Watkinsglenstatepark

Watkins Glen State Park is a spectacular 1.4-mile-long natural gorge in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. It was the region's principal attraction for nearly a century. By the 1980s, however, the village of Watkins Glen was becoming dilapidated, and the State Park - still strong at 750,000 visitors per year - was the only attraction left.

A development plan for Watkins Glen and the surrounding county showed that a strengthened State Park with a more appealing and commodious Visitor Center could become the linchpin of renewed tourism. Of prime importance in the plan was the idea of transforming the state park at night into a major attraction so that visitors would have the desire to extend their stay in the village, thus enhancing the local economy. "Timespell" and the revitalized Visitor Center have succeeded in helping to turn around the economy of Watkins Glen.

“Timespell”
A sound and light show, “Timespell,” was built into a widening of the walls of the Watkins Glen Gorge at a point where there was space for about 500 people. The show was present in the Park until 2003 when it was decommissioned. “Timespell” told the story of the 45-million-century history of the gorge. It was computer-controlled, with extensive lighting stations and other technical hardware hidden from view to ensure a natural environment for visitors during the day. "Timespell" was designed in association with White Oak Associates.

Visitor Center
The entrance to the park is organized as an informal grouping of several pavilions - one for parking tickets, one for show tickets, one for food, and the largest reserved for exhibits, retail space, and rest rooms. Extending outwards from the ticket pavilion is an arbor that provides shade for dining. A food terrace occupies the area within the small grouping of pavilions and under the arbor.

An important objective for the Visitor Center is the creation of an architecture that is sufficiently rustic by day that the park visitor is comfortable, yet exciting enough at night to communicate a theatrical event. Many of the shapes and colors of this new architecture - especially its two-dimensional ornament - are derived from the traditional designs of the Seneca Indians, one of the five tribes of the Iroquois Nation and the earliest-known civilization to inhabit the gorge.