Arts & Entertainment

National Cathedral Wins Partners in Preservation Grant

The Washington National Cathedral will receive a $100,000 grant to help restore the earthquake-damaged vaulted ceiling inside its nave.

The Washington National Cathedral won the 2013 Partners in Preservation contest, securing a $100,000 grant to help restore damage caused by the 2011 earthquake. The cathedral was one of 24 local historic sites competing for grant funding from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express.

“I would like to thank the entire Cathedral community, both near and far, who joined in voting for us, resulting in our popular vote win today," Andrew Hullinger, the cathedral’s senior director for finance and administration, said in a press release. "We wouldn’t be the National Cathedral without the support of so many who have come before us, or without those who are part of our community today who want to ensure that the Cathedral stands to inspire countless more pilgrims on the way for centuries to come.”

The National Cathedral won the popular vote to receive full funding of $100,000, just edging out Mount Vernon, George Washington’s estate.

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The cathedral will use the funds to repair the earthquake-damaged ceiling and thereby remove the netting that has been in place to protect the public from risk of any falling debris since shortly after the August 2011 earthquake.

“The National Cathedral is one of the most prominent landmarks in a city full of iconic buildings, and it is a huge contributor to our crucial tourism industry,” Mayor Gray said in a press release.

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The Partners in Preservation program will give out $1 million in grants, split among 14 of the historic sites. The remaining 10 will receive $5,000 each for participating.

Other local sites competed in the three-week contest, including Dumbarton Oaks Park and Georgetown University's Heyden Observatory.

Dumbarton Oaks Park will get a $50,000 grant to .

“I would like to thank American Express for its generosity in funding the Partners in Preservation program, its commitment to helping historic sites tell their stories, and for bringing a program to Washington, D.C., that fosters an awareness of the importance of preservation in such a fun, innovative way,” Hullinger added.


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