THE 1863 BATTLE LINE AT GETTYSBURG WILL BE RESTORED!
This will honor the soldiers who defended this ground!
Ziegler�s Grove restoration goes out for
bid
Posted on: 12/6/2008 10:41:40 PM
From the
Gettysburg Times:
A multi-million dollar restoration of
Ziegler�s Grove at Gettysburg National Military Park is expected to begin
sometime this winter, as the project has been put out to bid by the park
and its management partner, the Gettysburg Foundation.
Currently,
the 43.5-acre property is home to the park�s old visitor center and
Cyclorama facilities. Both buildings have been closed for eight months and
are scheduled to be razed.
The park and its contractor are unable
to touch the Cyclorama building until an ongoing federal lawsuit to save
the cylindrical structure is resolved. However, the park still intends to
proceed with demolishing the old visitor center.
"We should be able
to stand here one year from now and say that Ziegler�s Grove, which is now
covered with asphalt, brick and concrete will be restored to its 1863
appearance, honoring the soldiers that fell on that ground," GNMP Supt.
Dr. John A. Latschar said. The former park visitor center and Cyclorama
buildings currently sit atop Ziegler�s Grove along Cemetery Ridge, which
was the High Water Mark of the Confederacy during the Battle of Gettysburg
in 1863. When the new $103 million battlefield visitor center opened its
doors in April, the old facilities closed, awaiting
demolition.
Gettysburg Foundation Board of Directors Chairman
Robert Kinsley has called Ziegler�s Grove, where the 136th New York
Regiment was positioned during the three-day battle, the scene of the
fiercest fighting of Pickett�s Charge.
The
first phase of the demolition does not include the removal of
parking lots, or the roads atop Ziegler�s Grove just
the buildings. According to the park, the driveway that connects
Taneytown Road to Steinwehr Avenue will remain in place, but the current visitor center parking lot will be razed and
restored to a meadow.
Ziegler�s Grove was the scene of the
second and third day of the battle, and it�s included in the park�s
General Management Plan of 1999 that states four goals: restore the
Cyclorama painting; preserve the park�s collection of one million Civil
War artifacts; provide adequate visitor facilities; and restore Ziegler�s
Grove. Three of those objectives have been accomplished.
THE RECORD OF DECISION WAS SIGNED BY THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE SO THAT THE HISTORIC BATTLE LINE at GETTYSBURG WILL BE RESTORED! The National Park Service will remove its Visitor Center and the new Visitor Center will NOT be located on the main battle line where men gave the ultimate sacrifice!
The Park Service can restore the historic battlefield in Gettysburg. Previous examples include the Gettysburg National Military Park landscape rehabilitation of the 1) Battlefield Motel and Sherfy House - 1956, 2) Stuckey's from the Peach Orchard - June, 1956, and 3) Eberhardt's store from just north of the intersection of Emmitsburg Rd. and Confederate Avenue.
The National Tower Came Tumbling Down in Gettysburg National Military Park!
The Cyclorama Center and a Soldier's Account of Fighting on that Site
Myths vs. Facts on the Gettysburg Visitor Center Proposal
The decision of the Advisory Council for Historic Preservation on the Cyclorama
Gettysburg National Military Park was selected for the 1999 edition of the National Parks and Conservation Association's 10 most endangered national parks. Could it be-- "Special interests are trying to thwart a proposal for a new museum and visitor center?" As reported in the Sept./Oct. 1999 issue of NPCA's magazine-- On June 22, the Today Show featured Eileen Woodford, NPCA's Northeast regional director. To quote Ms. Woodford, "The current Gettysburg Visitor Center is a disgrace to the memory of the men who fought and died there, and it's a disgrace to the public." NPCA supports the construction of a new center.
More information on the park's management plan is available at the Gettysburg National Military Park Web site.
An update from the National Trust for Historic Preservation:
�
With the release of its list for the Year 2000 of America's 11�Most Endangered Historic Places, the NTHP also updated the status of earlier lists, including their list of 1992 that named Gettysburg National Military Park.� The NTHP considers Gettysburg to be in Threatened Status, due to "encroaching development on 2,000 privately held acres surrounding the park that threaten to destroy its historic
character".� The update does mention that "sprawl and development on the park's perimeter continue to be a problem for Gettysburg.� However, construction of a new visitor's center would allow for the removal of the deteriorating old center, and would help restore the battlefield's scenic landscape."
The photo (below) was taken looking south on Taneytown Road towards the 136th New York regimental monument and the Gettysburg National Military Park Visitor Center. Once the Visitor Center and Cyclorama are removed, future generations will be able to see the viewshed the veterans saw those days back in July 1863 and understand the battle better for it.
Finally, this was the language from Gettysburg National Military Park concerning the new visitor center and the proposed restoration of the battlefield:
Excerpts from Exhibit A, page 5, of The General Agreement dated June 13, 2000, between Gettysburg National Military Park, the National Park Service (signed by Robert Stanton), and the Gettysburg
National Battlefield Museum Foundation (signed by Robert Kinsley):
Part D. Restoration of the Existing Visitor Center and Cyclorama Sites
The project includes the removal of the existing Cyclorama Building and existing Visitor Center, and the rehabilitation of their sites. Rehabilitation will include restoration of the original grade of the battle areas (which was documented in 1868 and again at the time of building the Cyclorama Center), restoration of Ziegler's Grove, restoration of the original grades surrounding monuments in the area, and restoration of the original alignment of Hancock Avenue near the Taneytown Road entrance to the Soldiers' National Cemetery. The National Park Service will provide the design, all environmental clearances and other investigations or studies and all permits necessary for the Foundation to accomplish the required demolition and reconstruction.
We look forward to attending the demolition of the current National Park Visitor Center and will post updates concerning those efforts.
We welcome comments sent to the e-mail address listed below:
� 2008 [email protected]
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