September 2010 - Construction on the new, fully accessible 5,800 square foot visitor center is complete! The final panels of the mural will be laid in place this week, and then everything will be ready for the grand opening celebration on Saturday, September 25, 2010. The new facility is beautiful, and serves double duty as both a Minnesota Department of Transportation highway rest area and the visitor center for the park. Travel information is available in the new center, as well as an exhibit hall showcasing the culture and traditions of the Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe, on whose land the park is located. | |
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Cultural Cornerstone (08/13/10): Eight-hundred-and-sixty-four pieces of very colorful tile arrived on site the second week of August. Workers spent two days doing a mock layout in preparation of actually laying the tile. | |
 Lobby Slatework (05/05/10): In the lobby, the stone masons are nearly finished installing the native slate covering on the seven support columns, and all of the tile has been laid except for the turtle centerpiece. |  Ceiling (05/05/10): The ceiling gets its finishing touches. |
 Night Lights (05/05/10): LED lighting has been installed around the sidewalks. These lights were specially selected to prevent light pollution, and virtually none of the light 'escapes' to contaminate the night sky. |  Concrete Walkways (05/05/10): All of the concrete sidewalks have been poured. This photo shows the walkways outside the main lobby entrance. |
 New Sidewalk (05/05/10): The new sidewalk from the oversized vehicle parking lot. |  Roof (05/03/10): Beginning to install the metal roof on the new building. |
 Spring mural wall (05/03/10) |  Exterior Lighting (05/03/10): LED lights are in place around the exterior of the new building. |
 Sidewalk (05/03/10): Preparing the sidewalk to the main entrance. |  Ductwork (05/03/10) |
 Looking Northwest across lobby (03/27/10): The lobby is starting to take shape, and the doors to the exhibit hall were installed this week. |  New Skylight Over the Lobby (03/27/10): The skylight is approximately 14 feet in diameter. A water-jet-cut-tile turtle of the same size will be inlaid in the floor directly below. The turtle will be bathed in a soft, even light from the transluscent skylight, and will help interpret the creation story of the Ojibway people. It is interesting that the pattern on the skylight roughly resembles a dreamcatcher. |
 East View (03/27/10): This is the view from the center of the exhibit hall, looking toward the East |  Looking South (03/27/10): This is the view from the center of the exhibit hall toward the rest area lobby. The nature store will be on the left. |
 North View (03/12/10): This photo is taken from the north end of the exhibit hall in front of the big windows, looking toward the lobby at the south. |  South View (03/12/10): The view of the exhibit hall from the south, looking north toward the big windows. |
 New Garage (03/12/10) |  View from the South (03/12/10) |
 Roof Trusses (03/12/10): The crane put the last of the roof trusses in after welding an additional foot of steel to the vertical supports. |  Exhibit Hall (03/12/10): The new exhibit hall is bright and spacious. |
 Gift Shop (03/12/10): The large area under the four beams will house the new interpretive exhibits, with a small gift shop and park offices on the right side of this scene. |  Exhibit Hall (03/12/10): Looking north from the edge of the lobby showing the closed-in roof over the exhibit hall. |
 Glue Lams (03/12/10): Looking south toward the lobby through the new exhibit room. Glued laminated structural timbers are stronger and stiffer than their solid wood counterparts, as well as being an efficient use of resources. |  Entrance view (03/12/10): Looking north from Highway 61 toward the new visitor center. This new park entrance road will be west of the old entrance. |
 Foundation Preparation (09/09): The new visitor center is being built on a 'structural slab' that is laid on top of metal pilings. Over 200 cubic yards of concrete were poured for this foundation in September 2009. Here, workers lay rebar for the structure. |  View from the Parking Lot (09/09): Visitors walking from the new parking lot will approach the building from the southeast and see this view. |
 Gathering Shelter and Pigeon River (09/09): The structure for the 30-foot gathering shelter is ready. |  Foundation Preparation (09/09): View from the Southeast end of the future welcome center. |
Conceptual Drawings for the new visitor center |
Conceptual Drawings for the new visitor center |
Conceptual Drawings for the new visitor center | |
