Acadia National Park will hold a holiday open house at the Jordan Pond Gate Lodge on Saturday, December 17, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

While you can drop in at any time to explore the gate house, at 10:30 a.m. and again at 1 p.m. Anne Funderburk will present a talk on the history of the gate lodge.

Steve Haynes, of the Maine Granite Museum, will also have a display available and talk about the granite that was used in the construction of the gate lodge. At 11:30 a.m., he will present a stone splitting demonstration outside and he and Ms. Funderburk will then
conduct a walk around the building to discuss its style and construction aspects. (both weather permitting.)

Visitors will also get a chance to see some artifacts from Acadia's collection, peruse some books for sale, and purchase the half-price Acadia Annual passes. Children can enjoy making old fashioned decorations.

The Jordan Pond Gate Lodge was financed by John D. Rockefeller Jr. and designed by Grosvenor Atterbury, a prominent New York architect, in the French Romanesque style. That particular style of architecture greatly pleased George Dorr, the first superintendent of Acadia National Park, because of the island's early connections with France.

The gate lodge was completed in 1932 with the intention of marking the entrance to the carriage roads and preventing automobiles from entering. Construction of the two gate lodges, Jordan Pond and Brown Mountain, on Mount Desert Island provided many local men a job during the depression.

You're invited to come and experience some of the early history of the park, with a special look at one of Acadia's historic buildings. To reach the Jordan Pond Gate Lodge, follow Route 3 to Seal Harbor. Access the Park Loop Road via the Jordan Pond Road and follow the signs. The gate lodge will come up on the right side of the road. Parking on the road is not
permitted. Please park in the lot by the Jordan Pond House Restaurant or in the north parking lot adjacent to the boat ramp. For more information, call (207)288-8804.