The Interpretive Center & Gift Shop was not one of Dorothy’s cabins. However, it does have roots in Ely and a special connection with museum staff.

Built in the mid-1950s by Stan Levar as a family hunting cabin, it was originally located on the southwest end of Burntside Lake northwest of Ely. The cabin was dismantled by the family in 1998 and purchased by the Museum to be used as an interpretive center in 1999.

Today, it is the public-facing services building - the first stop for all visitors. Museum staff track visitation so all guests are counted either with their paid admission or free entrance for Museum Members, members of the military or children under six years old.

In addition to admission and information, this cabin houses a gift shop featuring many Museum-branded and Minnesota-made items not available elsewhere. Several mini-exhibits highlight various aspects of Dorothy's life, including copies of her original guest journals starting in 1955.

The basement of this building has a small office but most of the space is occupied by Dorothy's Isle of Pines Root Beer, the Museum's most well-known product. Up to 14 pallets of 60 cases of root beer (each case has 24 bottles) is stored to distribute to Museum patrons as well as around the Ely Area to restaurants, retail and grocery stores, outfitters, camps and resorts. Those unable to visit Ely may also find Dorothy's brew in the Duluth/North Shore, Iron Range, Brainerd lakes and Twin Cities areas or online.

Outside of this building is Bird's Landing, a community "pocket park" in honor of Dorothy's love for her feathered friends.

Dorothy Molter Museum Staff