Conservation News
Western Archaeological & Conservation Center Under Construction
By Sheila Storm
By spring 2003, the National Park Service's Western Archaeological & Conservation Center will house approximately 4 million rare and treasured Southwest artifacts and other items in a new, $20 million facility now under construction.
The 50,000-square-foot facility will include climate-controlled repository space to store items, such as pottery shards, bones, slides, fossils, textiles and documents. Construction of the facility, which is owned by Quality Lease and Development, began last week at 255 N. Commerce Park Loop, in the Downtown Commerce Park near Congress Street and Interstate-10.
"We're excited about the new facilities and the possibility it gives us to expand our collection," said George Teague, center manager, about the first-of-its-kind building. "The new space will allow us to eventually attract and house more objects for the Park Service and hopefully other government agencies as well."
The center houses artifacts that other parks don't have room to store, including collections that the other parks may purchase or artifacts they alternate in their exhibits.
Teague also said the new site is configured to allow for an additional 10,000 square foot expansion in the future.
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