The original visitor center at Oconaluftee was built in 1940 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) as a ranger station and magistrate's courtroom. The stone-and-log cabin was designated a temporary visitor center in 1947, and stayed that way until 2011, when a brand-new center was built in just two months in late winter and early spring, and dedicated on April 15. The Great Smoky Mountains Association paid three million dollars for the buildings (the other being a highly efficient restroom facility between it and the original center), and Friends of the Smokies donated over half a million more for the exhibits inside. Trotter & Associates Architects, LLC was the architect of record for the new visitor center. No government or taxpayer money was allocated for the project, so construction costs had to come entirely from donations to the two groups, which in turn donated the center to the National Park Service. The center and restrooms are open year-round, and after 64 years of temporary use, the original building has finally been reverted to its original administrative use, though its rustic and historic parkitecture remains untouched on the outside.