Preserve Cemetery Ridge or the Gettysburg Cyclorama Building? Let Your Voice Be Heard!

Currently, the National Park Service at Gettysburg is seeking public input on the future of the ill-placed late 1950s-era Cyclorama building. The famous cyclorama painting itself now safely hangs in the new visitor’s center and the last step in rehabilitating this area of the battlefield is removing the anachronistic concrete structure from this important terrain, returning Gettysburg’s famed Cemetery Ridge to its 1863 battle appearance!

This comes on the heels of a decade of lawsuits and debate in which Dion Neutra, son of Richard Neutra, the building's architect, and the Recent Past Preservation Network (RPPN) have been battling officials of the Department of the Interior, the National Park Service, and the Gettysburg park in an effort to halt demolition of the Cyclorama’s old home.

The building is near one of the highest points on Cemetery Ridge, a key defensive position where nearly 1,000 Union soldiers were killed or wounded during Pickett's Charge. The National Park Service has been seeking to demolish the structure since 1999, citing the site's unquestionable historical importance, but the RPPN says the 50-year-old poured-concrete building is also historically significant.

In order to rehabilitate this ground, our friends at the National Park Service need to hear from you. We urge you to comment on this process by asking the National Park Service to remove the Cyclorama building and rehabilitate this important ground.

We need to tell them loud and clear: There are many examples of modernist architecture; there’s only one Gettysburg. Rehabilitate the ridge!

To Take Action:

1. Submit written comments to: Superintendent, Gettysburg National Military Park, 1195 Baltimore Pike, Suite 100, Gettysburg, PA 17325

2. Visit http://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectID=32782

3. Email comments to: mailto:gett_superintendent@nps.gov?subject=Preserve.

4. Fax comments to: 717.334.1891 Attn: Cyclorama Building

5. Attend informational open houses on September 16 and 17 at the Museum and Visitor Center, details at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectID=32782

For more information, please check out the following informative links:

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2010-04-05-gettysburg-cyclorama-building_N.htm
http://www.gettysburgtimes.com/news/local/article_45564cb2-b31f-5666-a3bd-43e840a2b01b.html
http://archrecord.construction.com/news/daily/archives/071003cyclorama.asp

Photo courtesy of William Bird.