THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG

For years, the visitor center at Pennsylvania's Gettysburg National Military Park looked less like a grand tribute to the 165,000 soldiers who fought there in 1863 than a building that 165,000 sloppy tourists had just tromped through. But this past spring, the park, built on the site of the Civ...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Fast company 2008-07 (127), p.64
Main Author: West, Evan
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
Subjects:
American Civil War
Bookstores
Civil war
Historic buildings & sites
Landmarks
Military personnel
Museums
National parks
Renovation & restoration
Visitor centers
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:For years, the visitor center at Pennsylvania's Gettysburg National Military Park looked less like a grand tribute to the 165,000 soldiers who fought there in 1863 than a building that 165,000 sloppy tourists had just tromped through. But this past spring, the park, built on the site of the Civil War battle and Abraham Lincoln's landmark address, unveiled a $103 million museum and visitor center that's meant to get kids -- and their families -- to stay longer and spend more. So at Gettysburg, tired displays of facts and figures are out, while spirited montages, accompanied by 19th-century marching music and life-size mannequins in Union and Confederate uniforms, are in. The new center -- a modern building of gray stone, rough-hewn timbers, and corrugated steel -- has the Refreshment Saloon, a cafeteria serving "cast-iron chicken pot pie" and "Grandma Sarah's corn bread."
ISSN:1085-9241
1943-2623