Meridian Hill Park, Tivoli theatre get big money for preservation

Sweet! If you remember a few weeks ago I wrote about the Partners in Preservation contest where different historic sites can win money from American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. People had a chance to earn points for their sites by tweeting, and posting Instagram photos, blog posts, Facebook posts and the like. The places with the most points would earn some money to preserve various historic features.

Two sites in Columbia Heights, the Tivoli Theatre and Meridian Hill Park were in the running, and while they didn't win the big prize, $100,000, they were in the top 12 and earned some big dough: $50,000 for Meridian Hill Park to restore the concrete grottoes and $35,000 for the Tivoli to fix up three ornate, historic domes. Pretty neat to see this kind of effort paying off for our area, and thanks to everybody who participated!

Here's more from the Post, a read below for a press release from the group with all the winners.

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 13, 2013 – American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation today announced the Washington National Cathedral as the winner of Partners in Preservation, the region’s first-ever preservation effort powered by social media. For earning the most points, the Washington National Cathedral will receive its full grant request of $100,000. Over the past three weeks, the community-wide effort enlisted the public’s help to choose which of 24 historic buildings, icons and landmarks should receive preservation funding. For the first time this year, Partners in Preservation integrated voting by social channels, including Twitter, Foursquare and Instagram. With today’s announcement, American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation will infuse $1 million in funding to preserve historic buildings throughout the Washington, D.C. Metro area. 

“The D.C. Metro region has shown a true sense of community through its spirited support of their local historic places,” said Timothy J. McClimon, President, American Express Foundation. “We hope the Partners in Preservation funding is just the first step in ensuring that these cultural sites are accessible for many years to come." 

“It has been inspiring to see the tremendous support local preservationists have shown their favorite historic places in the Washington area and a pleasure to bring this program to the Trust’s hometown,” said Stephanie Meeks, President, National Trust for Historic Preservation. “In the months to come, we look forward to sites undertaking preservation projects in our backyard with Partners in Preservation grant funding and using the promotional tools and resources they have gained from the program.” 

A Partners in Preservation advisory committee comprised of Washington-area civic and preservation leaders recommended how the remainder of the preservation grants would be awarded. The 12 historic places that also received preservation grants were: 

• § All Souls Church Unitarian, Adams Morgan, D.C. : $50,000 to repair historic bell tower, including clock, stonework and windows.  
• § Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site, Shaw, D.C.: $75,000 to rebuild front and rear façade in order to stabilize home for public access. 
• § Colvin Run Mill, Great Falls, Va.: $75,000 to bring the 18^th 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 repair garden’s original built structures including 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 art deco lobby.
• § LAMB at Military Road School, Brightwood, D.C.: $60,000 to repair exterior of school building including columns and cupola. 
• § Meridian Hill Park, Columbia Heights, D.C.: $50,000 to stabilize and repair exposed aggregate concrete grotto. 
• § Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, Scott Circle, D.C.: $90,000 to restore stained glass windows on 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.

In addition, the remaining historic places that participated in Partners in Preservation also each received $5,000 for participating:

• § 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. 

# # #About Partners in Preservation 

Partners in Preservation is a program in which American Express, in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, awards preservation grants to historic places across the country. American Express has made grants worth more than $10 million through Partners in Preservation, helping historic places in eight cities to date, including San Francisco, Chicago, New Orleans, Boston, Seattle, Saint Paul/Minneapolis and New York, Washington, D.C. Metro and has engaged more than a million people.   

Through this partnership, American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation seek to increase the public’s awareness of the importance of historic preservation in the United States and to preserve America’s historic and cultural places. The program also hopes to inspire long-term support from local citizens for the historic places at the heart of their communities. 

For more information, visit PartnersinPreservation.com or Facebook.com/PartnersinPreservation, or follow us on Twitter at Twitter.com/PartnersinPres.