Interesting story, actually. Historians said it spoils the field "as it was", archictecturists (?) said the building was historic in its own right. I side with the historians, but have been in the building many times.

Bigger story is how a great visitor´s center got leveled (next door) and now you have to pay a kidney to get into the new one.

Good riddance to the water tank building. It´s not that wonderful.

The cyclorama structure was a serious false note at this amazing site. I still remember doing a self-guided tour with one of the recorders they offer. Wonderful. I can still see so much of it.

I´ve been to Gettysburg and been to the cyclorama building, never thought much about it either way - I´d rather see restored field of battle.

FTA: "But the building sits on Cemetery Ridge, where Union troops repelled Confederate forces led by Gen. George Pickett on the battle´s final day, July 3, 1863."

I´m not sure how I feel about this. The building, which my family and I visited about 1969, serves an educational purpose, with its lighted map of the battlefield to show visitors how the battle played out. Will there be another educational service provided at the battlefield?

"Cyclorama supporters contended that park service officials were abrogating their role as stewards of the recent past, and said the agency was engaging in "revisionist history" by destroying the building."

This does not surprise me.

The visitors center was a disappointment. First, I had to leave my CW in the car. What? Do they think I am going to go after more yankees?
Then, the weapons on display were fakes. I drooled over the LeMat revolver, only to find one identical in every respect in the gift shop.
Then there were the bus loads of unruly teenagers in the gift shop.

What made the whole trip worthwhile was the Devil´s Den battleground. It is still haunted. I could not go over the bridge but will remember the creepy feeling as long as I live. It wasn´t the biggest battle there, but it was the most hopeless and I bet the Confederates knew it. When the Union took Little Round Top first it was shooting fish in a rain barrel.

I know exactly what you mean about Devil´s Den. I was there on a sunny August afternoon and it was spooky as all getout. Then we went up to Little Round Top and found the 20th Maine monument (I have a replica of the unit´s battle flag on the wall of my den, over crossed sabers) and retraced the bayonet charge Col. Chamberlain led against Longstreet´s flanking force.

Oh sure, lets waste even more of the taxpayers money since they don´t waste enough now.

I saw this as kid in the 60´s and thought it was a little outdated at the time. It was a great teaching aid for comprehending the battle, but most people today aren´t interested in the details of maneuvering armies and names of generals etc. They want to get impressions and feelings. Even if they were, they want to see it in a modern media presentation. Getting rid of the Cyclorama rids the park of having to focus on the battle and concentrate on an intepretive history of slavery and civil rights. Unfortunately the real message of Gettyburg and all the other Civil War battlefields is that they show us today what can happen to a Nation that is torn apart by regional and political differences. Just read the news and you see happening all around the world. Perhaps we have learned our lesson, but I wonder.