Gettysburg National Battlefield Visitor Center Opens - April 14, 2008
I am a huge Civil War fan. My dad is a blackpowder skirmisher and a member of the North South Skirmish Association (N-SSA) for over 30 years (go First South Carolina Vols!). He’s dragged me to just about every Civil War battlefield there is. Last year he and I made a trip to see the park, knowing that the old visitor center would soon be closed.
As much as we love “old” here at Casts from the Past and Scenes from the Past, I have to admit that the old center is in pretty bad shape. I’m sure it was a great building 30 years ago, but now it seems kind of run down. I’ve been anticipating the opening of the new $103 million visitor center and the renovation of the cyclorama ever since our visit.
This morning, I happened accross this great article from the Washington Post, entitled At Last, a Gettysburg Redress . (Get it? Redress? Address? Clever…)
The article discusses how the National Park Service is about to tear down both the old visitors center and the Cyclorama Building, which was designed in the 1960s by the renowned architect Richard Neutra. They both sit on top of Union battle lines where approximately 900 men lost their lives. The new visitor center does not sit on hallowed ground.
The most notable change, for most tourists, will be the visitor center, which is designed to look like a typical farm structure one might find anywhere in the hills of Pennsylvania. The old cyclorama is being refurbished and reinstalled in what looks like a low, squat silo, painted barn red. Wooden beams salvaged from Civil War era barns have been used, both as decoration and to support porch overhangs. Much of the building is clad in central Pennsylvania granite, which has the curious feature of seeming to be both blue and gray at the same time.
It is everything the Richard Neutra building is not. That structure, a concrete, modernist facility that housed the cyclorama in a round, bunker-like tube, is an overstated, chilly yet compelling presence. The new center is backward-looking, faux-historical and architecturally bland. And there’s little doubt that the new building is the right one for Gettysburg.
Also, about the Cyclorama…
The old cyclorama, a 377-foot round painting of the battle created by Paul Philippoteaux in 1884, was the “immersive” cultural experience of its day. It has taken on such iconic status that it is being restored to its original format, which requires meticulous repair and repainting, and the re-creation of three-dimensional diorama pieces (installed along the edges of the painting to create an optical illusion) that have been missing for at least 40 years. (It will be unveiled at the center’s “grand opening” in September.)
The article also discusses the shift of narrative in the Gettysburg story from millitary strategy to a story of broader issues, such as slavery. You can read the full article at the Washington Post website.
I found this cool video by yorkdispatch on YouTube.com called, “A Better Look at the Civil War”, which is all about the four major goals they had for constructing the visitor center.