Denali National Park opens new visitor center

Denali National Park opens new visitor center

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A new Eielson Visitor Center opened in June in Denali National Park on the Denali Park Road, 66 miles from the park entrance.

Park officials say the center looks out on the Alaska Range, including Mount McKinley, North America’s highest peak.

The center features a dining area and exhibits that include an interactive topographical model of Mount McKinley and works by participants in Denali’s Artist-In-Residence program.

The National Park Service is also calling the building a model of sustainable design, with features that maximize daylight and promote energy conservation.

From 1934-1950, a tent camp occupied the site.

The original building opened in 1960 but was demolished in 2005 to make way for the new facility.

The total cost of the building and its exhibits was $9.2 million.

It’s named after Carl Ben Eielson, a pioneer Alaskan aviator.

Exhibit targets black experience in America

HOUSTON — An exhibit has opened at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston that will look at the black experience in America.

“The Black List Project” is a collaboration between New York-based photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders and film critic Elvis Mitchell.

The show features large-scale portraits of 25 prominent black Americans as well as some excerpts from videotaped interviews.

The Houston museum will host the show until Oct. 26. It is also scheduled to go on a national tour.

For more information, visit www.mfah.org.

Plans move ahead for Black Bear Resort

SALT LAKE CITY — Developers have tentative approval to start building a luxury resort with golf and skiing on the Idaho side of Bear Lake.

The Black Bear Resort plans to start selling the first of thousands of custom building lots by summer 2009, giving the market for high-end developments time to recover.

Building lots are being advertised for up to $925,000.

Golf and ski memberships will be sold for hefty fees.

The resort also plans to build a 600-slip marina on Bear Lake and a ski area.

For more information, visit www.blackbear.com.

Celebration will mark bridge’s 70th anniversary

COLLINS LANDING, N.Y. — The Thousand Islands International Bridge is marking 70 years since its opening with a celebration planned for Aug. 16.

More than 85 million vehicles are estimated to have passed over the bridge system since President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King cut the ribbon Aug. 18, 1938, before a crowd of 25,000 people.

The bridge was built in 16 months and cost $3 million. Car rates have only doubled since the opening fee of $1.25 each way.

The bridges provide easy passage between the U.S. and Canada, linking Interstate 81 in New York and Highway 401 in Ontario, over the St. Lawrence River.

For more information on the region, visit www.visit1000islands.com.

Associated Press