An old North Cascades Scenic Highway sign was converted to a bench that now sits outside the entrance to the new Winthrop Visitor Information Center.
Renovated former library building offers more space, amenities
When the new Winthrop Chamber of Commerce’s Visitor Information Center (VIC) opened on June 26, it offered not just a location for visitors to learn more about activities, dining, and lodging in the Winthrop area, but also a spot for locals to catch some glimpses of Methow Valley history.
For decades, the VIC has been operating out of the little red building at the four-way stop in downtown Winthrop. But not only is parking near the old VIC increasingly difficult to find, the building itself is feeling a bit cramped in the face of Winthrop’s growing visitor numbers.
“We’re the eastern gateway to the North Cascades,” said Ted Lafferty, Executive Director of the Winthrop Chamber of Commerce. “We need to be set up for the number of visitors in the future.”
This vision, which Lafferty calls “Winthrop 2050,” is part of a one-year agreement the Chamber of Commerce made with the Town of Winthrop to open a new VIC in the old Winthrop Library, at 49 Highway 20, on the 12-acre parcel that includes the Winthrop Barn and Mack Lloyd Park.
An article in the June 15 Methow Valley News described the details of the agreement: “The Town Council approved a budget expenditure of $20,000, which has been previously endorsed by the town’s Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC), to help cover the renovation costs for the new VIC. The LTAC funds will reimburse the chamber for funds it has spent at the VIC for construction work and furnishings.”
Lafferty said discussions about staffing both VIC locations are ongoing, but there is not a budget for operating two visitor centers within a few blocks of each other. Lafferty mentioned proposals to generate a volunteer corps that would allow both VICs to be open on busy weekends, but nothing has been finalized.
More convenient
With its larger space and public meeting area, the new VIC provides increased opportunities for community engagement, Lafferty said. But it’s also more convenient for visitors, who can access the unlimited parking at the VIC or next door at the Winthrop Barn, versus downtown’s four-hour parking limit.
“By parking at or near the VIC and making the three-minute walk into town, you can spend more time in Winthrop without having to move your vehicle,” Lafferty said.
Tesla is installing, free of charge, eight car-charging ports in the parking lot, too, which allows more visitors with electric vehicles to power up while they are in town.
The area near the new VIC is “going through a facelift in the next couple of years,” Lafferty said. “There’s improved parking, improvements to the back of the Barn, improved signage. There are restrooms and free Wi-Fi. There’s a beautiful park where you can chill out before or after you visit town. That part of town is really a resource for people as part of their visit to Winthrop.”
The area will increasingly provide more resources to residents and visitors alike, Lafferty said, especially as plans for the Kiwanis Family Activity Park ramp up over a four-year period, with improvements to the ball field and pump track across the street from the VIC, as well as other proposed amenities.
Bits of Methow Valley history have been incorporated into the new VIC. This was deliberate, Lafferty said. “We wanted to utilize things that were in the valley; we actively looked for interesting and historic items that have a part in the valley’s history.”
Lafferty sourced historic images from the Shafer Museum, old skis from Methow Trails, retired trail signs and signs from previous VICs, and wood reclaimed from the Carlton Mall building, which burned earlier this spring. “It was really meaningful to be able to use that wood to create the countertop,” Lafferty says.
Other reclaimed materials from an old, damaged North Cascades Scenic Highway sign were repurposed into a large bench at the VIC.
The chamber also had a vision of an interactive selfie station. They settled on a replica of an old-time jail cell. (No, you cannot check the kids in for the day while you explore town. Don’t even ask.)
These historic features are perhaps a lure for locals as well as visitors to stop into the VIC. “Most locals have never visited the VIC,” Lafferty said.
Why would they? After all, locals know where things are and what to do in the valley. But maybe now they’ll stop by just to check out the interesting slices of history — or at least to get a photo of themselves behind bars.
The Winthrop VIC’s summer hours are 10 a.m.-5pm, seven days a week. Winter hours will be scaled back a bit, but Lafferty said the chamber is exploring ways to create a self-serve outdoor visitor center for the winter.
