<bt>Mount Vernon Estate is spending $90 million to make George Washington a real and interesting person to an eighth grade male. If that happens, the project will be considered a success.
During a tour last Thursday of the Estate's multi-million dollar project to create a new orientation, education, museum center James C. Rees, executive director, said, "We have conducted a series of studies on how we can renew interest in and knowledge of the real George Washington and his life. And, we found our most difficult customer is the eighth grade male. If we get through to him everyone else is okay."
In order to accomplish that goal the Estate has undertaken a massive development project that will redirect the visitor's entire experience. And, it will double the length of a visit from the present average of two hours and 20 minutes to over four hours, according to Rees.
"But, most of all we did not want the visitor to loose any of the charm they now experience. We actually made a video tape of people entering the grounds now to see what they reacted to as they went from the gate to the Mansion," he said.
"We found they were pretty much looking at the brochure and talking and not really paying much attention to the grounds until they got to the Mansion. Therefore, we felt comfortable in changing that entrance experience," Rees said.
EVEN THOUGH there is a massive amount of earth being moved and walls going up and heavy equipment everywhere, the Estate is still open for business with all the usual experiences from touring the Mansion, to visiting the out buildings and farm, to Washington's Tomb.
Upon completion, the new triple venue will be housed in two buildings, one of which will be completely underground with the former pasture on top. "We decided on two buildings because one would have been just too large for this site," he said.
"We argued over what animals would be in that new pasture. The sheep won by a long shot. Oxen and horses would be just too heavy," he said.
Making up the complex will be the Ford Orientation Center where visitors will be introduced to the Estate, the man, and his life. With two large screen theaters operated from one projection room, one seating 250 and the other 300, visitors will see Washington depicted as an "action hero" in a 15 to 20 minute film. When he is crossing the Delaware River that Christmas Eve, the audience will even feel the snow, according to Rees.
"We decided on two theaters so that one could be used for children's programs in the slow season. Our plans also call for the film to be distributed to schools across the country," Rees said.
JUST OUTSIDE the lobby's floor-to-ceiling window wall, the landscape of the Estate is visible bringing the outside in. "We are spending approximately $1 million on landscaping so that when its done it will look like it has been here, not like itÕs new plantings.
"And the trees will vary in species so that they will turn with the seasons to give the grounds a very natural look for this part of the country. Putting in all evergreens so that it was always green would look to false," he said.
More than 50 mature trees will be brought in, most in the 30 feet tall range. These are being sponsored by various individual and organizations with gifts ranging from $10,000 up. Walking toward the new pasture area there is a four panel display identifying various trees and shrubs with price tags for potential donors.
Rees was quick to point out, "There is no government money in this project what so ever. It is all from private donations." The project is costing approximately $60 million in construction and another $30 million as an endowment to maintain it, according to Rees.
Upon leaving the Orientation Center,
visitors will enter onto the path up to the Mansion from two possible exists depending on their choices within the Center. Upon completion of their Mansion area tour they will return to the new Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center which they will access by going down a level beneath the restored pasture.
IN THE MUSEUM will be a myriad items from furniture, to china and silver, to portraits, and personal artifacts belonging to the Washingtons. "We have so many things we have never been able to display in the Mansion," he said.
The Education Center will consist of 17 separate galleries and theaters that are interactive. Entering this Center, visitors will pass a 12 foot reverse bust of Washington "crafted so that his eyes appear to follow each person around the room."
Some of the highlights of the Education Center will include venues dealing with various stages of the General's life from youth to his presidency and finally his death. The only president to be twice elected unanimously, Washington was adamant that he would not become king.
This fact and his insistence will be communicated to the audience through the use of a "pepper's ghost." A depiction of Washington as king will rapidly transform into an image of a simple farmer, according to explanations of the Center's many innovations.
"When all of this is finished it will be equivalent to a Presidential Library. Our goal is to have our visitors come away with a thorough knowledge of Washington the man and the leader," Rees said. To accentuate that, Mount Vernon has printed brochures in nine languages.
MOUNT VERNON Estate selected the architectural firm of GWWO from Baltimore to do the design and Turner Construction for the building. "This has been a tough site to work on," said Dan Lavanga, project manager.
"You will only see a small portion of the roof of the center because the rest is under the pasture. We even put in a new underground storm water management pond to carry the water to the river," Lavanga said.
"The big mount of dirt you see behind the brick wall will be coming back onto the property when the construction is finished. At certain times the project has been noisy," Lavanga said.
Rees admitted that at one point during the earth moving process some of the neighbors had complained of noise from the dump truck tailgates banging. "We will be moving dirt again, but we won't be making any more noise at night," he said.
In order to handle not only additional parking but also the extended parking time due to the longer average visit the Park Service will be adding an additional 150 spaces to the West Parking Lot. "If we find we need more than that they will be placed behind the wall along the road leading to Route 1," Rees said.
Upon completion the new additions will account for an addition 65,000 square feet of building area. Of that 11,000 square feet will be devoted to a specialized, climate controlled, gallery in the museum area.
THE PROJECTED opening for the new areas ranges from early Fall of 2006 to as late as Washington's birthday 2007. "We don't want to compete with other venues when we open so we'll decide that as the construction nears completion," Rees said.
When asked if the admission price would have to be increased due to the expansion Rees said no. However, the price will be increased about $1 which has been the case on an annual basis, according to Rees.
"We are not doing this to entice more visitors. In fact, we have estimated that our visitations will not increase much above our peak years. Our goal is to have our visitors leave with more knowledge of Washington," he said.
"When we have asked visitors to give us feedback we thought we'd get more things like, it was too hot in the mansion or there was too much ground to cover. Instead the most common complaint was "we felt we didn't learn enough about Washington," he said. "That's what this is all about."