Mission San Luis Grand Opening - Tallahassee, FL

Since 1983, The Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resources has undertaken the archeological investigation and restoration of Mission San Luis (Mission), a 17th Century Spanish Mission. A National Historic Landmark, the Mission is considered to be one of Florida’s most important cultural assets. The restoration and development of the site is dedicated to public education, having become a popular site for school programs, seminars and special functions. To further the purposes of the Mission, the Department of State, Division of Cultural Resources, Bureau of Archeological Research, recently expanded the facilities of the Mission with the development of a new Visitor Center on West Tennessee Street in Tallahassee, Florida.

Since restoration of the Mission began, Genesis Group has supported the development of the State's vision through a 65-acre Conceptual Master Plan and refinement through each phase of design, culminating in the construction of the Visitor Center. Along the way, Genesis has provided site engineering throughout the archeological site, being sensitive to not only modern stormwater design requirements but maintaining the aesthetic of a 17th Century village and preservation of the cultural resources. Included on the site are the Council and Chief's Houses, which interpret Native American structures indigenous to the area in the 17th Century, as well as a Fort and Block House to show the European-style structures that were once on the site. Other interpreted structures include the church complex with a Franciscan style Church, a Covento and Cocina.

Through the development of the Visitor Center, access to the Mission is now available only from West Tennessee Street through a modern interpretation of Spanish gates to the new Visitor Center. Adjacent to the Visitor Center is the Archeological Laboratory where analysis, conservation, and curation of artifacts found on the site can be preserved and stored for future generations.

Genesis Group has helped the Mission become a contiguous, unified site by providing survey services and guidance to the State on issues of land acquisition and the abandonment of Mission Road, a local road that once separated the archeological site into two sections. The former roadbed, now removed of asphalt and drainage structures, provides an inviting, landscaped entrance into the historical site from the Visitor Center.

Genesis is proud to be a part of bringing what was once a vision for an archeological facility into a modern, interpretive educational reality for everyone’s enjoyment.

Author: Mark T. Llewellyn, P.E. - President

Date: 2009-12-09

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