With the truth finally coming out in regards to the development plans for River Street, is this the right move for a community that promotes history as a tourist attraction?
Some will say its losing a piece of our past while other say its moving forward after the New Year's Day Fire destroyed the historic buildings at the corner of Main and River, changing the look of downtown Moose Jaw forever.
We got in touch with Tourism Moose Jaw Director Candice Kirkpatrick who knows a thing or two about the historic aspect of tourism. Before working for Tourism Moose Jaw, she was a key part of the tunnel tours that draw thousands of visitors each year to the River Street area.
"Gosh, anytime a historic building is taken down, its doesn't matter what it was whether it was to house animals or whether it was a business, its always a loss for a city."
However, Kirkpatrick isn't prepared to condemn the project just yet. She says she likes the idea of rebuilding River Street to the way it looked in the 20s and 30s.
"The people that have taken this step with our city have looked at it and have said 'there's an opportunity here and this city is doing well and lets see what we can do to keep it going.' So, we can't put blinders on and think that everything is always going to stay the same and that progress can't happen."
The proposed changes for River Street has local historian Leith Knight reminiscing. She tells us changing the name from the Winston to Nevada Nickels wasn't the first time the old hotel was re-named.
"That had many names. It started out as the Ottawa Hotel because the people who built it were from Ottawa. It was one of the few that didn't burn down."
You may remember the Empress and Cecil Hotels were lost to fire years ago.
Next door to the Nickel is the Brunswick Hotel that hosted many important events over its 105 year history.
"The dining room was very popular and when Moose Jaw was elevated to city status, that's where they had the great banquet. People came from Regina by train and this was an important social centre."
The official signing of the proclamation incorporating Moose Jaw as a city was reenacted at the Brunswick Hotel in our centennial year 2003.
As Knight thinks about the past 100 years on River Street she can't help but think back to the "Dirty 30's" when things changed forever.
"These places really became run down because people could no longer afford to eat out or go down River Street for their entertainment, whatever that may be. I remember James Gray said 'the end of River Street came when people could no longer afford sin."
Sat, May 18, 9:00 AM
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