tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8262783067993808760.post1751635035374410842..comments2023-09-29T06:18:27.221-07:00Comments on Cosmic America: Death of a MuseumM. Keith Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02444898713867430753noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8262783067993808760.post-41077878539936657282012-07-02T10:00:28.000-07:002012-07-02T10:00:28.000-07:00Good post, Keith. I was in Gettysburg last week my...Good post, Keith. I was in Gettysburg last week myself. The past few years my wife and I have taken to renting a house there the week before the battle anniversary. I walked around the building and it indeed does seem that they are allowing it to fall into disrepair. I blogged about the building last summer (http://thestrawfoot.com/2011/08/23/cyclorama-building-on-the-move/) and must say I believe it is time for the old Cyclorama Building to go. It is time for it to become part of the national military park's rich and storied history. We add to that history and make new traditions every time we visit.Keith Muchowskihttp://thestrawfoot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8262783067993808760.post-70353328314446454792012-08-29T04:25:48.000-07:002012-08-29T04:25:48.000-07:00here's the latest on the future of the buildin...here's the latest on the future of the building (as of August 2012). It seems as though there is no future at all. <br>http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20120829_At_Gettysburg__the_fight_over_the_fate_of_the_modernist_Cyclorama_building_may_be_near_end.htmlKeithhttp://cosmicamerica.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8262783067993808760.post-23365307079754752592012-09-07T03:12:39.000-07:002012-09-07T03:12:39.000-07:00Can you explain why you think it should go? For m...Can you explain why you think it should go? For my part, I do a fair amount of research in the history of recreation, and I think it has definite significance in that area. I think considering the ways the Gettysburg site has been used and its history interpreted--and the building, by its very presence, fits into that--are very legitimate goals. It makes me think the case of a beautiful early 20th century hotel in Leesburg, Virginia, near where I live, that was torn down in the 1960s to make way for offices of the Clerk of the Court. The reasoning was that it was neither from the colonial nor the Civil War period, so it wasn't "really" historical.Richellehttp://loudounhistory.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8262783067993808760.post-35695430193150730362012-09-09T23:11:00.000-07:002012-09-09T23:11:00.000-07:00I had no opinion about this issue and was interest...I had no opinion about this issue and was interested to read about the split opinions.<br><br>I visited Gettysburg for the first (and so far only) time about a year and a half ago. Of course the visitor center/museum complex and the new display for the painting-in-the-round are simply spectacular.<br><br>I'm inclined to think that the painting itself is of considerably more importance than the building that once housed it. As it has an outstanding home, there would appear to be no compelling reason to maintain the old building. Of course there is sentimental attachment to it, and for perfectly good reason, but in the end that attachment must be more sentimental than historical. If the painting had not found such a wonderful new home then I might feel otherwise. But while we should honor the past, and strive to learn from the past, that doesn't mean we necessarily must embalm every old building, even those that hold fond memories. Another lesson of the past is that we always keep slipping forward toward tomorrow.Bob R Boglenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8262783067993808760.post-47757252828899672082012-09-08T03:03:38.000-07:002012-09-08T03:03:38.000-07:00Thanks for the comment Richelle. I understand your...Thanks for the comment Richelle. I understand your point - one that is shared by many. In some ways, the building is part of the Gettysburg commemorative landscape, and I might add, the Gettysburg commercial landscape. It exists in much the same way as the old observation tower, the railroad tracks to little Round Top, and other things that have now been removed. <br>I also think that is a wonderful example of mid-century architecture. <br>But...and here is my sticking point: I believe the efforts by the NPS to restore the battlefield to its 1863 appearance are of greater import than saving the building. As it now sits - in the center of the Union line - it obscures the wartime landscape and interferes with with how one might understand a very important part of that battle. <br>I think that the NPS had a tough choice to make but that they ultimately made the right one. .Keithhttp://cosmicamerica.comnoreply@blogger.com