When cruise boat passengers go ashore to tour Vicksburg, they’ll find a ready source of information about the city at the riverfront.

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen on Monday authorized the purchase of a $24,620 kiosk made by Cornerstone Kiosk Inc.

“We’re purchasing it to go down on Levee Street; it will be put close to the (Depot) museum near where the buses park,” said Downtown Vicksburg Main Street Director Kim Hopkins.

She said the kiosk is similar to the one on Washington Street between the Cinnamon Tree and Peterson’s.

“We’ll have a map of downtown with all the businesses, and a QR code will be on that and probably our Heritage Walking Trails map,” Hopkins said. “We’ll have advertisements and pictures of downtown. They’ll be promoting events that are happening downtown and shopping and dining.”

The kiosk is part of a city project to improve Levee Street and the riverfront.

The Levee Street project involves improving the streets, sidewalks, developing parking for the depot museum in the former Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad Depot, improved street lighting and bus parking areas along the street for tour buses serving the cruise boats.

The board in 2020 began leasing sections of the riverfront to the cruise boats, which are responsible for improving their respective areas.

Viking was the first river cruise line to sign a lease with the city, signing its lease on Nov. 16, 2020. American Cruise Lines signed its lease with the city on Nov. 25, 2020. American Queen signed its lease in August 2022, allowing the company to temporarily use a portion of the riverfront between Clay and China streets for one year until company officials can select a permanent docking site at the riverfront.