Andalusia Farm is nearing completion of the second phase of construction for its interpretive center.
The Andalusia Interpretive Center is just off Highway 441 at the front gates of Andalusia Farm, the former home of Flannery O’Connor.
“The interpretive center is a 350 square feet space that was designed to accomplish visitor orientation, provide front of house operations for the museum, provide more exhibit and collection space, and provide space for offices, programs and more,” said Matthew Davis, director of Historic Museums at Georgia College & State University. “It is incalculable how much of a positive impact the center has had not only for the visitor experience but to maintain our collection.”
The initial construction included the completion of the building, exhibition, and more while the second phase included additional parking, landscaping, site lighting, a new porch awning on the front of the building, and the new storytelling court.
“This will conclude the major construction on the site,” said Davis. “We will continue to update the exhibits but the center itself is in good shape.”
The storytelling court is an amphitheater that will be used as an event space for Andalusia. According to Davis, group tours, lectures, story readings, concerts, and more will be hosted at the court. It will also be available for public use through rent. The construction of the court began in the fall and has been ongoing with updates posted to the Andalusia Facebook Page.
“It will be a nice outside space for us to do programming on site and for the community to use,” said Davis. “During spring and summer, it will be used for group tours and plans are in discussion of specific events that may be hosted in the court.”
Davis anticipates that the construction should be done in early February and then focus will be placed on further restoration of the main Andalusia property. According to Davis, about 50% of the restoration is completed but there is still much work to be done.
“Improvements to the interpretive center allow us to move all non-historic work functions out of the main house at Andalusia so we can focus on strictly interpreting what was in the home,” said Davis. “So, moving forward, we will begin the continuation of the restoration of the historic assets on the property as funding becomes available.”
Tours at Andalusia Farm occur on Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 2-4 p.m. at the top of the hour, beginning at the Interpretive Center and ending at the main house. To learn more about tours or to schedule a group tour visit https://www.gcsu.edu/andalusia/ tour-information.