[Geysers] Press Release: Contract for Old Faithful Visitor Education Center Awarded

[Lucille Reilly]

Thanks for this, Lynn.  It sounds fantastic.

I am wondering if the research library will act as a kind of "Geyser
Central" for the park?  I imagine the historical documents will all remain
in Gardiner.

Lucille Reilly

-----Original Message-----
From: geysers-bounces at lists.wallawalla.edu
[mailto:geysers-bounces at lists.wallawalla.edu] On Behalf Of Lynn Stephens
Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 9:21 PM
To: geysers at lists.wallawalla.edu
Subject: [Geysers] Press Release: Contract for Old Faithful Visitor
Education Center Awarded


Here's a link to today's  (3/12/2008) press release about award of the
contract for the Old Faithful Visitor Education Center:
http://www.nps.gov/yell/parknews/08016.htm.


And here's the trext:

Contract Awarded for Old Faithful Visitor Education Center
	
Date: March 12, 2008
Contact: Al Nash or Stacy Vallie, 307-344-2015
Contact: Christine Weinheimer, 406-586-6303

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

Yellowstone National Park
P.O. Box 168
Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190

                 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 12, 2008    08-016
Al Nash or Stacy Vallie (307) 344-2015

----------------------------------------------------

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK NEWS RELEASE

----------------------------------------------------

Contract Awarded For Old Faithful Visitor Education Center

Artist's rendering of completed facility

Groundbreaking for a new Old Faithful Visitor Education Center is set for
May 2008.

The construction contract has been awarded to Swank Enterprises, a general
contractor with offices in Kalispell and Valier, Montana.

The two-story, 26,000 square foot structure will be built on the site of the
small, outdated visitor center which was demolished last summer. A temporary
visitor center is in place to serve visitors while construction is underway.
The new facility is expected to open to the public by the fall of 2010.

$15 million of the $27 million dollar cost of design and construction was
provided by the Yellowstone Park Foundation. Major donations to the
Yellowstone Park Foundation for the new building were made by
ConocoPhillips, Unilever, the Coca-Cola Foundation, Toyota Motor Sales,
U.S.A., the National Science Foundation, and the Kresge Foundation.

The new visitor education center will serve 2.6 million on-site visitors
every year. It will feature new exhibits and host new programs to help
visitors understand and appreciate geysers, hot springs, and other
hydrothermal features in Yellowstone. The building will also contain an
auditorium, research library, multi-purpose classroom, and educational
bookstore.

The building has been designed to be compatible with the rustic
architectural style of the Old Faithful Historic District.  The National
Park Service intends to seek certification of the facility as a
high-performance, environmentally friendly "green" building. It has also
been designed to set new standards for accessibility and for the
interpretation of complex scientific information to the public.

The Yellowstone Park Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization founded
in 1996, based in Bozeman, Montana. The Foundation's mission is to work in
cooperation with the National Park Service to fund projects that protect,
preserve, and enhance the natural and cultural resources and the visitor
experience of Yellowstone National Park. More information is available
online at www.ypf.org.

CTA Architects Engineers of Billings, Montana, is the project architect.
They recently teamed up with Swank Enterprises on Yellowstone's Canyon
Visitor Education Center which was opened to the public in August 2006.

Lynn Stephens
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