 The modern, long, rectangular main building of the InterAgency Visitor Center in Lone Pine forms the right wing of the facility, with the much-admired restroom building standing alone, behind the tent shading visitors and dignitaries during Saturday?s dedication ceremony. Photo by Jon Klusmire Years of extensive planning &
collaboration
culminates in
dedication of state-of-the-art facility
By Jon Klusmire
Register Staff
The middle-aged woman stepped out of the morning heat and into the cool air of the InterAgency Visitor Center. She took off her sunglasses and looked left at walls full of books and maps, and then glanced right and upward to take in the towering, exposed wood-beam cathedral ceiling. Along the walls were colorful educational exhibits, and draped from the heights were stunning quilts depicting everything from cowboys to intricate geometric patterns.
“Oh my goodness,” she exclaimed as drank drank in the clean, crisp lines of the modern building and the multi-colored explosion that swarmed the senses much like the hot desert breeze outside the walls.
While the 5,500 square-foot main building was literally taking visitors’ breaths away, the highlight for many of the public-land managers who gathered from across the state to dedicate the new InterAgency Visitor Center south of Lone Pine on Saturday, was the 1,040 square-foot restroom facility.
“That’s a world-class restroom” gushed Jeff Bailey, supervisor of the Inyo National Forest.
The “gee-whiz” attitude about the toilet facilities was also expressed by Bill Dunkelberger, manager of the Bishop Office of the Bureau of Land Management. As the master of ceremonies for the event, Dunkelberger first told everyone to “stay hydrated,” since it was a warm day in the “Eastern Sahara.” And not to worry about drinking too much water, he assured the more than 200 people in attendance at the start of the speechifying and other dedication ceremonies. “We’re very proud of the restrooms; they’re state of the art,” he said.
And indeed they are. Plenty of room, good flushing action, nice sinks, well-lit, water-saving fixtures and built to last. (Surprisingly, no one in the men’s or women’s restrooms was willing to pose for a photo in the new facility.)
While the large crowd gathered under a large, white tent next to the new building, they were treated to the sight of the Sierra, and Mt. Whitney, towering into the blue sky.
Tucked behind trees and shrubs several hundred feet away was the old visitor center building, a small edifice complete with what looked like an odd rectangular box on its roof, a feature that reminded more than a few folks of a Pizza Hut building. It was hard to imagine that the squat little structure had routinely hosted more than more than 80,000 visitors a year.
The view of the Sierra and the old center brought forth several creation myths.
Tom Hallenbeck, Caltrans District 9 director, noted that in the beginning, the sight of Mt. Whitney was causing Caltrans “some operational problems.” The location represented the first spot where those coming from Southern California on U.S. 395 could actually see Mt. Whitney, he noted. So they were pulling off the side of the road and generally mucking up traffic flow.
It was a massive bit of foresight by eight local, state and federal governments, he said, to decide to create a visitors center at that location, in 1978, instead of just letting Caltrans put in a wide spot in U.S. 395 to highlight the High Sierra roadside attraction.
Bailey then updated the history a bit, by noting the impetus for the brand new building was, hold your breath, bad toilets in the old building. “We’re probably sitting in the old, leaky failing leech field” that served the old toilets in the old building, Bailey told the crowd, offering a bit of information that amused some, but not all, of the assemblage.
Understanding exactly why a bad restroom can be a bad deal for the public and the agency hosting the poor potty place was Jon Jarvis, regional director, Pacific West Region of the National Park Service, one of the partners in the new facility. The NPS “loves its visitor centers,” he said, and staff members always check out other agencies’ facilities for nuts-and-bolts tips about how such centers work. With all those years of input, he said authoritatively that “the ultimate visitor center would have people enter through the restroom and exit through the gift shop.”
Restrooms aside, a lack of space, not only in the leech field but in the old building, promoted the search in 1995 for money and plans to build the new facility. Spearheading the effort was the InterAgency Visitor Center Board of Directors and the Eastern Sierra Interpretive Association, which is the nonprofit group that actually runs the bookstore in the new facility (and in visitor centers throughout the Eastern Sierra).  Assemblyman Bill Maze (r), Inyo National Forest Supervisor Jeff Bailey (in his green uniform) and Fifth District Inyo County Supervisor Richard Cervantes (background, in white shirt) stayed ?cool? under the big tent before joining the parade of speakers dedicating the InterAgency Visitor Center in Lone Pine on Saturday. Photo by Jon Klusmire
It took a while, but by 2004, funds had been secured and ground broken for the new building. In May of 2006, the building was complete and the doors were opened. But, this being a government job involving eight agencies, it took more than a year to actually get a grand opening together.
It was worth the wait.
Inside the main building, the western end is floor-to-ceiling glass, providing a view of the Sierra and Mt. Whitney that has been stopping traffic for decades.
The decorative quilts from the Mt. Whitney Quilt Guild created a festive atmosphere in the large, open space. The educational efforts start with information about Inyo and Mono counties, partners in the project with great stories to tell. The Mono Craters, lakes, hot springs and earthquakes vie for attention with a huge, hulking circle of steel. The rusting pipe is 10 feet in diameter and was part of the Los Angeles Aqueduct.
That story continues, noted David Nahai, president of the LADWP board of Water and Power Commissioners. The history of the Eastern Sierra and LADWP is “indelibly linked,” he told the crowd. “We’re bound to each other.”
The huge Cerro Gordo silver mine and Death Valley’s other mines got L.A.’s attention in the first place, noted Fifth District Supervisor Richard Cervantes. And Death Valley Mojave-Kern are the next stories being told in the visitor center.
Of course, wilderness, bears and the saga of the wild public lands and waters of the Eastern Sierra are also highlighted in the building.
The center also highlights the legacy of former BLM Bishop Field Office Manager Steve Addington, who died of a brain tumor before he could see the new building completed.
Addington was “a great inspiration” to all in the area, with his “great vision and sense of community,” said Mike Pool, California director of the BLM. Besides Addington’s ability to manage people and land, Pool stressed his dedication to “experience the outdoors.
“… he was truly gung ho” when it come to getting into the backcountry, he said, since it seemed all he needed to hike all day was a granola bar and a bottle of water.
And if Addington would have been at the dedication, he would not only have had a smile for everyone and be proud of the group accomplishment, at the sign-up table he’d have had a sign-up list for those who wanted to go backpacking, noted Pool, and there would be plenty of folks who would be more than willing to share that experience and his exuberance.
Another endlessly enthusiastic presence at the heart of the Visitor Center for years was Martha Miklaucic, the executive director of ESIA from 1996-2006, when she passed away.
Prior to that, she had been at the Bishop Chamber of Commerce for years, noted Bailey, and her support, mentorship and willingness to share her experience and expertise were instrumental in running the Visitor Center, he noted. The Native Plant Garden that will be located on the site will be dedicated to her memory.
Probably both Addington and Miklaucic would have enjoyed the sight of somewhat befuddled visitors parking and walking up to the new building, staring at the large tent, hundreds of people and speakers as they trekked into the visitor center to get a map, pick up a wilderness permit, buy a book or a desert tortoise hand puppet. Oh, and use the restroom. All during the ceremony, a steady stream of visitors just kept visiting the facility, which was the whole idea.
After all the speakers, a large group of Addington’s and Miklaucic’s family members gathered at the door of the new vistitor center and proudly cut the green (of course) ribbon to officially open the new building.
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