Gettysburg Daily

Cyclorama Parking Lot Resurfacing: Part 2

The July 3rd positional marker of the 12 Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. This view was taken facing southeast at approximately 5:40 PM on Wednesday, May 18, 2011.

Contractors have finished resurfacing the Cyclorama Parking lot and making a few curb cuts to improve accessibility to this parking area.

Now that that parking lot here has been resurfaced and reopened, the old Visitors Center parking lot is once again closed. This view was taken facing southeast at approximately 5:40 PM on Wednesday, May 18, 2011.

The National Park Service’s original plan for this parking lot called for a reduction in parking spaces and reconfiguring the parking lot layout. This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 5:40 PM on Wednesday, May 18, 2011.

So we wondered: why pay contractors to resurface the entire lot, when you’ll just have to pay to have it torn up again? This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 5:40 PM on Wednesday, May 18, 2011.

Replying to our inquiry, National Park Service spokesperson Katie Lawhon said, “That work [removing spaces and redesigning the lot] has been put on hold pending the conclusion of the Cyclorama building environment assessment planning process.  Since the lot badly needed repaving and some curb cuts to improve accessibility, we proceeded with that work to improve the lot’s usefulness for the present time.” This view was taken facing east at approximately 5:40 PM on Wednesday, May 18, 2011.

So let’s review. We don’t have enough money to restore this pathway to the 20th Maine monument … This view was taken facing northeast at approximately 4:30 PM on Monday, February 28, 2011.

But we have found the funds to pave, tear up, and ultimately repave the Cyclorama Parking lot. The Gettysburg Cyclorama Building is obscured by the trees in the center background. This view was taken facing southwest at approximately 5:40 PM on Wednesday, May 18, 2011.