THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 15, 1996 TAG: 9609120169
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 39 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY THERESA SHEA CHAVEZ, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: ROANOKE ISLAND LENGTH: 71 lines
BESIDES BLOOMS, bushes and rows of beautifully trimmed trees, a new building is springing from the grounds of the Elizabethean Gardens this fall.
The meeting hall will help project the horticultural memorial to 16th-century English colonists into the 21st century, said Marie Odom, chair of the Elizabethan Gardens' board of directors.
Plans for the 3,759-square-foot building, designed by Dove & Knight architects of Rocky Mount, call for a single-story, cedar board-and-batten structure that will include a conference room, a kitchen area, an assembly room, public restrooms and two offices.
One of the offices will house a new salaried staff member who will serve as the gardens' executive director and director of education.
Ultimately, Odom said, the additional space will augment the gardens' outreach programs and bring more members of the community into Roanoke Island's botanical wonderland.
For the past 10 years, executives at the Elizabethan Gardens have sponsored seminars about English culture and the Elizabethan age, often featuring guest speakers from England. But gardens staff have had to use other organizations' meeting spaces for their activities. While such seminars have seen good statewide participation, Odom said she hopes to feature a variety of programs in the new on-site building that will draw more locals to the gardens.
``We haven't been able to do public programs because we didn't have the space and the staff we've needed,'' Odom said. ``We're hoping the educational part of it will be attractive to the local people. . . . We're going to try with this director of education to go into tours for local people and workshops for children about gardening.''
Located near Fort Raleigh National Historic Site north of Manteo, the Elizabethean Gardens include 10 acres of shrubbery, statues and flowers - and some of the most beautiful foliage in northeastern North Carolina. They have been open for more than 40 years. For a small fee, visitors are welcome to tour the entire area and read placards about the wide variety of plants.
Last winter, workers began clearing brush from the meeting hall site in preparation for the construction. The new building will be bordered by live oaks and pines and sit beside the Gate House. Ground was broken in August.
The meeting hall is scheduled to open by April.
Gifts and savings from Elizabethean Gardens funds will pay for the $275,000 project.
In keeping with the gardens' tradition of using historic bricks, a walkway built with handmade bricks from the Silas Lucas Kiln - which was in operation during the 1800s in Wilson, N.C. - will lead from the Elizabethan-style slate-roofed, octagonal Gate House to the new Meeting Hall.
Although costs have precluded constructing the new structure in true Elizabethan fashion, Odom said the asphalt shingles and cedar board and batten will look weathered and appropriate.
``We're still trying to keep the same ambiance and atmosphere of the garden,'' she said last week. ``We're trying to make this thing melt away so it isn't overbearing. We think it's not going to be very obvious.'' MEMO: ELIZABETHEAN GARDENS
LOCATION: Adjacent to the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site on the
north end of Roanoke Island.
HOURS: Open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily through September, 9 a.m. to 6
p.m. in October.
ADMISSION: Adults pay $3 each. Students age 12 to 17 are admitted for
$1 each. Children age 11 and under are free.
SIZE: 10 acres.
PHONE: 473-3234. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by DREW C. WILSON
Work has started on the Elizabethean Gardens building that will
include a conference room, restrooms and offices for an executive
director and director of education. by CNB