Wanapum Dam Heritage Center to open for final days before move

BEVERLY - The Wanapum Heritage Center at Wanapum Dam will reopen to the public for one final week from Sept. 16-22, according to publicist Chuck Allen.

Since it opened in 1966, the heritage center has been educating the public on the culture of the Wanapum band of Native Americans, part of the Yakama Nation. It has told the history of the mid-Columbia area and provided information about hydropower.

The center was closed earlier this year because of the fracture found on the Wanapum Dam spillway. With the spillway stabilized, Grant PUD, working with the Wanapums, will reopen the center to give the public one final opportunity to visit.

The center will be permanently closed on Sept. 23 in preparation of the opening of the new Wanapum Heritage Center near Priest Rapids Dam next year.

While the center is open, there will be a special exhibit highlighting the five-decade history of the heritage center, along with the many treasured displays, artifacts and works of art representing the culture of the Wanapums and the band's relationship with Grant PUD.

Admission to the Wanapum Heritage Center is free. It will be open, starting Sept. 16, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It will be open for those hours on Sept. 17, 18, 19 and 22. The hours will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20 and Sunday, Sept. 21.