Adirondack Museum Visitor Center

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Photos by David Lamb

Two months of Fall, five months of harsh Winter, and two months of Spring high in the rugged Adirondack Mountains of New York State was the setting for this ambitious project at the Adirondack Museum. With only a four-month window to capitalize on the "Summer" tourism season in the Adirondacks, the Museum had no choice but to build its new Visitors Center during the off-season.

The project began in September with demolition and removal of the original "Gatehouse" to make way for the new Museum Store and Admissions Facility. Quickly the site presented the first challenge with considerably more rock excavation than the allowance in addition to relocation of underground utilities, and diversion and removal of mountain runoff and underground water. More than 1,000 yards of concrete had to be placed in sub-freezing temperatures to support the combination steel and heavy timber structure. Construction of the cedar-clad, Adirondack style building was further complicated by the delicate process of insertion and placement of the Museum's rare and treasured 32 foot long "Water Witch" Idem Class Racing Sloop, with its 34 foot high mast, which greets Museum visitors as they enter the beautifully finished interior of the Center. Despite the challenges of mountainside winter construction, MLB delivered this complex admissions, display and retail facility in time for the Museum's opening in June.