Monument crafted by Acutech goes up in West Glacier
Hungry Horse News | UPDATED 3 hours, 23 minutes AGO
The new Glacier monument under construction in late June at the former Alberta Visitor Center. A mural will also be installed behind the monument. (Chris Peterson photo)
A local manufacturer recently installed a big “Glacier” monument at the former Alberta Center in West Glacier.
The monument consists of approximately 12,000 pounds of weathering steel and was designed, engineered, fabricated, and installed entirely by the team at Acutech, a Columbia Falls firm. Each letter is about 7 feet tall.
The weathering steel is designed to lightly rust and after it was installed it was filled with river rocks treated to make them look wet. The sign will be lit at night and a mural from a local artist will also be installed behind it.
The monument was commissioned by Pursuit, the owner of the building. The visitor center hadn’t been used since prior to the pandemic and Pursuit remodeled it and reopened it as Glacier Headwater Outdoor Gear store, featuring a host of outdoor gear from backpacks to shoes to essential supplies.
From concept and engineering through fabrication and installation, the monument was completed in approximately five months.
Alec Barnes and Dameon Visness of Acutech installed the sign and Pursuit staff filled it with rocks.
When the building operated as the Alberta Visitor center, it featured a large replica fossil of a Tyrannosaurus Rex and other interesting displays.