Carleton Martello Tower

This post is a response to a comment left recently:

This isn't a comment on a particular blog, but I'm interested in your opinions
on Saint John and its development. I work for Parks Canada and I'm working on a
project at the Carleton Martello Tower in West Saint John.
Do you have an
opinion on the tower and what role it plays in the cultural/historical
landsdcape of the city? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the structure
and what should/should not be done with it.
Hope to hear from you,
Malve
Petersmann

I haven't paid much attention to the Carleton Martello Tower over the years, other than to snap some photos when I was photographing the city's landmarks more frequently and occasionally climbing the tower stairs to get a good view of the uptown.

Still, I find it encouraging to see the recent development of an interpretation center at the tower, as our city doesn't have much in the way of military history preservation. Fort Howe has some cache, while Fort LaTour still hasn't made a real impact on me and really lacks a coherent historical draw (due to the lack of interpretation and structures). It is cool that there may be condos going up at Fort Dufferin, but it is also a shame that the military and defense history of the area has been neglected to a point where it's hard to recognize what most of the remnants are.

I was in Halifax in May and was impressed with the military history that is preserved there. I for one don't seek out these tourism experiences, but appreciate that they are there.
Realizing that the Carleton Martello Tower is boxed in by a residential neighbourhood, it would be good to encourage more traffic to the area. I know biking to the Tower from uptown isn't much of a jaunt (though traffic is a little rough), so perhaps making this a cyclist destination; bike racks could be added if there aren't any there yet.

I like that the long history of the Tower is explored; perhaps outside displays or public art could highlight some historic events of the War of 1812 or the First and Second World Wars.

On my other blog I have recently been critical of making the Fundy Footpath too easy to get to on, but the Tower isn't like this – the experience is currently inviting to a wide array of people and should stay that way. I don't want to see a tacky development, but I think the Tower can be maintained as a simple “family friendly” historic destination.