Visitors' center complete

GENEVA — Though boxes are still being unpacked, construction work on the new visitors’ center at the Limberlost State Historic Site is complete.
“We’re open now,” said site manager Randy Lehman. “But we’re not having our open house until April.”
The new 4,000-square-foot facility provides classroom and meeting space, offices for staff, display areas, and a new gift shop.
Total price tag for the project, including the purchase of two lots, was $852,000. Of that amount, $385,000 came from the state; the balance was raised from private donations.
And that new space means that existing areas in the former home of naturalist and author Gene Stratton-Porter can be put to other use.
For instance, Lehman noted, the gift shop at the site had been in the kitchen of the cabin. “Now we can restore that kitchen,” he said. “Of course, we have to raise the money for that.”
A classroom area in the site’s barn will be transformed over time into a nature center because the new building includes a larger classroom space.
Visitors to the new building will first encounter an admission desk and the gift shop. There are two cash registers: One for admissions to the Stratton-Porter home and one for the gift shop operated by Friends of the Limberlost.
Beyond the gift shop is a display area with room for traveling exhibits. “We will have displays about the wetland restoration projects,” said Lehman. That space opens onto a small room with a glass wall looking out to a sheltered area where bird feeders will be placed, so that bird watchers can keep track of the action no matter what the weather.
The west end of the building includes office space for Lehman, site naturalist Curt Burnette, and staff member Bill Hubbard.
At the southwest corner is the classroom, where the Friends of the Limberlost will hold their meetings. It’s nearly twice the size of the old classroom in the barn. The new classroom will also be equipped with a ceiling-mounted digital projector. The room can accommodate 35 to 40 people.
The east end of the structure includes an office for regional ecologist Ken Brunswick. “I’m going to set it up so I can look out and see the bird feeders,” said Brunswick.
New restrooms, a storage room, and a multi-use room at the southeast corner of the building complete the space.
Though no date has been yet been nailed down for an open house, the site’s first event at the new visitors’ center will be Sunday, March 3, from 2 to 3 p.m.
The free event is titled “America’s Smallest Falcon: The Kestrel” and will feature at least one of the falcons.[[In-content Ad]]