All memorials still must be carved from Barre Gray, to the tune of $2,000 to more than $2 million, according to Todd Paton, director of visitor services for the nearby Rock of Ages granite quarry.
Even Candy Scalberg, visitors' services coordinator for Kykuit and a former volunteer, who has seen the place many times, never fails to be impressed.
A brass plaque in the lobby attested to it: "This building was given to the City of New York for use as its principal facility for visitors services and cultural affairs by the Gulf and Western Foundation.
"There's no room for showing the collection, no room for public programs, no visitors' services.
Kate Hamilton-Pardirectorectof of the island's visitors' services, said families who once came for a week were cutting vacations to four days.
Mr. Batterman, the museum lawyer, defended the $17,000 annual pay for bookstore and visitors' services jobs, saying workers who hold those jobs are not career professionals, but usually recent college graduates who leave for other opportunities after a year or two.
There are currently no plans for a bathhouse or other visitors' services.
"It is a big deal only because when twins are are in the infant stage, they aren't commonly found in places where humans live or roam," said Ivan Vicente, visitor services specialist for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Of the $289 million that the agency has requested for visitor services in the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, $148 million is for education and interpretive services for visitors, and another $90 million for park police and law enforcement rangers.
Spending for visitor services grew 38percentt in the past five years, but the increase sought by the Bush administration for next year is less than 1percentt.
