How many of you remember the old Electric Map of the Battle of Gettysburg? It used to be located in the old Gettysburg visitor center across the street from the National Cemetery. The map taught thousands of visitors the general outline of this historic battle.
When the new visitor center was built, the old building was torn down and the electric map was put up for auction. It was purchased by Hanover, PA businessman Scott Roland. He will soon have the map on display at the Wachovia Bank on Carlisle Street in Hanover.
Here is a taste of an article on Roland and the map:
Roland bought the map – which educated generations of battlefield visitors – last year for $14,000.
“It was an out-of-nowhere project, and it’s been on hold for a while, but we are working with other interested parties to get things set up for the work to continue,” Roland said.
The map recently tested positive for Chrysotile, a common form of asbestos, Roland said. Fears of asbestos nearly led to the maps destruction, but the National Park Service in the end agreed to auction the map instead.
In order for the map to again tell the story, something needed to be done to assure it is safe for workers renovating it and visitors viewing it, Roland said.
Rich Yingling, of First Capital Insulation, Inc., is a big fan of preserving the map and offered to donate his services.
Next week, Yingling plans to hand-paint the sealing coat on the map to keep contaminated particles from becoming airborne. Yingling painted a test patch with the special coating on Friday afternoon and said it will take about a day to do the work needed to seal the plaster.
I'm glad to see this is being preserved. It's an important cultural artifact to me personally from years of visiting the battlefield.