Previously: The National Park Service announced a $1.7 million rehabilitation project for the Fort Vancouver Visitor Center.
What’s new: Beginning Monday, visitor center services will be temporarily moved to Pearson Air Museum.
What’s next: The Fort Vancouver National Trust will determine where it will operate its visitor center bookstore during the closure.
To prepare for a $1.7 million rehabilitation, the Fort Vancouver visitor center will be temporarily moved, beginning Monday, to Pearson Air Museum, 1115 E. Fifth St.
Previously: The National Park Service announced a $1.7 million rehabilitation project for the Fort Vancouver Visitor Center.
What's new: Beginning Monday, visitor center services will be temporarily moved to Pearson Air Museum.
What's next: The Fort Vancouver National Trust will determine where it will operate its visitor center bookstore during the closure.
The National Park Service recently awarded a contract to renovate the visitor center near the intersection of East Reserve Street and Evergreen Boulevard. The 5,650-square-foot center was built in 1961.
Some visitor resources adjacent to the center will still be available, said Alex Patterson, Fort Vancouver’s facility manager. People will be able to use the picnic shelter, and families will have access to the children’s playground just south of the building. The visitor center restrooms will be part of the remodeling closure, but portable toilets will be placed on the site, Patterson said.
Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, which now operates and manages Pearson Air Museum, will provide in-person visitor information and site orientation in the museum lobby.
Park and regional publications and films also will be available to guide visitors around Fort Vancouver and the Vancouver National Historic Reserve.
Bookstore questions
One aspect of visitor center operation is still unsettled. The Fort Vancouver National Trust operates a bookstore in the visitor center. The National Trust will continue to operate a bookstore during the closure, Executive Director Elson Strahan said. However, National Trust officials are unsure where the retail site will be based during the next few months.
The Park Service has invited the bookstore operators to be part of the temporary relocation at the museum, said Chief Ranger Greg Shine.
Strahan said that trust officials are still trying to determine their best operating model for the bookstore, during the construction period as well as after the reconfigured visitor center reopens.
The operating hours of Pearson Air Museum will be expanded to seven days a week starting Monday, matching the operating hours of the visitor center.
The Pearson Air Museum schedule:
• Monday to Nov. 2: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
• Beginning Nov. 3 (with the end of daylight saving time): 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
Spring finish eyed
According to a press release, rehabilitation of the visitor center is projected to be finished in late spring 2015.
Interior space will be reconfigured, including reorienting the entry to the visitor restrooms through the front door. The existing theater will be relocated as part of the restroom improvements; a larger, multi-function theater space will be created. The facility will be brought into compliance with modern accessibility standards.
Other aspects of the project will involve removing lead-based paint and materials containing asbestos; replacing mechanical, electrical and lighting systems to save energy; and installing a fire suppression system.
