Table of Contentss

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Dinosaur

Wright Brothers

Gettysburg

Pertified Forest

Rocky Mountain

Cecil Doty

Conclusion

Bibliography

Appendix I

Appendix II

Appendix III

Appendix IV

Mission 66 Visitor Centers Chapter 1

In Situ Interpretation

Considering the museum division's early role in the design of the building, it's not surprising that Anshen and Allen worked with the Western Museum Laboratory in San Francisco on exhibit plans throughout the visitor center. By design, the architecture of Quarry Visitor Center also involved museum interpretation; one wall of the building was an exhibit. The exhibits planning team submitted its designs for the lobby installations on May 3, 1957. [60] The interior walls of the lower gallery were to be furred and faced with gypsum board in preparation for painting. Exhibits were installed in recessed cases, shadow boxes, and in diorama form. A year later, the architects submitted preliminary drawings for the exhibit installation, plans that were not immediately accepted by Superintendent Lombard. According to John W. Jenkins, chief of the Western Museum Laboratory, museum staff red-lined the architects' drawings with suggestions for spacing between panels to improve visitor circulation, and although Anshen and Allen approved the changes, work on construction drawings awaited further discussion with the superintendent. Jenkins supported the firm's basic concept and praised the "excellent and very attractive plan . . . which would differ from most of the recent National Park Service installations . . ." In the meantime, Jenkins realized that the installation plan could not be completed in time for the dedication ceremony and agreed to supervise completion of a temporary exhibit. The architectural firm was also eager to submit its drawings of carpet-covered wooden benches and cubes for seating in the upper and lower levels. [61] The architects' working drawings for the exhibition gallery were finally accepted by Ralph Lewis in October 1958.

The excavation aspect of the quarry face exhibit would prove to be an ongoing project. It had actually begun in 1952, and, by 1963, geologists estimated another fifteen years of digging and scraping would be required to complete their work. The permanent monument staff included museum technicians and a Ph.D. museum geologist to carry out the excavation. Although fossils were removed from this area, a primary goal of the excavation was to prepare the north wall of the visitor center for public viewing. This 183- by 35-foot area, which formed a rock wall at a 67 degree angle, required "quarrying away the sterile rock, working the bone out in relief, and cleaning the surface with hand tools, and treatment of the fossil bone with a preservative." [62] Although paleontologists no longer chip away at the rock, their tools remain behind as part of the current exhibit. In 2000, the museum includes original exhibit panels and displays as well as more recent additions, such as a panel in front of the building describing the structure's architectural significance.

CONTINUED

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