WASHINGTON – Washington National Cathedral was the big winner of a three-week online contest to distribute grants for historic preservation.
Both the cathedral and Mount Vernon will each receive $100,000 from the group Partners in Preservation as a result of the contest.
“The participation level was really, really high,” says Tim McClimon, president of the American Express Foundation, which along with the National Trust for Historic Preservation funds Partners in Preservation.
“Washington National Cathedral and Mount Vernon were really neck and neck,” McClimon says.
The cathedral will use its money to continue repairs on an estimated $20 million of damage the building suffered during the 2011 earthquake.
“We know that the mortar has been fractured in places,” says cathedral Senior Director for Finance and Administration Andrew Hullinger. “It’s 100 feet off the floor and we have not had a chance to get scaffolding up there.”
In all, 24 local landmarks are receiving money from the program.
“That’s our history,” says D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray. “We have to be able to preserve those buildings that have such huge historic significance for us in the city.”
Other winners:
All Souls Church Unitarian, Adams Morgan, D.C.: $50,000 to repair the historic bell tower, including the clock, stonework and windows.
- Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site, Shaw, D.C.: $75,000 to rebuild the front and rear facade in order to stabilize the home for public access.
- Colvin Run Mill, Great Falls, Va.: $75,000 to bring the 18th-century grain elevator into working order.
- Congressional Cemetery, Barney Circle, D.C.: $50,000 to replace and reconstruct a row of 26 mausoleum vault roofs.
- Dumbarton Oaks Park, Georgetown, D.C.: $50,000 to repair the garden’s original built structures including the viewing platform, stone houses and retaining wall.
- The GALA Hispanic Theatre at The Tivoli, Columbia Heights, D.C.: $35,000 to restore three ornate interior domes.
- Greenbelt Theatre, Greenbelt, Md.: $75,000 to renovate the Art Deco lobby.
- LAMB at Military Road School, Brightwood, D.C.: $60,000 to repair the exterior of the school building, including the columns and cupola.
- Meridian Hill Park, Columbia Heights, D.C.: $50,000 to stabilize and repair the exposed aggregate concrete grotto.
- Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, Scott Circle, D.C.: $90,000 to restore the stained glass windows on the church’s primary facade.
- Mount Vernon, Mount Vernon, Va.: $100,000 to paint, plaster and restore Washington’s Large Dining Room.
- Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, Mount Vernon Square, D.C.: $75,000 to repair and preserve a dozen of the Synagogue’s stained glass windows.
The remaining historic places that participated in Partners in Preservation also each received $5,000:
- Abner Cloud House at the C&O Canal, Georgetown, D.C.
- Arlington House, Arlington, Va.
- The Athenaeum, Alexandria, Va.
- Clara Barton’s Missing Soldiers Office, Penn Quarter, D.C.
- Darby Store, Beallsville, Md.
- George Mason Memorial, National Mall, D.C.
- Heyden Observatory, Georgetown, D.C.
- The Kennel at Aspin Hill Memorial Park, Silver Spring, Md.
- Living Classrooms of the National Capital Region, Anacostia, D.C.
- National Museum of Women in the Arts, Franklin Park, D.C.
- U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial, Arlington, Va.
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