THUNDER BAY – Plans to improve Chippewa Park for its 100th anniversary next year now include a building to house the park’s restored carousel, contingent on financial support from three levels of government.
The Friends of Chippewa Park will ask Thunder Bay’s city council to lend the project, which preliminary cost estimates put at $1.6 million, its support on Monday.
That includes requests for the city to partner on an application to the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) for up to 50 per cent of the total cost, and to kick in $300,000 of its own – around 19 per cent of the total cost.
The group is hoping to raise the remaining $500,000 through a federal grant available for heritage celebrations.
Donna Gilhooly, co-chair of the Friends’ carousel restoration committee, said the climate-controlled structure would help preserve the carousel. They anticipate the design will allow the carousel to remain visible from the outside.
It could also house a small gift shop, interpretive features to celebrate the 105-year-old carousel, and a wood-carving space, said Gilhooly, allowing for on-site maintenance and teaching opportunities.
Gilhooly expected restoration of the carousel to be complete by June, in time for its usual opening, with all 28 horses fully restored. On re-opening, it will also include a wheelchair-accessible chariot, a new feature courtesy of volunteer work by a high school woodworking class.
