As a result of Preservation Maryland and its many partners’ ongoing advocacy, six projects across Maryland recently received over $9 million in historic tax credit funding. As a result, over $73 million worth of projects will move forward – underscoring the significance of preservation advocacy and power of revitalization incentives.
President & CEO Nicholas Redding testified today, in front of the federal subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands (NPFPL), in support of H.R. 4494 to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to acquire land in Frederick County for the Historic Preservation Training Center (HPTC) of the National Park Service.
UPDATE 11/10/21:Thank you to everyone who participated in the survey to identify historically significant schools. Preservation Maryland, through a grant from the Maryland Historical Trust’s Historic Preservation Non-Capital Grant program, is working with our consultant at Cox|McLain Environmental Consulting, Inc. to conduct a Study to document the architecture and history of public K-12 schools built in Maryland before 1980. The request for submissions yielded close to 100 responses identifying over 100 unique schools around Maryland. We thank everyone who participated for helping to strengthen this project which will provide a framework for evaluating the architectural and historic significance of the state’s public schools and a roadmap for future preservation activities. We will keep you updated on this project through our newsletter and social media.
In December, the Civil War Trust and Institute for Advanced Study announced a compromise to expand the Princeton Battlefield and provide additional housing for the Institute – ending a battle over the future of this historic site that dragged on several years.
Rendering of Princeton Battlefield. Graphic from Civil War Trust.
While the proposed project, which would have reduced a key Revolutionary War battlefield to new housing, fell beyond Maryland’s physical borders, Maryland soldiers fought for American Independence and shed their blood on the hallowed Princeton Battlefield. As a result, Preservation Maryland made the extraordinary decision to take a stand on this issue and formally announced their opposition to a project that would dishonor Maryland’s Revolutionary veterans.
Under the latest plan, the Civil War Trust, through its Campaign 1776 initiative to protect Revolutionary War battlefields, will purchase 14.85 acres of land from the Institute for $4 million, to be conveyed to the State of New Jersey as an addition to the existing Princeton Battlefield State Park. The acquisition includes approximately two-thirds of the Maxwell’s Field property in questions, along with an additional 1.12-acre tract north of the property that has been identified by historians as part of the battlefield.