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 3

Completing the Visitor Center

Over a year after the original building completion date, the Orndorff Construction Company submitted an official request for additional reimbursement. Back in February 1961, Orndorff had privately spoken of his financial problems during a dinner engagement with Dion Neutra. When the architect informed the Park Service of this matter, Cabot suggested that the contractors file an official claim. Over the summer, Cabot remarked that "claims of this type are one of the hazards often experienced with the acceptance of low bidders." [130] David Smith, the Park Service's project supervisor, had experienced such hazards firsthand, and in a thirty-five-page response to the contractors described his constant struggle to maintain high construction standards. [131] Despite potential losses, the architects were most concerned with the fate of the building, declaring that "If it must cost extra to get the job we must have, let's pay it—but let's not accept inferior results to what is specified because of this problem." [132] Later that month, Orndorff issued a list of specific complaints against the architects, which included criticism of their dealings with the subcontractors and the three revisions in the painting schedule. [133] If relations were strained, the matter was resolved enough not to effect progress on the site. Dion Neutra wistfully recalled the original atmosphere surrounding the project, when everyone "had such high hopes for a wonderful spirit throughout . . ." [134]

Even though the building remained under construction, by January 1961, Park Service employees had begun preparation for moving into their new offices. Superintendent Myers ordered new furniture to replace the current items, all of which were the property of the U.S. Postal Service except for one metal file cabinet. [135] He also ordered additional furniture to accommodate special visitors during the Civil War Centennial Year (1961-1965). The superintendent's anticipated guests included the former President, representatives of foreign governments, members of Congress, and state and local officials. [136] Myers had been waiting to move into his new building since Spring, but by September the situation didn't look promising. Over a year before, based on his knowledge of the completion date, Myers had given the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania permission to hold its annual observance of the Gettysburg Address in the new visitor center, and U. S. Senator Everett Dirksen was engaged as the keynote speaker.

Regardless of the superintendent's awkward position, construction work remained to be done by all parties involved. The EODC and the contract architects worked together on the planters, furnishings, and exhibits. Neutra admired the "rendering of the textures," in the Park Service museum planter sketches, but suggested a reduction in the height of "the fence." In his opinion, the cannon in the exhibit would be best displayed lying on its side. [137 ] The architects also suggested the rotation of the second-floor lobby furnishing plan ninety degrees clockwise so that visitors could "walk up to the rail and look down to the lower lobby and get a better view of the curved wall going out to the pool." They felt that "placing most people's back to this side of the lobby seems like underplaying the most important feature." [138]

The final inspection of the building was originally scheduled for December 18, but put off for another month; it was finally arranged for January 8-10. In conjunction with the inspection, the architects met for private talks with the Park Service to discuss the contractor's claim. The original inspection assumed the replacement of aluminum work on the west entrance of the building, and an approved Thoroseal application on the exterior concrete. [139] During the summer before the official dedication ceremony, the visitor center was featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer and The New York Times, which announced "Gettysburg's Gain" with a photograph of the battlefield from the viewing deck. The Times emphasized the increased visitor contact and visitor opportunities provided by the new facility, noting that "the completion of this development augurs well for tourists whose previous battlefield tours have ended in merely the recollection of a meaningless potpourri of monuments and statues." For the first time, visitors might gain a "clearer, more gripping picture of the historic clash," in a building "imaginatively planned to accommodate efficiently not only present crowds but much bigger ones." [140]

When the building was dedicated on November 19, 1962, the 99th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, Wirth delivered his remarks from the rostrum. For Wirth, the Gettysburg Visitor Center represented the best of contemporary architecture and planning, not to mention the success of his Mission 66 improvement effort. Neutra surpassed even Wirth in idealism when he designed the rostrum, where he envisioned humanitarians from around the world emulating Lincoln with speeches in support of global unity. [141] The doors slid open to face a clearing where 30,000 spectators could gather on the lawn, overlooking the site of Pickett's famous charge. Wirth's speech celebrated "a great day in the history of the Gettysburg National Military Park and of the City of Gettysburg." He concluded with a reminder that "our great task lies in preserving all physical remains and in giving added life and meaning to these remains. Our Visitor Center is a great step forward in this latter direction." [142]

CONTINUED

 

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