Have you ever noticed that little hut in Capital Plaza, right out in front of the State House? We’ve been covering this city for a long time, and we never really noticed it until we got a tip that it had just been painted. We took that as a sign that we needed to find out more.
It turns out, the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce has operated an informational kiosk at Capital Plaza in some shape or form since 1929, Chamber President Tim Sink said.
“It’s actually got quite a bit of history,” he said. “The purpose is that when people come to visit Concord, that’s where they end up. We’ve had a presence down there forever.”
The kiosk – now in at least its fifth generation – is staffed by volunteers who serve as sort of tour guides for visitors. People coming to Concord tend to end up at the State House, so that was deemed a good spot to put an info booth.
The booth had long been a plain, white building, but it was in need of some sprucing up, so the Chamber contacted the Scouts to see if there was any interest in working on it.
A few weeks ago, the Scouts’ Venturing Crew 88 answered the call, and members James Dunbar and Derek Bell worked with volunteers Tom Nickerson and Maryann Donovan to add a fresh coat of fire engine red paint, giving it a bit of a new identity.
“Now it kind of pops out at you because it’s red and white,” Sink said.
The booth is now out in front of the arch leading to the State House, and you can’t miss it. And, with school about to let out and tourism season about to kick into full swing, it was a perfect time to make it over.
“It’s fulfilling a pretty important role welcoming visitors to Concord,” Sink said. “We have a lot of brochures down there, and we collect all this information on a statewide basis, not just Concord. A lot of people coming into Concord are passing through on their way to the Lakes Region and so forth.”
In a sense, Concord’s central location is a logical stop for many tourists coming up from the south – it’s right on Interstate 93 and is home to loads of great restaurants and other historical attractions.
The booth is generally staffed by volunteers from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday through Monday in the spring, summer and fall, though hours depend on the availability of volunteers.
The Chamber is always looking for more help – there are currently five or six volunteers who staff the booth, but adding more would allow the booth to be open more often.
Anyone interested in becoming an info booth volunteer can contact Carolyn O’Brien at 224-2508. Volunteers will go through a three-day training session before starting.
“If you like to answer questions and meet strangers, it’s really a fun gig,” Sink said.
