Ladies and Gentlemen:  I swear to you that this posting is real. The
following are the actual proposed plans for development around the house
where Sam Clemens lived for a while in Hannibal.  The area is a
designated historic district.  There is a meeting tomorrow night at city
hall of the Historic District Development Committee regarding the plan.
I received this from Frank Salter with Friends of Historic Hannibal. I
had hoped that this type of theme-park development had lapsed with the
arrival of the new manager.  Vicki and I will be at the meeting.-

    Best to everyone.

    Terrell Dempsey

SITE/PLAZA

PROPOSED SCOPE OF  WORK

1.   Free standing, removable display walls at west end of plaza with a
20' clear center opening for a fire lane access. Openings would also be
maintained for access to both north and south city sidewalks to the west
of the display walls. The backdrops would serve as a 3--dimensional
outdoor interpretive wall. The wall display would simulate what the
streetscape looked like during Mark Twain's childhood.


2    Mural wall / fence on the south side of the side yard plaza between
the Becky Thatcher House and the Justice of the Peace Law Office.  It
would be built along the top of the reconstructed retaining well. The
3-dimensional mural would simulate a backyard view during the time of
Mark Twain's childhood. A pigs head protruding from the mural could be
included that would serve as an interactive feature (i.e. children could
sit on it for photos, touch the pig, etc.)


3.   Campus way finding banner would be located across North Street near
the Huck Finn House This banner would identify the Mark Twain Home
Campus and serve to attract visitors entering the downtown area from the
north.


4    A visual queue is also recommended for the pavement. This could be
in the form of laser engraved bricks with epoxy infill in the shape of a
frog This interpretive feature would reference Mark Twain's 'Celebrated
Frog of Calaveras County.' Since the maximum limit of most frog jumps is
8 to 10 feet, the engraved bricks could be located at a 10-foot interval
along the tour route.  This would not only serve as a visual queue or
visitors, but also would provide an entertainment element for the tour.
These could potentially be a fundraising option with an 'adopt a brick
program brochures could list the number of 'frog jumps' between points
of interest. Children could count the frogs, thus adding an element of
fun.   A future loop could be formed between the Interpretive Center and
the Museum connecting all the campus structures, including a spur to the
Tom & Huck statue.


3.   Gazebo between the Interpretive Center and the Boyhood Home.


6.   Portable riverboat themed stage at the east and of the Plaza to
accommodate live entertainment, movies in the evening, and to offer
shaded seating to visitors when not in use. The stage should be of an
open design with a canopy over the stage/deck area to allow minimally
obstructed views of the river and the Plaza area. Movies would be shown
on a retractable screen from the canopy structure by a portable overhead
projection from within the Plaza.  Also a removable foreground wharf
would compliment the stage in the form of posts and heavy rope.


7.   Canopy covered seating in the North Garden area compete with
portable misters.


8    Existing Plaza bricks (non-donor bricks) and sidewalks are to be
removed and replaced with colored concrete paving. The Plaza area is to
be re-graded to provide an ADA compliant crosswalk at the east and west
ends. The north side paving will simulate bricks by means of stamping
and the south side will simulate a wood boardwalk, also with