Pardon our dust as the Travertine Nature Center at Chickasaw National Recreation Area undergoes much-needed improvements! Beginning in December and continuing into the spring of 2011, construction crews will replace the historic building’s heating and air conditioning system and roof. Funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the improvements will result in a more comfortable environment for visitors and will greatly increase the building’s energy efficiency. While the work is expected to have minimal impacts on visitors to the Nature Center, it is possible that parts of the facility may be inaccessible or closed for brief periods of time during the project.
The Travertine Nature Center was completed in 1969 as part of the National Park Service’s Mission 66 program, which provided national park areas across the United States with much-needed infrastructure improvements. The facility has served as a visitor contact station, environmental learning center, and hub of the park’s interpretive program efforts since it opened decades ago. An important part of the history of the National Park Service and Chickasaw National Recreation Area, the Nature Center was recently nominated to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Travertine Nature Center is open daily, 9:00 am-4:30 pm, except for Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Years Day. For more information about the rehabilitation project, contact Landscape Architect Ken Ruhnke at 580 622-7253. For current Travertine Nature Center information call 580 622-7234.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
