Civil War History - Gettysburg ForumGettysburg! It's not just a National Park. It's a Civil War Battlefield. For some it's historic and storied past are almost an obsession! All related discussions are welcome here!
The new Visitors' Center at Gettysburg officially opened yesterday, April 14. It is located on Hunt Avenue, between Taneytown Rd. and Baltimore Pike, somewhat to the southeast of the old Visitors' Center.
I had the chance to visit it briefly over the weekend. It is certainly much larger than the old place, with much more space for exhibits. The museum attempts to cover more of the Civil War story than just the Battle of Gettysburg. The restrooms are larger and more modern. There is also a pretty nice-looking cafeteria, with both indoor and outdoor tables where you can sit while you eat.
Although there is more space, I was told that the intent is to actually display fewer items at any one time in the new museum than they used to display in the old museum. They're going to try to focus a little more on artifacts that can be connected with a particular person or story. For example, they have four chairs on display from a Gettysburg-area tavern, and they explain that John Reynolds stretched out on those chairs for a rest on the night of June 30, prior to his arrival (and unfortunately brief stay) on the battlefield the next day. By displaying fewer items at any one time, they will be able to rotate the items on display, so that people who return again and again won't see all the same items every time.
A note to those of the Southern persuasion - brace yourselves. The introductory film does dwell rather heavily on the slavery issue.
If you are driving to the Visitors' Center, it is best to enter Hunt Avenue from Baltimore Pike. I entered from Taneytown Road and parked in the first parking lot I came to, Lot 3 - which turned out to be a considerably longer distance from the entrance than the other two lots are. If you enter from Baltimore Pike, the first two parking lots you come to will be much closer to the main entrance and right in front of it.
Here is a link to a review of the center by the Chairman of the New Hampshire Civil War Roundtable. I will not be going back to Gettysburg until June and I've read similiar opinions on the net. Until then what few pictures and video clips there are will have to do. ~Gary
Just returned from Gettysburg. New VC very new and pretty. Huge giftshop, cafeteria, fancy exhibits and a intro film narrated by Morgan Freeman, better known as the voice of God.
Will the VC function like a Walmart, killing off the tacky souvenir shops downtown? I ask that because I bought all my tacky souvenirs from the gift shop, instead of in the town this time.
Lots of licensed battlefield guides, mostly middle aged or retired white guys, gesturing to groups with words like "flank" "canister" and "General Armistad(or Meade or Lee) floating in the air. Has anyone ever used a guide. I got the audio CD driving tour by Wayne Mott. My daughter said she disliked his voice because he sounded "too happy" when recounting a grisly turn in the battle. In the future, all narration will be done by Morgan Freeman.
Kudos to the tree cutting program. Really shows the lay of the land, especially in Devil's Den area.
Saw a beautiful statue of the Fire Zouaves, a soldier and fireman holding hands. Family giggled a little at the gayness of it, but it wasn't intended to honor alternative lifestyles in the Union army of course. It was, to me, a gentle counterpoint to the violence of battle.
The most gay Confederate statue was the Louisiana memorial IMO. Fabulous!
I've gone on several tours with Wayne. In person, he is a first-rate guide. He is immensely knowledgeable about the battle and he is tremendously enthusiastic about sharing his knowledge with people.
Sounds like, in the "canned" tour, that enthusiasm bubbled over a bit too much at the wrong time. I guess if he's conducting a tour in person, he has a better feel for when to tone it down a little bit.
I've gone on battlefield walks with groups led by Licensed Battlefield Guides. Never taken an individual tour with an LBG, either in person or on an audio recording.
IMO the Greg Coco tour that was produced by Graystone Communication was the best Audio tour. Unfortunately I'm going to have to have my cassette version transferred to CD. ~Gary
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