Gettysburg National Military Park Superintendent John Latschar isn’t taking all the uproar over the new Museum and Visitor Center lying down. Check out his thoughtful response to the critics, to which Kevin Levin refers over at his Civil War Memory blog.
Latschar’s remarks underscore the importance of audience and aims. A visitor center at a major site like Gettysburg can’t cater solely to hardcore experts. To do so would be a dereliction of duty. I think it’s perfectly valid to question whether or not the NPS achieved its goal of educating the average visitor, but to question whether that goal itself its valid misses the point of museum exhibits and of historic sites in general.
