The Maryland Department of Planning today announced that the Maryland Historical Trust has awarded 10 projects totaling more than $20 million in historic revitalization tax credits, leveraging more than $84 million in additional investment.
The Frederick County Landmarks Foundation has brought back a popular free series of how-to seminars on how to obtain a plaque for a historic home. At each event, staff from the Frederick County Public Library’s Maryland Room, which specializes in local history, will introduce the basics of how to document your home’s past. Volunteers from the Landmarks Foundation will also be on hand to answer questions.
In re-launching the popular series, which had been suspended during the pandemic, FCLF is helping celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of its historic plaque program. More than 400 structures, including public, religious and commercial structures as well as houses, have won the recognition over the years.
The Landmarks Foundation awards the familiar cast-iron oval plaques to owners of structures that are more than 100 years old, possess historical and/or architectural significance by themselves or as part of a streetscape, and have retained physical integrity. Each plaque bears a brass plate with the property’s unique registry number.
The remaining seminars will be held:
For more information about the Frederick County Landmarks Foundation and its programs, visit https://www.fredericklandmarks.org/ .
The Maryland Historical Trust will host public meetings to solicit feedback about goals and recommended actions for the statewide preservation plan – an eight-year guidance document for government agencies, non-profit advocates, and others involved in historic preservation, archaeology and cultural heritage.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, through its African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, announced $3.8 million in grant funding to 40 sites and organizations representing African American history.
New to this year’s list is a targeted focus on conserving Modernist structures designed by Black architects. Eight historic structures will receive $1.2M to help advance long-term preservation planning. This funding is part of the Conserving Black Modernism partnership led by the Action Fund with support from the Getty Foundation.
The preservation of Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs) across the country is also a focus of this year’s grant announcement. Through the Action Fund’s HBCU Cultural Heritage Stewardship Initiative, six HBCUs will receive nearly $700,000 in funding to ensure the protection of their cultural assets.
These often-overlooked places hold aspects of history that must be protected—and used to draw inspiration and wisdom for the benefit of all Americans.
Named after a former president of the University, Jenkins Hall was designed by Louis Edwin Fry, the first African American to receive a master’s degree in architecture from Harvard. Morgan State University will complete a conservation management plan and reuse study to determine the optimal future use for the building while preserving its monumental history.
Swimming pools, beaches, and other recreational facilities were a major national battleground during the struggle for Black civil rights, as segregation prohibited Black Americans from equal access to leisure activities. Purchased in 1902 by formerly enslaved veteran Fred Carr, Elktonia-Carrs Beach became a Green Book-listed recreational area where Black beachgoers had the opportunity to safely enjoy leisure activities. In partnership with the City of Annapolis, Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation will utilize this grant to develop a comprehensive plan to ensure that the interpretation of the area’s Black history forms an integral part of the plans for the new Elktonia Heritage Park.
| OTHER 2023 GRANTEES |
The Action Fund is the largest U.S. resource dedicated to the preservation of African American historic places. Since its inception in 2017, the Action Fund has supported 242 places through its National Grant Program and invested more than $20 million to help preserve landscapes and buildings imbued with Black life, humanity, and cultural heritage.