Members of the Fairfax City Council were trying to find ways they might use to back away from building the planned interpretive center at Blenheim Mansion. At a City Council work session on Jan. 11, the Councilmembers had an opportunity to ask questions about the property in advance of a Jan. 18 outreach meeting.
Blenheim Mansion is a historic site located on Old Lee Highway opposite Heritage Lane. In the attic is graffiti left by soldiers during the Civil War. The City is in the process of preserving the mansion and had planned to build an interpretive center on the property.
The nature of the graffiti makes it difficult to allow large numbers of visitors into the site for fear of destroying the relics.
The center is to include a mock-up of some of the graffiti so that visitors can see what is in the mansion itself. However, the $1.5 million price tag for the center and an estimated $300,000 annually for operating costs have made the Council pause in building the entire center.
Preserving the house, for an estimated at $1.6 million, is something that the City Council still plans to do. "I don't think there's any of us that have any reservations with restoring the house," Councilmember Joan Cross said.
The mood among Councilmembers was subdued. None voiced opinions about how or whether the project should proceed, although they did ask about options.
Cross wanted to know if the center could be built in phases. "Should the whole interpretative center not be attempted at this time, are there intermediate stages?" Cross asked.
"What we would be talking about would be choices," said Madge Bemiss, the architect who is developing the project. "What would you not like to have?"
Were the center not to be built, the most critical need would be for bathrooms, said Rob McGinnis of John Milner Associates Inc., the firm that is designing the site. The next most important item would be something — either a person or fixed display — that would allow visitors to orient themselves and decide where to go.
"It really is crucial to have an interpretive center," Bemiss said. "This is a kind of place that the community can really use to build community."
The City Council did not make a decision about what to do with the center but did try to generate interest in the outreach meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 7:30 p.m., at Fairfax High School.