Could Lanark Village Be a Military Tourist Attraction?
Since our successful campaign to stop the rezoning of 2390 Oak Street, I’ve been thinking a lot about the potential impact the property could have on our neighborhood, especially since we don’t know what will be housed there when it finally changes hands or how it will affect our neighborhood if it remains vacant and deteriorates.
We’ve brainstormed on Facebook and elsewhere about the kinds of businesses we’d like to see in the building. But so far, no businessperson has been sold on the idea that they could make a profit from the spaces developed there. Redesigning them would be costly. We in the Village would likely be the primary patrons of those businesses and there are only so many of us.
Part of our unique identity is that we’re the remains of a historic camp. In casual conversation, I had floated the idea of approaching the Board of the Camp Gordon Johnston Museum about moving to the Village but was told they likely wouldn’t be interested as they pull in a lot of traffic from Hwy 98 and wouldn’t want to lose that.
That’s true, but the museum is also sitting off the road by itself; it’s not like the Carrabelle History Museum where people can walk from there to the gallery, to the restaurants, to the river, and to the shops.
The property on Oak is expensive, but what if the American Legion shared it with the Museum? The building has a brand-new restaurant with pizza ovens.
Volunteers could walk to “work.” More of us would stroll over to get a taco than today are willing to drive over. And since the Legion is open only in the evenings, the restaurant could be sublet to someone who wants to run a lunch diner but doesn’t want the cost of a full-time lease.
There’s plenty of room for outside dining as well as indoor space. We could even eat next to a WWII tank!
The Village could be marketed as a military tourist attraction. Maybe one of our cottages could be restored as an officer’s quarters as an adjunct to the museum. Maybe the living spaces inside the building could be rented to military history buffs. Maybe the Airbnb owners in our neighborhood would have a new customer base for their properties. Maybe an enterprising person would buy some of the empty lots to the side of us to put in one of those drive-a-tank businesses like this one.
Right now, Lanark is not even mentioned in the Forgotten Coast’s Visitor’s Guide. Their drop-down “Discover the Forgotten Coast” tab mentions all the surrounding towns but not us. That’s no wonder since there’s not much to do in the village proper outside of our club events and social groups. What if we could put Lanark back on the map?
Most of you have probably already seen the article How Little Lanark Village Helped Save The World. It highlights the importance of this forgotten village on the Forgotten Coast. Right now, we’re not getting our due but maybe we could change that. Lanark Village saved the world; who will work to return the favor?
