25 Historic Sites in the Seattle-Puget Sound Area Host Special Open House Weekend, May 1-2
Sites competing for a portion of $1 million in historic preservation grants
WHEN: Saturday, May 1 and Sunday, May 2, 2010
WHERE: Please see www.PartnersinPreservation.com for further information about individual locations and events.
WHAT: Twenty-five historic places in the Seattle-Puget Sound area will offer free admission and host an open house for the public. The sites are competing in an online contest for part of $1 million in preservation grants from Partners in Preservation, a community-based program sponsored by American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Activities at the different sites include food, children’s games, tours of an old-fashioned schooner, musical performances, art demonstrations and workshops, astronomy lectures, Croatian dancing, and a kite design and flying festival.
WHO: Representatives from all 25 historic places, the general public and local media.
WHY: These open houses offer an opportunity for the public to learn more about these historic sites and the region’s heritage. These sites are competing for the public’s vote at www.PartnersinPreservation.com until May 12. The site with the most votes is guaranteed to receive a grant. Partners in Preservation is a program of American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation designed to help preserve historic places in the Seattle-Puget Sound area, engage the community in preservation, promote sustainability, drive tourism and stimulate economic development. The program also seeks to inspire long-term support from local citizens for the historic places at the heart of their communities.
About the Partners in Preservation Program
Launched in 2006, Partners in Preservation is a program in which American Express, in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, pledged $5.5 million over a five-year period toward preserving historic places throughout the United States. American Express has already allocated more than $3.4 million in preservation grants, which has allowed recipients to make significant progress in achieving their preservation goals. American Express has also given $1.1 million to the National Trust for Historic Preservation to support its work helping people save the places that matter to them all across the country. Seattle is the fifth region to host the Partners in Preservation program and receive funding from American Express. The program previously made grants for preservation projects in the San Francisco Bay area, Chicagoland, New Orleans and Greater Boston.
In 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 landmarks. The program also seeks to inspire long-term support from local citizens for the historic places at the heart of their communities.