2014 Washington Preserves Fund Grant Awards
Ritz Theatre, Ritzville, WA – 2014 Valerie Sivinski Washington Preserves Fund Grant recipient / Photo: Ritzville Downtown Development Association
NEWS RELEASE FROM THE WASHINGTON TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION
December 16, 2013
CONTACT:
Cathy Wickwire – 206-624-9449
cwickwire@preservewa.org
Washington Trust for Historic Preservation Announces
2014 Valerie Sivinski Washington Preserves Fund Grant Awards
Grants Assist Local Preservation Projects Throughout State
Seattle – Each year, through the Valerie Sivinski Washington Preserves Fund, the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation provides grant funding to organizations across the state diligently working to preserve local historic resources. And though grant awards are modest, each year recipients report back to us, noting the important role funding plays in leveraging additional contributions, providing support, and ultimately achieving project goals. Since the program’s inception, the intent has been to assist preservation projects where they really happen – at the local level. Recipients of the 2014 Valerie Sivinski Washington Preserves Fund grant awards were publicly announced on December 12 at the Washington Trust Holiday Party. 2014 grants were awarded to the following organizations:
• Bush House LLC, Index – $2,000 for the restoration of the original entry doors of the Bush House Inn. Grant funds will support extensive rehabilitation work already completed to the Bush House Inn, including a new foundation, exterior rehabilitation, and structural stabilization. Included in the Washington Trust’s Most Endangered Historic Properties List in 2009, the, Bush House Inn is scheduled to re-open in 2014.
• Ritzville Downtown Development Association, Ritzville – $2,000 to restore and reconstruct the neon along the main marquee and awning of the Ritz Theatre. Grant funds will assist the community-led rehabilitation of the art deco theater in downtown Ritzville, and promises to be a catalyst for economic revitalization in the heart of Ritzville’s National Register-listed Historic District.
• Spanaway Historical Society, Spanaway – $2,000 to re-roof the milk shed & blacksmith shed, located at the Prairie House Museum. Featuring the farmhouse, barn, log cabin, and a collection of outbuildings, the museum provides educational activities and interpretation of pioneer life in Pierce County.
• Three Rivers Carousel Foundation, Kennewick – $1,000 toward the relocation and restoration of a historic carousel in Kennewick. Originally delivered in 1910 to the Silver Beach Amusement Park in Michigan, grant funds will support restoration of the original brass ring dispenser, to be reinstalled once the newly dubbed Carousel of Dreams is fully restored and operational.
• University Place Historical Society, University Place – $2,000 to paint the exterior of the Curran House, listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a significant post-war, modernist residential design. By systematically implementing needed capital improvements to the Curran House, members of the University Place Historical Society have rescued it from Most Endangered status: the structure had been featured in the 2009 List.
Since 1998, the Fund has awarded over 100 projects totaling nearly $100,000 in funding to local historic preservation organizations and advocates engaged in the important work of preserving Washington’s cultural heritage. Funding for the grant program is obtained from private donations to the Trust with the goal of providing a minimum of $10,000 in grant funding per year. The Washington Trust for Historic Preservation is a statewide, tax exempt 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 1976 to safeguard Washington’s historic places through advocacy, education, collaboration and stewardship. For information on contributing to the Valerie Sivinski Fund visit preservewa.org/washington-preserves-fund.aspx or call 206-624-9449.
To see photos and view this press release online, visit: preservewa.org/News57.aspx