WASHINGTON--The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities and the National Park Service today announced that 42 Save America’s Treasures grants totaling $7.6 million have been awarded to preservation and conservation groups around the nation. (The complete list follows and can also be found at http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/treasures/.)
The NPS and the President’s Committee oversee the Save America’s Treasures program in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
Save America’s Treasures competitive awards preserve the nation’s most significant endangered intellectual and cultural artifacts, historic structures and historic sites. The range of this year’s awards covers the breadth of American history and culture-- from preserving the Nellie L. Byrd, one of the Chesapeake Bay’s few remaining skipjacks, to saving Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church, a civil rights landmark. Other grants will restore the Gettysburg Cyclorama and the letters and journals of prominent leaders of the American Revolution.
“Save America’s Treasures grants help address the very real threats to our nation’s historic and cultural treasures, a legacy held in trust by all Americans,” said Mrs. Laura Bush, Honorary Chairman of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. “Through this program President Bush and I want to encourage public and private efforts to carry forward the work of generations in keeping these vital pieces of the nation alive for our children and their children.”
Save America’s Treasures grants provide critical funds to organizations and institutions to repair failing roofs and deteriorating walls; to restore faded paintings and corroded sculptures and to conserve disintegrating documents. Overall, 19 awards were made to institutions with collections, artifacts, artistic works or documents and 23 awards were made to organizations caring for structures and sites. Some 327 groups applied for SAT funds this year.
Successful applicants must demonstrate the national significance of the cultural or historical resource for which they care and make a compelling case about how they would address the threats to those resources.
Each of the awards requires an equal match. The private sector plays a significant role in the Save America's Treasures program through the requirement of a 1:1 match with non-federal funds. Many private sector partners, including the National Trust for Historic Preservation, have leveraged matching funds since the program began.
Over Save America’s Treasures seven-year life, thousands of volunteers have contributed their time to projects in addition to the $217 million in project monies raised in matching funds.
“Save America’s Treasures is preserving treasures of every kind—from places and buildings to the symbols, texts, images and sounds that make up our national identity. The Administration’s leadership is vital to the preservation of this legacy, which belongs to all Americans,” said Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne.
"This grant program engages numerous local partners who have embraced what is important to them and to future generations by taking on these preservation efforts," said Deputy Secretary of the Interior and Co-Chair for Preserve America Lynn Scarlett. "America's cultural resources embody a rich heritage of human experiences, architectural and intellectual achievements and cultural identities."
The selection of this year’s Save America’s Treasures awards was based on recommendations made by federal preservation professionals in a review process coordinated by the federal cultural agencies (NEA, NEH, and IMLS) and the National Park Service, which administers the program in collaboration with the President’s Committee. By drawing on the preservation expertise and capabilities of its four federal partners, Save America’s Treasures is able to address the vulnerability of this shared cultural and historic heritage in a holistic way.
Awards by the National Park Service will help restore both structures and places and those projects overseen by the NEA, NEH and IMLS will help meet the needs of the country’s creative genius expressed in dance, paintings, prints, sculpture, and books; as well as in artifacts from ships, trains, automobiles, pipe organs and many other items of Americana.
“One of the pleasures of Save America’s Treasures is that in rescuing and preserving the critical fragments of our past, we re-discover both well-known icons, like this year’s award to the 16th Street Baptist Church, and less-well known treasures, like the Nebraska’ State Historical Society Native American collections. All the awards remind us how rich and varied our culture and history is,” said Adair Wakefield Margo, Chairman of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities.
Recent studies such as A Public Trust at Risk: the Heritage Health Index Report, conducted by Heritage Preservation in partnership with IMLS, have documented the fragility of America’s cultural and historic assets, reporting that “millions of objects are in urgent need of treatment or attention.”
For example, almost half of films produced in the U.S. before 1950 have disappeared. Appropriately, a 2006 SAT award to the UCLA Film and Television Archive will help conserve one of the world’s largest newsreel collections, The Hearst Metrotone Newsreel Collection, which documents many of the events of the 20th century.
The breadth and variety of America’s cultural and historical experience are key features of the Save America’s Treasures program in general and this year’s awards reflect that characteristic. These funds will preserve such varied examples of the country’s cultural and historic inheritance as the colonial home of Colonel James Barrett, a Revolutionary War leader of the Minuteman; hundreds of thousands of objects in the World Trade Center 9/11 collection; and St. Augustine’s Church, a Spanish mission in New Mexico that pre-dates the Jamestown Colony in Virginia. (1613).
“The collections cared for by our nation’s museums and libraries connect people to the full spectrum of human experience— culture, science, history and arts. IMLS recently launched a new initiative called Connecting to Collections, which will make conservation and preservation our highest priority this year. So we are particularly proud to be supporting these great preservation projects with SAT grants,” said Anne-Imelda Radice, Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
“The NEH is proud to continue its support of the efforts of archives, universities, historical societies and others through Save America’s Treasures to preserve the intellectual underpinnings of our democracy. We hope this support ensures that scholars, writers and the next generation of citizens have access to important records of American history and ideas,” said Bruce Cole, Chairman, National Endowment for the Humanities.
“The NEA congratulates these awardees who have worked tirelessly to preserve and protect the irreplaceable. Our artistic and cultural heritage is part of our national identity. In this 40th anniversary year of the National Historic Preservation Act, Save America's Treasures exemplifies the vision of that Act to build our future by preserving our past,” said Dana Gioia, Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts.
U. S. Department of the Interior
National Park Service
2006 Federal Save America’s Treasures Grants
Alabama
Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, Birmingham
This National Historic Landmark church has served as the religious center of Birmingham’s African-American community and played a pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement. Funds will be used to replace the roof and address moisture-related problems. ($400,000)
Arizona
Archeological, Botany, and Zoological Collections of the Colorado Plateau,
Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff
These collections are the result of systematic scientific collection on the Colorado Plateau, starting in the early 20th century. The grant will support rehousing priority portions of the collections. ($250,000)
Arkansas
Centennial Baptist Church, E. C. Morris Foundation, Helena-West-Helena
This National Historic Landmark is significant for its association with Dr. Elias Camp Morris, pastor from 1879 to 1922 and leader of the National Baptist Convention, the largest African-American organization in the United States at the end of the 19th century and today. Funds will be used to strengthen the roof structure and address exterior deterioration. ($300,000)
California
Alcatraz Island Gardens, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, San Francisco Bay
Since the early 1800s, this National Historic Landmark island has been an army fortress, a military prison and a Federal penitentiary. The officers, families, and prisoners created intensively maintained gardens throughout the island. Funds will be used to restore structural elements of the gardens and rehabilitate plantings. ($250,048)
Hearst Metrotone Newsreel Collection, UCLA Film and Television Archive, Hollywood
The collection is a rich source of visual history documenting the first two-thirds of the 20th century. Funds will be used to conserve and repackage segments of the collection that are on nitrate or acetate film stock. ($200,000)
Colorado
Georgetown Schoolhouse, Georgetown Trust for Conservation and Preservation Inc., Georgetown
The Schoolhouse is a contributing building in the Georgetown-Silver Plume National Historic Landmark District, which preserves much of the flavor of the early mining era of the West. Funds will be used to address deterioration of the building envelope. ($150,000)
Clyfford Still Collection, Clyfford Still Museum, Denver
The collection is the majority of the artworks produced by Clyfford Still (1904-1980), one of the first generation of American Abstract Expressionists in the mid-20th-century. Funds will be used to conserve selected paintings in the collection. ($150,000)
District of Columbia
The Corcoran Gallery of Art, The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington
Designed by Ernest Flagg and constructed in 1893, this Beaux Arts building is a National Historic Landmark and an integral part of Washington’s City Beautiful plan. Funds will be used to address the deteriorating building envelope. ($250,000)
Illinois
Farnsworth House, Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois, Plano
This National Historic Landmark is one of only three private residences in the United States designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Funding will support flood abatement and exterior repairs. ($137,630)
The Three Arts Club, The Three Arts Club of Chicago, Chicago
The club is the sole survivor of a network of Three Arts Clubs formed for the purpose of helping early 20th-century women become independent and self-sufficient as professionals in the arts. Funds will assist in the restoration of the masonry and terra cotta façade. ($100,000)
Video Archives, The Joffrey Ballet, Chicago
This collection of performance recordings represents the only documentation of many important and influential dance works by the ballet company. Funding will be used to conserve the fragile collection. ($75,000)
Iowa
Terrace Hill, Terrace Hill Foundation, Des Moines
This National Historic Landmark is the State of Iowa’s Governor’s Residence and an exceptional example of the Second Empire style. This grant will support roof repairs. ($150,000)
Louisiana
Fort Jackson Artifacts, Plaquemines Parish Government, Buras
Constructed 1822-1832 to help guard the Mississippi River approaches to New Orleans, the fort and its collections were submerged in salt water during the 2005 Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Funds will be used to stabilize and conserve artifacts recovered after the storms. ($125,000)
Maryland
Skipjack Nellie L. Byrd, Chesapeake Bay Memories Charities, Inc., Middle River
Built in 1911, this is one of only 35 surviving Chesapeake Bay skipjacks and one of the oldest. Funds will be used to restore the deteriorated hull of the vessel. ($94,000)
Massachusetts
Colonel James Barrett House, Save Our Heritage, Concord
Colonel James Barrett was a key figure in the events leading to the 1775 British march on Concord and Lexington that resulted in the “Shot Heard Round the World,” an early skirmish in the American Revolution. Funds will be used to address moisture penetration in the frame house. ($220,000)
United First Parish Church, United First Church (Unitarian), Quincy
This National Historic Landmark is an excellent example of the Greek Revival style and the burial site of Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams and their wives. The grant will contribute to the restoration of the deteriorated windows and bell tower. ($100,000)
Americana Collection, Norman B. Leventhal Map Center, Boston Public Library, Boston
Funds will be used to conserve a portion of the collection, which includes 7,500 maps and 550 atlases of the United States, particularly of Boston, Massachusetts, and New England, from 1630 to ca.1930. ($135,000)
Boston Common Collection, Boston Parks and Recreation Department, Boston
Set aside by the city of Boston in 1634, this is the oldest public park in the United States and a showplace for public sculpture. The grant will fund the conservation of select sculpture in the Commons. ($200,000)
Michigan
Fair Lane, The University of Michigan-Dearborn, Dearborn
Home of American Industrialist Henry Ford and his wife from its construction in 1915-16 to their deaths in the 1940s, the house is now a National Historic Landmark. Funds will be used repair the deteriorating steam-heating system, which has caused damage to the building and its collections. ($350,000)
Minnesota
Fort Snelling Upper Bluffs, Hennepin County, Hennepin
Begun in 1820, this was the first fort in the area that became the state of Minnesota. Its dramatic site above the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers enabled it to control both waterways. Funds will be used to stabilize and secure 27 buildings in the fort complex. ($150,000)
Missouri
Working Office of Harry S Truman, The Harry S Truman Institute for National and International Affairs, Independence
This is Truman’s post-presidential office where he wrote letters, speeches, and his book Mr. Citizen and met with distinguished visitors. Grant funds will be used to conserve the office and its contents. ($125,000)
Nebraska
Native American Collection, Nebraska State Historical Society, Lincoln
The grant will be used to conserve and improve storage for the collection, which includes more than 3,000 artifacts related to the fourteen tribes and important individuals associated with the state of Nebraska. ($170,000)
New Jersey
Woodrow Wilson Hall, Monmouth University, West Long Branch
Built in 1927, this Beaux-Arts style National Historic Landmark was the home of the president of the F.W. Woolworth Company and sits on the site where Woodrow Wilson delivered his party’s acceptance speech for the 1916 Presidential campaign. Funding will assist the structural repairs to the monumental portico. ($100,000)
The Factory Building at Speedwell Village, Morris County Park Commission, Morristown
This National Historic Landmark was the location of the first successful public demonstration of the electro-magnetic telegraph in January 1838. Funds will be used to address structural issues. ($325,000)
Midmer-Losh Pipe Organ at Atlantic City Convention Hall, New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, Atlantic City
Built in 1928, the Midmer-Losh Pipe Organ is the largest, loudest and most complex working musical instrument ever constructed and remains a functional and integral component of the National Historic Landmark hall. The grant will support restoration of the organ. ($100,000)
New Mexico
Saint Augustine Church, Puebo of Isleta, Isleta
Built in 1613, the church is one of the oldest in New Mexico. Funding will assist the restoration of the deteriorated adobe buttresses that support the walls. ($150,000)
New York
101 Spring Street, Judd Foundation, New York
Designed by Nicholas White in 1870, this is the only intact, single-use building remaining in the SoHo’s Cast-Iron Historic District. Funds will be used to restore the cast-iron façade. ($200,000)
Permanent Collection of Drawings, New York Historical Society, New York
This collection of drawings and watercolors is the nation’s oldest and represents a rich trove of original works that spans six centuries. Grant funds will support the conservation of these works of art. ($100,000)
World Trade Center/September 11, 2001 Collection, New York State Museum, Albany
The museum is the primary repository for the artifacts related to the World Trade Center and the events of September 11, 2001, and it will use this grant to improve conservation, organization, and storage of the objects. ($128,683)
Van Rensselaer Manor Papers, New York State Library, Albany
These 17th- and 18th-century materials are the earliest recorded documentation of the area on the Upper Hudson River, including correspondence, accounts, and court records. Funds will be used to conserve the most threatened portion of the collection. ($58,000)
Pennsylvania
Christ Church, Christ Church Preservation Trust, Philadelphia
Completed in 1747, this National Historic Landmark church is one of finest Early American churches and was the religious home to many members of the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention. Funding will be used to install a fire-suppression system and address exterior deterioration issues. ($350,000)
The Pine Building, Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia
This National Historic Landmark was the nation’s first hospital and the first institution exclusively for the treatment and care of the sick, poor, and mentally ill. Funding will be used to address a variety of exterior deterioration problems. ($350,000)
“Battle of Gettysburg” Cyclorama Painting, Gettysburg Foundation, Gettysburg
This is a colossal circular painting of Pickett’s Charge during the Battle of Gettysburg, the Confederacy’s only incursion into the North during the Civil War. Funds will be used to conserve the painting. ($200,000)
Sol Feinstone Collection, The David Library of the American Revolution, Washington Crossing
The collection contains more than 2,400 manuscripts, including letters and journals by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, and other prominent figures of the American Revolution. Funds will be used to conserve and rehouse the collection. ($60,000)
Tennessee
Tennessee Valley Authority Archaeological Collections, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
The collections document over 10,000 years of years of human occupation in the state. Funds will be used to rehouse the collections. ($100,000)
Texas
First National Bank Building, Galveston Arts Center, Inc., Galveston
This was the first national bank in Texas to operate under the National Bank Act of 1863 and is a contributing building in the Strand National Historic Landmark District. The grant will be used to address structural issues. ($250,000)
Virginia
Saint Luke’s Church, Historic St. Luke’s Restoration, Inc., Smithfield
This National Historic Landmark church is the oldest church of English foundation and the earliest surviving Gothic style building in the United States. Funds will be used to address moisture penetration problems and restore moisture damage. ($250,000)
Archeological and Architectural Collections, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg
This grant will be used to provide climate-controlled storage for these large, significant collections. ($200,000)
Costume Collection, James Monroe Museum & Memorial Library, Fredericksburg
The collection consists of clothing owned by James Monroe, his family, and descendents. The grant will support conservation of 37 pieces of the collection. ($26,262)
Washington
Collections, Orcas Island Historical Museum, Eastsound
The museum will use this grant to clean and conserve key objects in its collection, which illustrates and interprets the cultural heritage of First Peoples and early homesteaders in the Pacific Northwest. ($100,000)
Wisconsin
American System-Built Home Model B-1, Frank Lloyd Wright Wisconsin Heritage Tourism Program, Milwaukee
Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, System-Built homes were modular homes intended to appeal to moderate-income homeowners. Lack of maintenance by a previous owner led to severe exterior deterioration of the Model B-1, which will be addressed with this grant. ($150,000)
Wyoming
Sheridan Inn, Sheridan Heritage Center, Inc., Sheridan
William F. ("Buffalo Bill") Cody owned the inn and created many of his Wild West Shows here. The 1892 inn is now a National Historic Landmark, and the grant will be used to address structural problems. ($350,000)