Tuesday, Nov 8, 2005
On November 1st, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, in partnership with the Porter County Convention, Recreation and Visitor Commission (PCCRVC), held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center. The $3 million project is being financed through Federal Highway funds and the proceeds from the sale of the present PCCRVC Visitor Center. This shared visitor center will be owned by the PCCRVC with space leased by the National Lakeshore. In remarks made at the ceremony, Indiana Dunes Superintendent Dale Engquist said the new visitor center, located outside the park but along the major route into the dunes area, will quadruple the amount of visitors being contacted and better enable the park to educate visitors about the national lakeshore and its resources. The 12,300-square-foot building will be staffed by both National Park Service and county tourism employees, and will include a 129-seat theater, a 1,400 square-foot exhibit room, an Eastern National bookstore, and offices. The parking lot will accommodate 115 cars, 14 RVs, and 5 buses. Engquist said that the park’s current Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center, a converted church, was poorly located; and he added, “I’m reasonably sure we have the smallest visitor center of all the national parks,” The Superintendent explained that the additional exhibit space would allow the Park Service, “to finally tell the full story of the Dunes so we can educate people before they enter the park to preserve and protect its resources.” Construction on the new center has already begun with an expected completion date in September of 2006. |
