It is sad to believe that Kevin grew up in Pennsylvania and I lived their for twelve years but neither one of us had ever visited Gettysburg. We decided we should visit the park on our way home from visiting his family but we did not give ourselves enough time. I expected the park to be similar to Valley Forge so we expected to spend around 3 hours. Unfortunately, that is barely enough time for the visitor center. The visitor center had an excellent film and a cyclorama.
Cycloramas were a very popular form of entertainment in the late 1800's, both in America and Europe. These massive oil-on-canvas paintings were displayed in special auditoriums and enhanced with landscaped foregrounds and life-size figures.The cyclorama was a large oil-on-canvas 360 degree painting that the audience stands inside. The painting is enhanced with landscaping and life-size figures between the painting and the audience.
Once the audience is in place, a description of the war is read and lights are shown on the painting to show which section is being discussed. Now in the 21st century, the story is narrated along with sound effects through a hi-fi stereo system.
This particular cyclorama was first exhibited in 1884. It is one of the few remaining cycloramas in the US. We are fortunate that it has been restored for future generations (http://www.nps.gov/archive/gett/gettcyclo.htm).
In addition to the film and the cyclorama, the visitor center has an impressive collection of artifacts displayed. One could spend hours looking thought the artifacts and reading the descriptions. Unfortunately, we did not have hours so we hurried through the museum and onto the auto tour.
We ended up spending almost 4 hours in Gettysburg. If you have the chance to go, give yourself at least a full day.
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