The Gettysburg Cyclorama

A week or so ago, I went with my college roommate and his son to visit the site of the Gettysburg address. Among the impressive monuments and battlefields, we had a chance to see The Gettysburg Cyclorama in its 1963 building--a monument to the 1960s that looked like it landed from The Jetsons, which opened on the 100th anniversary of the battle. Unfortunately, this World's Fair-style pavillion is slated for demolition in the near future, which is a shame, because it had a real nostalgia-value for at least a couple of middle-aged visitors.


Although a portion of the painting had been removed "for conservation", the display was still impressive, with a 1960s-style sound and light show, the cyclorama illuminated in the darkness, almost like a 70-mm IMAX movie from the 19th Century.



The painting depicts "Pickett's charge" of July 3rd, 1863. It was painted by Paul Philippoteaux, who visited battlefield almost 20 years later. The cyclorama, in the best Beaux Arts style, features some very French-looking haystacks, and a small portrait of the artist by a tree observing the battle. It is definitely worth a detour, as the Guide Michelin might say.