Revelstoke train museum, art gallery open door for easier visitor access

Published 4:00 pm Friday, February 27, 2026

Revelstoke’s train museum and visual arts centre are receiving about $150,000 in regional funding to help improve access to their exhibits for visitors with mobility challenges, including for a multi-storey lift.

One of the latest rounds of financial aid from the Columbia Basin Trust (CBT) targets 23 galleries, museums and performance venues across the region with nearly $1.24 million for visitor accessibility enhancements.

“These projects are about removing barriers so more people can fully participate in the cultural life of their communities,” Kris Belanger, CBT’s delivery of benefits lead, said in a release. “Whether someone is visiting a museum, attending a performance or taking part in a local event, this support helps ensure those experiences are accessible, welcoming and inclusive.”

READ: Funding to boost accessibility for Revelstoke, Nakusp library-goers

At the Revelstoke Railway Museum, $107,700 from CBT will finance improved access with directional signage for visitors, washroom features such as grab bars and pull cords, hearing and visual aids for exhibits, and a second vertical accessibility lift.

“We’ve been very fortunate in the grant they’ve given us,” executive director Victoria Hill said. “Accessibility is one of our three main values.”

The museum’s existing lift between the ground floor and second-storey mezzanine has operated since 2021. The hope is that anyone who can’t use the stairs can access the Canadian Pacific 5468 Mikado engine on display inside, with the second lift bringing visitors slightly higher — an extra six or seven feet — to reach the Mikado’s entrance, Hill explained.

As well, visitors will be able to read exhibit information on large-font leaflets and use the Evelity app with their smartphone or tablets provided by the museum to navigate the space and examine displays with audio or visual support.

Hill noted the intent is to make these changes soon, but without rushing to ensure all the new features are functional. These improvements were prompted by an accessibility assessment of the museum last summer by Spinal Cord Injury BC (SCI BC).

“That really helped inform where we were going,” Hill said. “We wanted to look at all aspects of accessibility.”

SCI BC, a non-profit, works with tourism-related organizations across the province to improve their visitor spaces so they can earn an accessible business designation on Destination BC’s online map.

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Another $45,600 from CBT will assist the Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre (RVAC) this year as it looks to add wider and automatic front doors, washroom grab bars, and directional signage in the galleries and other facilities.

There are also plans for an additional parking lot right in front of the centre, meaning visitors won’t have to shuffle through the snow and squeeze between concrete barriers separating the adjacent lot.

A push-button door for the back entrance to RVAC’s workshop will further complement replacing the existing front doors, which narrowly allow access for a wheelchair user, even when other people assist.

“We have ridiculously heavy doors,” gallery administrator Kira Makela said.

Makela also volunteers with the Revelstoke Adaptive Sports Program, and originally brought the idea to transform the centre’s entrance.

“It was one of the very first things she said in her job interview, to make the doors more accessible,” RVAC executive director Taylor Sandell said. “It would just be really nice for everybody to be able to enter the building.”

The edifice, built in the 1970s and formerly Revelstoke’s police station, also underwent an SCI BC assessment last summer to identify areas needing accessibility improvements.

There is a need for easy access, including when the museum and RVAC receive visits from adults who are assisted by the NEXUS Community Support Society and use crutches.

“Revelstoke’s very hard to navigate, especially if you have accessibility needs,” Sandell noted, but “arts and culture in general are generally safe spaces for people,” making these improvements important as part of that.

READ: Revelstoke celebrates completion of $740K museum accessibility project

In fact, Sandell explained that CBT community liaison Amanda Murphy was inspired to start these exhibit accessibility grants after attending the opening ceremony last summer for Revelstoke Museum and Archives’ accessibility lift. Murphy realized then how warmly these improvements are received in rural communities, and the need for more.

CBT has helped fund accessibility improvements based on needs it’s identified in communities, communications coordinator Kathleen Hart told Black Press Media.

“As we saw similar requests coming from arts and heritage organizations, it became clear there was a broader opportunity to support accessibility in these spaces,” she said by email.

The railway museum and RVAC say these improvements aren’t expected to reduce their hours or visitor access this year, with door replacements and other work starting as soon as late March.