, such as renovating the 1830s barn so it can be used for public programming.