St. John's Oldest Standing Structure Getting Overhaul

The seaside Cinnamon Bay archeology lab and mini-museum hastemporarily closed its doors for a major restoration project that isexpected to turn St. John's oldest stone structure into a biggereducational draw for tourists, schoolchildren and local historybuffs. The restoration is a joint effort of the V.I. National ParkService and its supporting partner group, the Friends of VirginIslands National Park.

Archeological evidence suggests the building was constructed in1680, said Park archeologist Ken Wild.

Park superintendent Mark Hardgrove said it likely first served asa great house and later as a warehouse for the nearby sugarplantation.

In more recent years, Wild said, the structure has been used as aworkshop for the park's archeology staff and interns. Beachgoers, headded, often wander in to talk with the scientists and look at thelimited number of artifacts and exhibits on display.

The renovation should professionalize the operation by restoringthe building's exterior to historic standards and installing museum-quality display cases and exhibits inside, officials said.

The National Park Service expects to spend between $250,00 and$300,000, all of which comes from visitors' $4 admission fees toTrunk Bay, Hardgrove said. The renovations will include re-pointingand re-stuccoing the exterior, as well as reconstructing all thehistoric windows and doors.

"They used a lot of wood and masonry, and that will all be putback so it's historically correct," Hardgrove said.

In addition to installing high-speed Internet access, telephonesand a security system, the National Park Service plans to stabilizethe shoreline, do natural landscaping and install a handicapped-accessible concrete walkway, Hardgrove said.

The Friends group plans to spend $120,000 on renovating thebuilding's interior, installing display cases and constructingexhibits, the group's president Joe Kessler said. The finishedexhibits, according to a Friends plan, will walk visitors throughVirgin Islands history from prehistoric times and the islands' firsthumans to the tourism-based culture of today.

Most of the major reconstruction work should be completed withinthree months, and the exhibits should be finished not long after,Wild said.

All the involved parties said the finished product will helpbring the park's deep history alive.

"It will be inviting," Kessler said, "and there will be some realattention given to the exhibits."

- Contact reporter Karen Hollish at 774-8772 ext. 304 or emailkhollish@dailynews.vi.