NPS - National Park Service
08/20/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/20/2024 11:10
National Park Service and Partner Agencies Award $25.7 Million to Preserve Significant Historic Sites and Collections
News Release Date: August 20, 2024
Contact: [email protected]
WASHINGTON - The National Park Service (NPS) today announced $25.7 million in Save America's Treasures grants to fund 59 projects that will preserve nationally significant sites and historic collections in 26 states and the District of Columbia.
"The Save America's Treasures program began 25 years ago and continues to enable communities across the United States to preserve and conserve their nationally significant historic properties and collections," said National Park Service Director Chuck Sams. "It's fitting to celebrate this milestone anniversary through a wide range of projects that help to pass the full history of America and its people down to future generations."
Since 1999, the Save America's Treasures program has provided over $405 million from the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) to more than 1,400 projects to provide preservation and conservation work on nationally significant collections, artifacts, structures, and sites. Previous awards have gone toward restoring the Park Inn Hotel, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright; the USS Intrepid, an Essex class carrier on display in Manhattan; and the Saturn V Launch Vehicle, a three-stage rocket designed for a lunar landing mission.
Today's award of $25,705,000 will be matched by almost $50 million in private and public investment. NPS partners with the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute for Museum and Library Services to award the grants.
Established in 1977, the HPF has provided more than $2 billion in historic preservation grants to states, Tribes, local governments, and non-profit organizations. Administered by NPS, HPF grant funds are appropriated by Congress annually to support a variety of historic preservation projects to help preserve the nation's cultural and historic resources.
The HPF, which uses revenue from federal offshore oil and gas leases, supports a broad range of preservation projects without expending tax dollars. The intent behind the HPF is to mitigate the loss of nonrenewable resources through the preservation of other irreplaceable resources.
Applications for next year's round of the Save America's Treasures Grant Program will open in the fall of 2024. $25.5 million in funding will be available.
Examples of today's awarded grants include:
- Historic Hudson Valley will use grant funding to address water penetration and deteriorating masonry at the historic Ivy Cottage located at Sunnyside, the New York home of early American author Washington Irving. Irving lived at Sunnyside from 1835 until his death in 1859. As an author, Irving helped to build a truly American literary landscape; as a property, Sunnyside became one of the physical landmarks of the American Romantic movement. The grantee will provide $640,365 of matching funds.
- The Oklahoma City National Memorial Foundation will digitize 2,000 videotapes from their archival collections which document the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building, the largest domestic terrorist attack on U.S. soil. This digitization will update the outdated formats the collection currently consists of and will provide video stabilization work. The grantee will provide $89,428 in matching funds.
- Michigan Technological University will digitize and organize historic copper mining records. While mining on the Keweenaw Peninsula began at least 8,000 years ago, improved excavating technology and increased demand for copper wire in the 1800s drove thousands to northern Michigan to work in the mines. Improved access to mining records will make historic data from the late 1800s and early 1900s accessible to the public. The grantee will provide $118,898 in matching funds.
Preservation projects receiving a Save America's Treasures grant from NPS include:
(Read the full grant synopses)
|
State |
Project |
Grantee |
Award |
|
California |
Repair of Historic Fountains and Buildings at the Casa del Herrero |
California Missions Foundation |
$750,000 |
|
Colorado |
Transfer Warehouse Masonry Stabilization |
Telluride Council for the Arts and Humanities |
$750,000 |
|
Florida |
Conservation of the Swimming Pool Grotto and Ceiling Mural by Robert Winthrop Chanler |
Vizcaya Museum and Gardens Trust, Inc. |
$750,000 |
|
Illinois |
Preservation of the Sears Catalog Complex |
Foundation for Homan Square |
$362,750 |
|
Louisiana |
LSU Campus Mounds Preservation Project |
Louisiana State University |
$220,871 |
|
Louisiana |
Preserving the Legacy of Ellen Biddle Shipman at Longue Vue House and Gardens |
Longue Vue House and Gardens Corporation |
$372,250 |
|
Massachusetts |
Stabilization of 1833 Carriage House and c. 1880 Stable at Forbes House Museum |
Captain Robert Bennet Forbes House Museum |
$673,520 |
|
Maryland |
Mount Vernon Place Revitalization of North and South Park Squares |
Mount Vernon Place Conservancy |
$750,000 |
|
Michigan |
Meadow Brook Hall Window & Stained-Glass Restoration Project |
Oakland University |
$264,005 |
|
North Carolina |
Basilica of St. Lawrence: Repair Tension Rings, Masonry Cornice, and Wall Reconstruction |
Basilica Preservation Fund, Inc. |
$750,000 |
|
Nebraska |
Omaha Union Station Preservation Phase III: Roof Replacement |
The Durham Museum |
$750,000 |
|
New Hampshire |
Repairing and Preserving the Dover Friends Meetinghouse |
Dover Friends Meeting |
$183,084 |
|
New Jersey |
Exterior and Interior Restoration of Masonry and Metals at Absecon Lighthouse |
Inlet Public/Private Association, Inc. |
$750,000 |
|
New York |
Preservation of the Stanford White Triple Portal of St. Bartholomew's Church |
St. Bartholomew's Conservancy, Inc. |
$749,840 |
|
New York |
Preservation of Washington Irving's Sunnyside |
Historic Hudson Valley |
$630,300 |
|
Pennsylvania |
Stationary Car Dumper Stabilization and Repair |
Rivers of Steel Heritage Corporation |
$580,000 |
|
Pennsylvania |
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts HVAC Replacement Project |
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts |
$750,000 |
|
Pennsylvania |
Arch Street Meeting House Fire Protection Project |
Arch Street Meeting House Preservation Trust |
$336,187 |
|
Pennsylvania |
Preserving the Façade of the Historic Sedgwick Theater |
Quintessence Theatre Group |
$296,092 |
|
South Carolina |
Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul Stabilization and Repair |
Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul |
$750,000 |
|
Texas |
Fair Park Tower Building Mural Restoration |
City of Dallas |
$700,000 |
|
Virginia |
William & Mary Wren Building: West Steps Restoration |
William & Mary |
$416,207 |
|
Vermont |
Climate Adaptation for Naulakha |
The Landmark Trust USA, Inc |
$401,274 |
|
Wisconsin |
Preservation of Baggage Horse Barn at Ringling Brothers Circus Winter Headquarters |
State Historical Society of Wisconsin |
$729,153 |
|
Wisconsin |
Interior Repairs and Accessibility Improvements at the National Soldiers Home Governor's Mansion, Building 39 |
Center for Veterans Issues Inc |
$750,000 |
|
Wisconsin |
Roofing and System Upgrades at the National Soldiers Home Chapel, Building 12 |
Center for Veterans Issues Inc |
$750,000 |
|
Wisconsin |
Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church Restoration |
Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church Foundation |
$750,000 |
|
West Virginia |
Nenni Building Second Level Stabilization Project |
Coalfield Development Corporation |
$748,785 |
|
Total Preservation Projects: |
$16,664,318 |
Collection projects receiving a Save America's Treasures grant via Interagency Agreement to Institute of Museum and Library Services include:
(Read the full grant synopses)
|
State |
Project |
Grantee |
Award |
|
California |
Climate Systems Upgrades to Protect the Museum's Collections |
Japanese American National Museum |
$750,000 |
|
California |
Preservation and Access Improvements for the Marbeth Legacy Project: Dance Theatre of Harlem Portfolio |
ChromaDiverse, Inc. |
$147,265 |
|
Colorado |
Improving Environmental Controls and Exhibit Displays at the National Mining Hall of Fame |
National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum |
$74,986 |
|
District of Columbia |
Preservation of the Northwestern Terra Cotta Collection |
National Building Museum |
$177,000 |
|
Illinois |
Early Presidential Costume Conservation |
Chicago Historical Society |
$454,607 |
|
Illinois |
Chicago in the Year 2000: Preserving the Voices and Sounds of Chicago through Digitization |
The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois |
$122,914 |
|
Illinois |
Climate Control, Fire Suppression, and Electrical Upgrades for the Galena & Ulysses S. Grant Museum |
Galena-Jo Daviess County Historical Society |
$613,298 |
|
Massachusetts |
Saving the National Historic Landmark Flying Horses Carousel through Repairs to and Conservation of Carousel Animals, Mechanical Systems, and Scenic Panels |
Martha's Vineyard Preservation Trust |
$232,658 |
|
Massachusetts |
Mechanic's Hall Portraits Restoration Project |
Worcester County Mechanics Assoc. (d/b/a Mechanics Hall) |
$22,901 |
|
Maryland |
Restoring the American Freedom Train No. 1 at the B&O Railroad Museum |
The B&O Railroad Museum, Inc. |
$363,750 |
|
Maryland |
Historic St. Mary's City's Conservation Assessment of Artifacts Uncovered During Archeological Investigations |
Historic St. Mary's City Commission |
$228,659 |
|
Michigan |
Preservation, Indexing, and Enhanced Utility of Historic Copper Mining Drill Hole Records |
Michigan Technological University |
$118,898 |
|
Michigan |
Arthur Secunda Collection Conservation and Accessibility Project |
Cleary University |
$319,880 |
|
Montana |
Preserving America's Conservation Legacy Collection though Storage, Environmental Control, and Physical Security Upgrades |
National Museum of Forest Service History, Inc. |
$343,670 |
|
New Mexico |
Blackwater Draw National Historic Landmark Photos, Negatives, and Distinct Sub-Collections Digitizing Project |
Eastern New Mexico University |
$53,299 |
|
New York |
Conservation of At-Risk Collections from Ten Museums in New York State |
Greater Hudson Heritage Network |
$269,038 |
|
New York |
Storage Equipment to Preserve Collections or Livingston County |
Livingston County Historical Society |
$150,000 |
|
New York |
Preserving and Providing Access to the Records of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL)'s Civil Rights Information Center and Center on Extremism |
American Jewish Historical Society |
$165,288 |
|
New York |
Digitization of Archaeological Data from New York City's Stadt Huys Block and 7 Hanover Square Projects |
NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission |
$88,670 |
|
New York |
Digitization of the Paley Archive African American Collection |
The Paley Center for Media |
$750,000 |
|
New York |
Conservation of Staten Island Museum Founders' Papers |
Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences |
$303,408 |
|
Oklahoma |
Digitization of Critical Videotape Collections Covering Aspects of the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing |
Oklahoma City National Memorial Foundation |
$89,428 |
|
Oklahoma |
Safety and Security Upgrades to the Philbrook Museum of Art Native Collection |
Philbrook Museum of Art, Inc. |
$466,676 |
|
Pennsylvania |
Multiple Stories, Many Perspectives: Conservation of the Atwater Kent Civil War Collection |
Drexel University |
$138,547 |
|
Pennsylvania |
Preservation, Care, and Rehousing of Woodmere Art Museum's Collection |
Woodmere Art Museum, Inc. |
$750,000 |
|
Rhode Island |
Complete Restoration of Historic 1927 5-Manual, 21-Rank, Wurlitzer Pipe Organ |
Providence Performing Arts Center |
$650,000 |
|
South Carolina |
Rehabilitating Archaeological Collections from the Catawba-Wateree River Valley of South Carolina |
University of South Carolina |
$629,001 |
|
Tennessee |
Preserving Diverse Voices in Appalachia: Digitization of Oral Histories in the Center for Appalachian Studies and Services |
East Tennessee State University |
$171,941 |
|
Tennessee |
Preservation and Access to Early Country Music Television on 16mm Film |
Country Music Foundation, Inc. |
$48,224 |
|
Virginia |
Legislative Petitions from Virginia Burned Record Counties (1776-1850) |
Library of Virginia Foundation |
$172,828 |
|
Washington |
Museum of Glass Digital Preservation |
Museum of Glass |
$173,848 |
|
Total Collections Projects |
$9,040,682 |
||
|
Total Projects |
$25,705,000 |
For more information about NPS historic preservation programs and grants, please visit nps.gov/stlpg.
About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 430+ national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.