>> AREA ATTRACTIONS
Georgia College & State University (GCSU) cut the ribbon to Andalusia’s, the former home of Flannery O’Connor, new Interpretative Center last Friday, March 24.
“This a day of joy, to my way of thinking, for Flannery, for the family, for the college, for Flannery’s fans and for writers working their way to success now and those in the future,” said Frances Florencourt, first cousin of Flannery O’Connor.
Funded by GCSU, the new Interpretive Center is a welcoming point for the property, opening a door of opportunity for education and recreational uses for not only students but also the public.
“This center will be an invaluable resource for understanding the past and for helping us cultivate writers of the future. The opportunities that this interpretative center brings to us are truly limitless,” said Cathy Cox, president of Georgia College & State University.
The opening ceremony was held at 10 a.m. as the start of O’Connor’s birthday celebrations. In attendance were GCSU President Cathy Cox, Director of Historic Museums Matt Davis, Professor of English Jordan Cofer, and two members of the O’Connor Family. In the crowd, there were not only members of the general public, but also Congressmen, the GCSU Board of Trustees, various alumni and faculty and members of the larger GCSU and O’Connor family. Throughout the day, Andalusia was open to the public, with free tours and a special reading of O’Connor’s work as the final event of the day.
“The Interpretive Center at Andalusia is designed to be a multi-use facility that will accomplish various functions here at the museum. First and foremost, it will serve as the principal point of entry and a welcome center for all the guests who tour the museum of Andalusia. Second, it will provide exhibition and collection storage spaces so that we may properly curate and protect the collections of Andalusia and Flannery O’Connor,” said Davis. “It will also provide rental and retail space so that we may have a space for events, gift store operations, and an operational center for public use that will not affect the historical integrity of the main house.”
The construction of the new facility has allowed GCSU to move non-original functions out of the main house and into the new facility to continue the preservation and ongoing restoration of O’Connor’s land. According to Davis, the facility is 5,300 square feet and costs roughly 3.5 million dollars.
“The main goal for this new facility is to enhance scholarship and understanding of O’Connor, as we can utilize the collections located here for exhibitions and programs, giving [GCSU] a space for the Front Porch Lecture series that was originally run out of the museum, and will be a place for individuals who are interested in the artifacts associated with Flannery O’Connor,” said Davis.
The college’s main focus, as Davis explains, is to restore the interior of Andalusia’s main house and the historic properties that are on the site. With this new addition, Davis expressed that they are no longer reaching a stopping point of restoring the main house. Instead, the interpretative center allows a more historically accurate restoration of the house.
“We will continue our work to restore the main house to the period in which Flannery O’Connor would have lived. From there, our goal is to also restore the exterior of the house by adding its historic shutters back on and we still have the grounds and property to work on as well,” said Davis.
The interpretative center is now open and giving tours from Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and on Sunday from 2-4 p.m.