Fuller Lodge/Courtesy photo
BY MAIRE O’NEILL
maire@losalamosreporter.com
Leslie Linke, chair of the Historic Preservation Advisory Board, spoke to Los Alamos County Councilor meeting in White Rock Tuesday evening about the Historic Preservation Board’s recommended priorities for implementing the Fuller Lodge Interpretative Plan which were submitted to Council in a letter dated April 16.
Linke said the plan introduces ways to communicate the history of the lodge for visitors and residents without affecting the beauty of what she called “our most important landmark”.
She said the board’s number one priority by far is the establishment of a Fuller Lodge building steward.
“A building steward is very important to keeping Fuller Lodge safe, secure, in good repair and running smoothly. A building steward would be responsible for working with the proper persons and finding the necessary resources for managing all repairs and upgrades to the building, coordinating any assessments of building areas and cleaning out storage of materials not used in the Lodge, developing materials for self-guided tours of the area, establishing usage and notification procedures for building users, and arranging for publication of articles about the building and more,” Linke said.
Many of the items mentioned by Linke were identified as priorities in the Fuller Lodge Interpretative Plan and would likely fall under the purview of a building manager, Linke said. The top five priorities which the board has identified are:
- County designate a building steward/manager
- Revise/add interpretive wayside signs
- Photo memorial station -residents can upload photos, stories, materials
- Furnish a hotel room
- Immersive audio-visual experience, holograms, in Pajarito Room.
The letter recommends that the County refocus energy to complete the “wayfinding plan” that has been in the works. It says that although usage of the Lodge during the Ranch School and Manhattan Project eras is important, memories of the building’s use by residents (those here today as well as previous residents) are equally important. A photo memories station is suggested for that reason.
While a representation of a typical Los Alamos Ranch School bedroom has been set up at the Lodge, the board is recommending a similar display of a hotel room from the time period between World War II and 1966 be added in the Zia Room. The board also recommends adding a sophisticated audio-visual program in the Pajarito Room.
Council Chair Sara Scott thanked Linke for her comments but as the item was not on the agenda, it was not discussed by Council.