Letter to Ed

June 28, 2004. Los Angeles Times Magazine
Re: Gettysburg Cyclorama Center

Mark Rozzo hits the nail on the head when he asks ‘Who Chooses History’ [June 27 Cyclorama feature]. He also asks why I don’t just put up a white flag and move on?

Here’re my thoughts to supplement his excellent piece. I can’t get past the impertinance of later day experts who purport to second guess their forebearers who decided in their wisdom where to place this container for the painting whose point of view is exactly where the building was located!
This was a very laborious process in the late 50s where various sites were researched before we were finally directed to place the building where it now sits backing into Ziegler’s Grove! At that time, everyone was on board! Taxpayers funds in the range of $10M in todays dollars were committed and spent! Now, a half century later, where do we get the wisdom and EGO, to refabricate history and have a different approach? What about the original expenditure of taxpayer dollars, not to speak of the irreplaceable loss of an icon? How about the memories of a generation of visitors who equate their visit with our building? What’s even more galling: removal of only ONE of the dozens of monuments that dot this countryside will NOT achieve the stated objective!

The resulting ‘revisionist landscape’ will NOT resemble in any way, what the empty fields looked like 141 years ago this month. No; this is NOT the answer.

I suspect a hidden agenda; “Get rid of that competing feature that might absorb a few tourist dollars from the ‘other center’! (And solve the issue of an unappreciated ‘gas tank’ with its deferred maintenance at the same time!)”.

That this vandalism plan has survived now for years is inexplicable to me (or a thousand Emailers who have logged in from twenty countries!). I keep hoping SOMEONE with vision and authority, will wake up in time to realize the enormity of the disaster that is being proposed here, before it actually is carried out! I even made an appeal to President Bush to PARDON the Cyclorama Building! Staff referred it instead to the Park Service! I doubt it ever made it to his desk. How about it, Mr. President?

What might serve better, and still could be implemented, is this. Instead of spending $10M to destroy our building and refabricate the Grove to a ‘pristine landscape,’ allocate about twice that to embrace the notion of using what is there for a new purpose. That’s assuming the park service can actually relocate the restored painting to the proposed venue, which seems problematic at the moment unless the congress steps in and rescues that project. (Meanwhile, it appears the painting will be held hostage to the lack of funding for the new center. It is due to be removed from public view this August! For how long, no one knows.) How about a state of the art sound and light circlerama show to be designed for the Cyclorama Theater, to play out the events of the first days of July, 1863 for a new generation of visitors? The rest of the spaces in our building could be revamped to display some of the artifacts that will not find space in the new center because of budget issues. Our show could be up and running long before the new venue is complete if it ever is, and visitors would have something to see, reminding them of what transpired here, seen from Ziegler’s Grove. Loss of our building, will be seen by the international community on a par with the wanton destruction of Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan of the '60s; an act that is universally regretted by preservationists. Do we have to go through this YET AGAIN? WE HAVE A CHANCE YET TO DERAIL THIS PLAN!

Readers can join with us to continue our protest into the next administration, by logging onto our website; Neutra.org and signing a petition which will go to the powers that be. We must show that ‘It ain’t over til it’s over!’. I’ve threatened to chain myself to the building to confront the bulldozers and blasters if I’m given enough notice of any impending demolition. With the painting gone, I fear a Saturday morning massacre without notice some weekend!

Dion Neutra, Architect, Los Angeles AIA, FISD

Dion Neutra, Inc.
2440 Neutra Place Los Angeles, CA. 90039
Phone/Fax: 323 666 1806
Website: www.neutra.org
E-mail: dion@neutra.org