Landmarks Illinois awards more than $32,000 in grants to 10 preservation projects

CHICAGO, Dec. 14, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Landmarks Illinois has awarded $32,150 in grant funding to 10 preservation projects across the state through its Preservation Heritage Fund and Barbara C. and Thomas E. Donnelley II Preservation Fund for Illinois grant programs. Grant-funded projects are located in the Illinois communities of Anna, Beardstown, Cairo, Carbondale, Chicago, Freeport, Golconda and Marion. 

*Preservation Heritage Fund grant recipients*

Landmarks Illinois’ Preservation Heritage Fund grants provide monetary assistance to significant structures or sites in Illinois that are under threat of demolition, in imminent deterioration, in need of stabilization, in need of structural or reuse evaluation or need to be evaluated for landmark eligibility. 

A total of $27,150 in matching grants has been awarded to eight Illinois preservation efforts in this latest round of grant funding. Visit our website to learn more about each grant recipient.

· *Stinson Memorial Public Library District, Anna: *$2,500 to repair and clean the exterior of the architecturally significant, 110-year-old library that stands as an anchor for Anna’s downtown. · *Heritage Preservation Foundation, Beardstown: *$1,650 for an updated fire alarm system at the Beardstown Grand Opera House, a National Register-listed site built in 1872 that today is home to retail and community theater space.· *RBF Dome NFP, Carbondale: *$2,500 for repairs to the architecturally significant Bucky Fuller Dome Home, a unique local and nationally recognized landmark that the local nonprofit has worked to preserve over the past 20 years to serve as a museum honoring Fuller’s legacy.· *National Museum of Gospel Music, Chicago:* $5,000 to conduct an environmental study of Pilgrim Baptist Church, former home to one of the nation’s most significant African-American congregations and the birthplace of gospel music and future home of a national gospel music museum.· *Share Your Soles, Chicago: *$5,000 to repair and replace wood shingles on the Pullman Stables, a previously neglected historic building at the Pullman National Park now used as headquarters for the nonprofit that provides shoes to those in need.· *Save the Tabernacle Inc., Freeport: *$5,000 to repair the cupola of the historic Oakdale Tabernacle, a culturally significant former Landmarks Illinois Most Endangered site that evaded demolition thanks to strong community support for its preservation.· *Golconda Main Street, Golconda: *$3,000 for a structural assessment of the historic, 1887 John B. Young Opera House that sits prominently in the town’s historic district but needs maintenance due to previous neglect and years of sitting vacant.· *Little Egypt Arts Association, Marion: *$2,500 to install an ADA-accessible bathroom in the historic Powell Building on Marion’s town square, which serves as an arts center for both adults and children.

*Donnelley Preservation Fund grant recipients *

The Barbara C. and Thomas E. Donnelley II Preservation Fund for Illinois provides monetary assistance to preserve or protect significant structures and sites in Illinois that are under threat of demolition, in imminent deterioration, in need of stabilization, in need of structural or reuse evaluation or need to be evaluated for landmark eligibility.

A total of $5,000 of matching grant funds has been awarded to two projects through this round of funding. Visit our website to learn more about the grant recipient.

· *Cairo Historical Preservation Project, Inc., Cairo: *$2,500 to aid the effort to list Cairo's Ward Chapel AME Church in the National Register of Historic Places, which would open up opportunities for future funding needed to restore the church that has served as a pillar in the African American community for more than a century.· *Hyde Park Union Church, Chicago: *$2,500 to conduct a conditions assessment of the church’s sanctuary to develop a phased repair and restoration plan for the place of worship located on historic Woodlawn Avenue near the University of Chicago campus.

*More about Landmarks Illinois grants*

Landmarks Illinois grants are given on a matching basis, requiring the recipient to raise funds equal or greater to the Landmarks Illinois grant amount. Landmarks Illinois grant funding is used toward preserving historic and significant places in communities throughout the state. Often, these small grants help spark community engagement around the preservation of a place and help boost local fundraising efforts for the preservation project. 

Grant applications for the next round of funding through the Preservation Heritage Fund and Barbara C. and Thomas E. Donnelley II Preservation Fund for Illinois grant programs are due April 1.

Landmarks Illinois is also accepting applications for its other grant programs, the Landmarks Illinois Timuel D. Black, Jr. Grant Fund for Chicago’s South Side and the Landmarks Illinois Banterra Bank Preserve Southern Illinois Grant Program. Applications for these two region-specific grant funds are due January 1, 2024.

Visit our website to learn more about our grant programs.

*About Landmarks Illinois *

We are People Saving Places for People. Landmarks Illinois is a membership-based, historic preservation nonprofit organization serving the people of Illinois. We inspire and empower stakeholders to save places that matter to them by providing free guidance, practical and financial resources and access to strategic partnerships. For more information, visit www.Landmarks.org.


*Attachment*

· Pilgrim Baptist Church, Chicago

CONTACT: Kaitlyn McAvoy
Landmarks Illinois
312-995-9679
kmcavoy@landmarks.org