Cyclorama Building (Gettysburg)

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Cyclorama Building
Gettysburg Cyclorama Building.jpg
Cyclorama Building in Zeigler's Grove
USA Pennsylvania location map.svg
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General information
Architectural style Modernist (Mission 66)
Location Zeigler's Grove
Address125 Taneytown Road [1]
Gettysburg Battlefield
Town or city Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Country United States
Coordinates 39°48′56.8″N77°14′2.9″W / 39.815778°N 77.234139°W / 39.815778; -77.234139
Construction started1958
Completed1962 [2]
InauguratedNovember 19, 1962
DemolishedMarch 8–9, 2013
Cost$687,349
Owner Gettysburg National Military Park
Design and construction
Architect(s) Richard Neutra
Main contractorOrndorff Construction Company, Inc.

The Cyclorama Building was a modernist concrete and glass Mission 66 building in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, United States. It was dedicated November 19, 1962, [3] by the National Park Service (NPS) to serve as a Gettysburg Battlefield visitor center, to exhibit the 1883 Paul Philippoteaux Battle of Gettysburg cyclorama and other artifacts, and to provide an observation deck (replacing the 1896 Zeigler's Grove observation tower [4] ). The building was demolished in 2013.

Contents

History

Richard Neutra was awarded the design, and began work in 1958. The design included a central park administration office, space for the cyclorama painting previously held remotely at Baltimore Road, and an auditorium that opened out onto the adjoining lawn. [5] Neutra subtitled the building "the Abraham Lincoln Shrine of the Nation." [6] Orndorff Construction Company, Inc., won the construction contract with a bid of $687,349, in 1959. [7] The site at Ziegler's Grove was intended to tie the painting closely to the battle location it depicted. [8] The total construction cost was $959,603. [6] The building was dedicated on November 19, 1962, the 99th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address. [6]

Toward the end of the 20th-century attitudes towards battlefield presentation had changed, and the National Park Service sought to remove many modern structures from key sites. [8] In 1977, the federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation recommended that the Cyclorama Building be relocated to a less central portion of the battlefield. [6] Funding requests to rehabilitate the Cyclorama Building were denied in 1993 and 1996, i.e., $2.7M in 1993 for roof removal/replacement, asbestos ceiling removal, patching cracks and treating masonry, and redesign of interior. [9] : 126  But, in 1998, the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places noted that the building possessed "exceptional historic and architectural significance," [10] making the determination that the "Cyclorama Building was eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places," reversing conclusions by the National Park Service in December 1995 and the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Officer in May 1996. [9] : 118  In 1999, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts opposed its demolition. [9] : 126  During this time, Dion Neutra, the architect's son (who worked on the design) launched a preservation campaign that generated more than a thousand letters of support. Frank Gehry wrote that Neutra's building "reflects the highest ideals of his own time, and deserves the highest appreciation of ours." The American Institute of Architects described the Cyclorama as "one of the most important buildings constructed by the [Park Service] during the 20th century." [6]

In 2005, the Gettysburg Cyclorama painting was removed from the building for restoration (it would be relocated to the Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center in 2007), and the Cyclorama Building was closed to the public. [11]

After the building was not added to the National Register of Historic Places, [12] in 2010, a U.S. District court judge ruled for the Recent Past Preservation Network (Plaintiff) that the NPS "had failed to comply with federal law requiring it to analyze the effect of the Cyclorama Center demolition and come up with alternatives to destroying it." [13]

The Neutra Cyclorama in 2011 Gettysburg Cyclorama Neutra PA5.jpg
The Neutra Cyclorama in 2011

In August 2012, the court-ordered NPS study concluded that "the best course of action would be to demolish the Cyclorama Building that has stood in the park for 50 years." [14] In January 2013, the Park Service announced plans to demolish the building during the winter of 2013. [15] In February 2013, there was a protest. [16]

In March 2013, the building was demolished. [17] [18] The National Trust for Historic Preservation cited the Cyclorama Building as one of ten historic sites lost in 2013. [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Park Service</span> United States federal agency

The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all national parks; most national monuments; and other natural, historical, and recreational properties, with various title designations. The United States Congress created the agency on August 25, 1916, through the National Park Service Organic Act. Its headquarters is in Washington, D.C., within the main headquarters of the Department of the Interior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Neutra</span> Austrian-American architect (1892–1970)

Richard Joseph Neutra was an Austrian-American architect. Living and building for most of his career in Southern California, he came to be considered a prominent and important modernist architect. His most notable works include the Kaufmann Desert House, in Palm Springs, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gettysburg Battlefield</span> American Civil War battle-site

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The Atlanta Cyclorama and Civil War Museum was a Civil War museum located in Atlanta, Georgia. Its most noted attraction was the Atlanta Cyclorama, a cylindrical panoramic painting of the Battle of Atlanta. As of December 2021, the Cyclorama is located at the Atlanta History Center, while the building is now Zoo Atlanta's Savanna Hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gettysburg National Military Park</span> Larger area encompassing the National Cemetery and Battlefield

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Gettysburg may refer to:

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center</span>

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Emmor Cope (1834-1927) was an American Civil War officer of the Union Army noted for the "Map of the Battlefield of Gettysburg from the original survey made August to October, 1863", which he researched by horseback as a sergeant after being ordered back to Gettysburg by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade. Cope is also noted for commemorative era battlefield administration and designs, including the layout of the 1913 Gettysburg reunion. Cope had enlisted as a Private of Company A,, temporarily detached to Battery C, 5th U.S. Artillery, and mustered out as a V Corps aide-de-camp of Maj Gen Gouverneur K. Warren.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Water Mark of the Rebellion Monument</span>

The High Water Mark of the Rebellion Monument is a Gettysburg Battlefield memorial which identifies the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia units of the infantry attack on the Battle of Gettysburg, third day, with a large bronze tablet, as well as the Union Army of the Potomac's "respective troops who met or assisted to repulse Longstreet's Assault." The memorial is named for the line of dead and wounded of Pickett's Charge which marked the deepest penetration into the Union line at The Angle when "4,500 men threw down their arms and came in as prisoners". The line is now generally marked with unit monuments which are also historic district contributing structures. The High Water Mark monument is accessible via Hancock Avenue which has parking spaces alongside, and a path leads to the site from a parking lot at the former Cyclorama Building at Gettysburg, which served for fifty years as a Gettysburg Battlefield visitor center by the National Park Service until it was demolished in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commemoration of the American Civil War</span>

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References

  1. ↑ "Cyclorama Building, 125 Taneytown Road, Gettysburg vicinity, Adams, PA". Library of Congress . Retrieved January 25, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Pennsylvania: New Visitor Center & Museum Complex (Gettysburg National Military Park)". Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. Archived from the original on November 19, 2010. Retrieved January 24, 2011. The Keeper determined that the [Cyclorama Building] property, built between 1958 and 1962, is exceptionally significant
  3. ↑ Unrau, Harlan D (1991). administrative history, Gettysburg National Military Park (PDF) (Report). Denver, CO: National Park Service. OCLC   24228617. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 20, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Steel Tower at Zeigler's Grove Razed". Gettysburg Times. July 25, 1961. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Visitor Center and Cyclorama Building". National Park Service. Archived from the original on July 10, 2013. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Who Chooses History?". Los Angeles Times . June 27, 2004.
  7. ↑ "Completing the Visitor Center". National Park Service. Archived from the original on July 7, 2013. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  8. 1 2 Owens, Mitchell (January 25, 2013). "Richard Neutra's Gettysburg Cyclorama to be Demolished". Architectural Digest.
  9. 1 2 3 Oversight hearing on Gettysburg National Park general management (Report). United States Congress House Committee on Resources, Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  10. ↑ "Cyclorama Richard Neutra's 1961 Lincoln Memorial at Gettysburg." Archived July 5, 2007, at the Wayback Machine reCyclorama June 7, 2007.
  11. ↑ Ruane, Michael E. (January 10, 2013). "Old Gettysburg Cyclorama Building, which once housed famous painting, to be razed". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 12, 2013. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Section 106 Case Report, Cyclorama Building, Gettysburg National Military Park". reCyclorama. Mission66.com. January 1999. Archived from the original (reprint) on July 14, 2011. Retrieved January 25, 2011. ----[webpage quote regarding "urging of the National Park Service goes here]-----
  13. ↑ Amy Worden (April 5, 2010). "L.A. architect wins battle at Gettysburg". Los Angeles Times.
  14. ↑ [ dead link ]The Associated Press (August 29, 2012). "NPS says demolish Gettysburg Cyclorama Building". Sacramento Bee.[ permanent dead link ]
  15. ↑ Ruane, Michael E. (January 10, 2013). "Old Gettysburg Cyclorama Building, which once housed famous painting, to be razed". Washington Post. Retrieved January 11, 2013.
  16. ↑ Weaver, Stephanie (February 25, 2013). "Protesters: Keep Cyclorama Building". Archived from the original on February 28, 2013. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  17. ↑ Worden, Amy (March 12, 2013). "Gettysburg's Cyclorama Building is no more". Philadelphia Inquirer.
  18. ↑ Stansbury, Amy (March 9, 2013). "The death of the Gettysburg Cyclorama Building". The Evening Sun. Archived from the original on March 13, 2013. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  19. ↑ staff (January 5, 2014). "A look at 10 historic sites saved, 10 lost in 2013". Associated Press as reported by the Post Crescent . p. F3.
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