Officials to host ribbon cutting for Table Rock visitor center

Officials are scheduled to cut the ribbon tomorrow on the $7.9 million Dewey Short Visitor Center, located adjacent to Table Rock Dam.

The 15,000-square-foot building owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was designed to meet Leadership and Energy Design-Gold standards by North Carolina-based general contractor Applied Energy Management Inc. and Tulsa, Okla.-based Mike Hughes Architects, which has an office in Springfield. Engineering work was performed by local firms Rozell Engineering Co., civil; Mettemeyer Engineering LLC, structural; and Colvin Jones Davis LLC, mechanical, electrical and plumbing.

According to Springfield Business Journal archives, Mike Hughes Architects won an award for the design of the educational facility, which has a natural rock exterior, an observation deck and windows for an unobstructed view of the lake and the dam.

The center replaced the original Dewey Short Visitor Center built in 1975. The center is named after former U.S. Rep. Dewey Short, who lobbied for the 1959 construction of Table Rock Dam, which created Table Rock Lake.

The ribbon cutting for the facility at 4600 State Highway 165 is scheduled for 10:30 a.m., according to a news release from Ozarks Water Watch.

Tonight, the Ozarks Rivers Heritage Foundation is slated to host a preview and tour along with dinner and entertainment, with a required donation of $150 per person, according to TableRockDamTours.com.

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