Officials with the National Park Service say they’d like to auction off a large electric battlefield map that stood in the Gettysburg Battlefield visitor center for decades, but because the 1960s-era device contains toxic asbestos, they may simply have to destroy it.
According to an article in the Auction Central News, the map – which served to teach visitors about the famous Civil War battle – was created by Joseph Rosensteel, who grew up at the battlefield and whose family founded the original park museum. An auditorium was built to house the map and daily shows used it to explain troop movement and other integral facts about the Battle of Gettysburg.
The National Park Service has petitioned West Point, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Naval Academy to adopt the map but to no avail. That’s why they decided it would be a good idea to auction the item. But, reported the Philadelphia Inquirer, the park service will have to get a waiver from the General Services Administration to go through with the auction because of the presence of asbestos and the fear that anyone who comes in contact with the map could be subject to asbestos exposure. Asbestos, a known carcinogen, can cause mesothelioma and other serious lung diseases.
Currently, the map is in four pieces and is stored in an airtight container at an undisclosed location. While park rangers were fond of the map, they decided a few years ago that it had outlived its usefulness and was outdated as far as today’s interpretive devices are concerned. Frequent Gettysburg visitors disagree, however. Many would like to see the map reappear, saying that it did a better job orienting visitors to the specifics of the battle than the new interactive galleries and movie at the refurbished visitor center.
In the meantime, the fate of the map – which was made using plaster and asbestos concrete – rests with General Services, who are expected to make a decision sometime in the near future.