Lake Sylvia pavilion nearing completion

The Legacy Pavilion at Lake Sylvia State Park is nearing completion.

The approximately $1.1 million building features a large stone fireplace and movable walls that open up to a tranquil view of Lake Sylvia.

The group Friends of Schafer and Lake Sylvia (FOSLS) helped fund and plan the project. Some of their members continue to work on the landscaping.

The Legislature funded almost $900,000 for the building. FOSLS has spent somewhere between $225,000 and $250,000 on the building, Stet Palmer, a member of the group, said.

After all their hard work, FOSLS is planning a party.

“There will be a grand opening in May,” Palmer said. “It will be a potluck. If you have some food, bring it, if not, we’ll have food anyway.”

FOSLS expects the building will be available to be reserved after the May celebration. But until then, there is more work to be done.

“We’re trying to come up with interior fixtures. Because when you build something like this, you don’t want to just dump old picnic tables in there,” Palmer said, adding that more landscaping work also needs to be done. Palmer said that volunteers, including some from the Washington State University’s Master Gardeners program, will be planting plants native to the park.

The name, Legacy Pavilion, has special meaning.

“The Legacy Pavilion name was selected as we wanted to show the continuation of community support for the park,” Palmer said via email. “That support started in the 1930s when the entire community came together with individual and group contributions to donate a park to the state of Washington. (1936) Now, Legacy Pavilion contributions for the pavilion have come from community groups and individuals and ranged from $25 to $30,000. The Brownie troop in Monte contributed money from their cookie sales. We highlighted that contribution to show the importance of this project to our future generations!”

Rognlin’s was the construction contractor.

Palmer said that Montesano architect Will Foster “donated, I don’t know how many hundreds of hours, of architectural work.”

Included with but detached from the pavilion are new bathrooms nearby that are compliant with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. There also is a new interpretive sign with a description of the history of the area.

The new Legacy Pavilion can be seen Feb. 19, 2020, reflected in Lake Sylvia at Lake Sylvia State Park in Montesano. (Michael Lang | Grays Harbor News Group) The new Legacy Pavilion can be seen Feb. 19, 2020, reflected in Lake Sylvia at Lake Sylvia State Park in Montesano. (Michael Lang | Grays Harbor News Group) The new Legacy Pavilion can be seen Feb. 19, 2020, reflected in Lake Sylvia at Lake Sylvia State Park in Montesano. (Michael Lang | Grays Harbor News Group)

This interpretive sign, built with the new Legacy Pavilion, is seen Feb. 19, 2020, at Lake Sylvia State Park in Montesano. (Michael Lang | Grays Harbor News Group) This interpretive sign, built with the new Legacy Pavilion, is seen Feb. 19, 2020, at Lake Sylvia State Park in Montesano. (Michael Lang | Grays Harbor News Group) This interpretive sign, built with the new Legacy Pavilion, is seen Feb. 19, 2020, at Lake Sylvia State Park in Montesano. (Michael Lang | Grays Harbor News Group)

New bathrooms that accompany the Legacy Pavilion can be seen Feb. 19, 2020, at Lake Sylvia State Park in Montesano. (Michael Lang | Grays Harbor News Group) New bathrooms that accompany the Legacy Pavilion can be seen Feb. 19, 2020, at Lake Sylvia State Park in Montesano. (Michael Lang | Grays Harbor News Group) New bathrooms that accompany the Legacy Pavilion can be seen Feb. 19, 2020, at Lake Sylvia State Park in Montesano. (Michael Lang | Grays Harbor News Group)

A winding path leads Feb. 19, 2020, from the parking area to the new Legacy Pavilion at Lake Sylvia State Park in Montesano. (Michael Lang | Grays Harbor News Group) A winding path leads Feb. 19, 2020, from the parking area to the new Legacy Pavilion at Lake Sylvia State Park in Montesano. (Michael Lang | Grays Harbor News Group) A winding path leads Feb. 19, 2020, from the parking area to the new Legacy Pavilion at Lake Sylvia State Park in Montesano. (Michael Lang | Grays Harbor News Group)

The new Legacy Pavilion is seen Feb. 19, 2020, at Lake Sylvia State Park in Montesano. (Michael Lang | Grays Harbor News Group) The new Legacy Pavilion is seen Feb. 19, 2020, at Lake Sylvia State Park in Montesano. (Michael Lang | Grays Harbor News Group) The new Legacy Pavilion is seen Feb. 19, 2020, at Lake Sylvia State Park in Montesano. (Michael Lang | Grays Harbor News Group)

photos by Michael Lang | Grays Harbor News Group Above, the doors to the new Legacy Pavilion. Below, the new Legacy Pavilion.

The wall facing Lake Sylvia at the new Legacy Pavilion can be opened to allow for better views, but they were closed Feb. 19, 2020, at Lake Sylvia State Park in Montesano. (Michael Lang | Grays Harbor News Group) The wall facing Lake Sylvia at the new Legacy Pavilion can be opened to allow for better views, but they were closed Feb. 19, 2020, at Lake Sylvia State Park in Montesano. (Michael Lang | Grays Harbor News Group) The wall facing Lake Sylvia at the new Legacy Pavilion can be opened to allow for better views, but they were closed Feb. 19, 2020, at Lake Sylvia State Park in Montesano. (Michael Lang | Grays Harbor News Group)

Lake Sylvia State Park rangers said they were jealous of construction workers who kept a fire buring at the new Legacy Pavilion as they worked in the cold. On Feb. 19, there was no fire in the pavilion’s fireplace at Lake Sylvia State Park in Montesano.