Press Release

Conservation Department to Break Ground for Monte Sano State Park Meeting Center

April 10, 2003

Groundbreaking ceremonies for a meeting center at Monte Sano State Park will take place Friday, April 18 at 10 a.m. Present will be local officials and representatives of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The public is invited to attend.

Known by locals as the “Tavern,” the original CCC-built structure burned in 1947. Since then, the rock shell has sat empty, trees growing in the middle of the structure. All that is changing with a wave of renovations scheduled for many of Alabama’s aging State Parks.

Conservation Commissioner Barnett Lawley says renovations to the Tavern are long overdue. “Governor Bob Riley and I are committed to seeing that Alabama’s State Parks are brought back to their former glory. The Tavern at Monte Sano has a historical significance to people in the area and we are preserving that by keeping the stone walls. Inside the facility will be modern meeting rooms that will serve many purposes, from meetings to social events.”

The facility is scheduled for completion in December 2003. Architects for the facility are J.H. Partners of Huntsville and the contractor is Virgil Berry Construction of Scottsboro.

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