Lots of big changes and improvements are coming to the Visitor Center at Hunting Island State Park. A complete renovation of the inside of the building is underway that will include interactive exhibits and art…and it’s not going to be your typical facelift.
It’s all rather special.
“The Visitor Center is undergoing a complete transformation over the next year,” said Carol Corbin, Vice President of Friends of Hunting Island State Park, the organization overseeing the work.
Work 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,” Corbin said.
Lots of art to adorn the walls
Another stunning new addition will be the walls and ceiling all joined together in a mural painted by local artist Aki Kato.
Kato, who has spent his whole life working as an artist, is painting a complete surround mural depicting the various ecologies of the island, including the salt marsh, the maritime forest, the dunes, the beach, and the ocean. The skies and landscapes will 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 your questions.
“I am very excited and honored that I will be painting this,” Kato said. “I am going to paint the interior of the entire exhibition area with salt marsh, maritime forests, sand dunes, bone yard and beach scenes with indigenous animals and birds.” Kato already has the scenes sketched out and has started his painting.
Hilton Head sculptor Kelly Richard will be crafting birds that will be integrated into the mural.
Harbor River Bridge remembered
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 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.
