Phase II of the project comprises a pair of 2-season building structures serving as a visitors’ center. These buildings will be perched on the north side of the Upper Park affording views to the active mine beyond. Like the distributed concrete landscape elements of Phase I, these building structures are designed as part of the same system and act as framing devices to the vistas beyond in addition to their primary function as a visitor center.
This pair of Phase II buildings expands the role of the former mine view and gift shop by welcoming dedicated space in the primary building, which is to be curated by the Hibbing Historical Society. Adjacent to this main building resides a slender and focused maps, mining, and geology space. Like their predecessor, these buildings will be generously maintained and staffed by the Hibbing Tourist Center Senior Citizens who bring a lifetime of local knowledge and mining experience to the visitors’ center.
Echoing the distribution pattern and austerity of the Phase I landscape elements, both of these Phase II structures maintain similar industrial construction logics and are minimally designed with a combination of concrete and steel.
Building foundations completed in summer 2019.