Civic / Others

W.A. Klinger performed as general contractor for the new 8,750 square-foot Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center on the banks of the Missouri River in Sioux City, Iowa. The construction contract for the area's latest cultural attraction was awarded by Missouri River Historical Development (MRHD). The Center includes a large area for interactive exhibits and murals, a meeting room, theater, bookstore, office and restrooms. The site also features a curved roof and one of the tallest flag poles set in place in the U.S. at the time the Center was constructed.

Much of the Center's exterior texture and interior finishes were designed to reflect the surrounding landscape and times of the Lewis and Clark Expedition as it passed through the area in 1803. The curved, wavelike walls echo the gentle edges of the bluffs, the Center's theater appears to be a "walk-in keel boat" with a woodbeam ceiling, a wood floor and seating styled after the boat's wooden storage lockers.

Since the Center is located at a former landfill site, it was a particular challenge to properly prepare the site soils for the highly visible facility and heavy pedestrian traffic to come.  In addition,
project schedule difficulties arose when a portion of the massive Douglas fir logs shipped to the site proved to be out of spec and had to be returned to the supplier for replacement.  Despite these difficulties, Klinger completed the project on time and on budget