The big changes and improvements continue at the Visitor Center at Hunting Island State Park. A complete renovation of the inside of the building has been underway since May and includes interactive exhibits and walls covered in art.
It’s not your typical facelift, and it’s becoming quite a stunning transformation.
The interior is undergoing a dramatic transformation, with its walls and ceiling all joined together in a mural that is being painted by local artist Aki Kato.
Kato, who has spent his whole life working as an artist, has been painting a complete surround mural depicting the various ecologies of the island for a few months now.
Nature meets art
Included in the murals being painted by Kato are a salt marsh, the maritime forest, the dunes, the beach, and the ocean. The skies and landscapes include many of the plants and animals that live on the island.
The murals are expected to take about 5 months to complete and visitors are welcome to watch the transformation by viewing the changes through the glass doors from
the lobby; or, on Tuesdays from 2-3, Kato will welcome visitors into the main room to see the progress of his work and to answer questions.
“I am very excited and honored to be painting this,” Kato said. “My mural is almost done. The final transformation of the visitors center will start shortly. After new floor has been laid I will paint turtle tracks and alligator foot prints on the floor,” he added.
After that, larger birds of prey including ospreys, wood storks, bald eagles, pelicans and laughing gulls created by Hilton Head sculptor Kelly Richard will be hung from ceiling, according to Kato. Also, Hunting Island State Park Rangers cut parts of one of the beach’s signature ‘boneyard trees’, which will be placed next to Kato’s mural.
“It is going to be a very exciting month or two.”
Additional work to the Visitor Center includes new walls, paint and lighting fixtures and the carpeting will be replaced with hardwood flooring. The Center will also house a theater for longer films, and a touch screen display presenting five short videos about important features of the island: The Lighthouse, The Turtles of Hunting Island, The History of Hunting Island, Barrier Island Ecology, and the Civilian Conservation Corps Builds the Harbor River Swing Bridge.
“Next year, additional displays will be added to the room, including a virtual lighthouse so those who cannot climb to the top can see the 360-degree view,” said Carol Corbin, Vice President of Friends of Hunting Island State Park, the organization overseeing the work.
Also, to commemorate the Harbor River swing bridge built by the Civilian Conservation Corps that connected Hunting Island with Saint Helena Island, Merlin Redfern, a former Friends of Hunting Island board member, architect, and builder, is constructing a scale model of the bridge.
The bridge model will open and close using the actual lever and lights from the bridge’s wheelhouse after the bridge replacement project is completed.
The brand new Visitor Center expects to be reopened by December, but the front desk and restrooms will remain open throughout the renovations to accommodate all visitors.
Follow Kato’s work on his Facebook page, Studio Aki.
