Pointe du Hoc, a site that sits atop 100-foot cliffs between Omaha Beach and Utah Beach, proved to be a location critical to the success of the D-Day invasion. To better tell the story of the competence, courage and sacrifice of the army rangers that scaled those cliffs and pushed the German forces further inland during those fateful days in June 1944, renovation and expansion of the Pointe du Hoc Visitor Center began October 1, 2012. The American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) expects to reopen the renovated visitor center in late 2013.

The existing visitor center will double in size to 3,580 square feet in order to accommodate a new exhibit gallery and theater space. The building is designed to be in harmony with the landscape by making use of natural materials, such as stone and wood façade, and granite flooring and paving. The surrounding landscape, in conjunction with the renovated building, aims to create a visitor experience that allows for personal connection with the site’s history. New administrative and technical areas are also planned to allow ABMC to better respond to visitor needs.

The Pointe du Hoc facility, located about seven miles west of Normandy American Cemetery, is the second of three ABMC visitor center projects that began construction in 2012. New visitor centers are being built at Cambridge American Cemetery in England and Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Italy.

The Paris-based architecture and engineering firms of Nicolas Kelemen designed the new center, which is being built by Herve Construction. Expected construction costs for the new facility is $1.7 million. Exhibit design is by the U.S. firm of Gallagher & Associates, Silver Spring, Md and exhibit fabrication by Sequia.

Access to this historic battlefield will not be affected during construction. However, the existing visitor center will be closed for the duration of this project.