Mini museum experience on Whanganui's lower Victoria Avenue

A large-scale display of historic photos has been installed in the window of the former Hallensteins building on lower Victoria Ave. Photo / Supplied

As part of its work to make the town centre more vibrant, Whanganui District Council's town centre regeneration team has installed a large-scale display of historic photos in the window of the former Hallensteins building on lower Victoria Ave.

Town centre regeneration project manager Ellen Young said the team was already seeing a lot of enthusiasm and enjoyment as people engage with the history corner.

The council's heritage adviser, Scott Flutey, who is a historian, worked with local archives and institutions to select photos for the display.

He said he wanted to show lesser-known photos that had only recently been digitised and might be new to locals.

Flutey said the photos "create a mini-museum experience, pinpointing interesting moments in the last century to give a sense of how people used that space before us and show what's changed and what's stayed the same".

Young said the large scale of the photographs "creates an immersive experience, bringing the past to life".

"Some of the people in the scene appear to be staring right at you because they've spotted the photographer and are looking curiously at the camera."

A mystery history telephone will be installed near the historic photo display before Christmas, so audio stories can expand on the mini-museum experience.

As with the telephone recently installed on Drews Ave, users will be able to press buttons to listen to snippets of old stories.

The photo display and telephone were originally part of the Innovating Streets lower Victoria Ave streetscape project, which was halted in August.

Young encourages people to read the captions accompanying the photos when they view the display.

"You'll find out about an 1881 landmark used by both horses and people, what happened on the avenue when it snowed in 1901, which animals were raced down the street in 1963, and more," she said.