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Historic Preservation Education Grants announced

Indiana Humanities and Indiana Landmarks have awarded grants of up to $2,000 to 12 nonprofit organizations. Grants were awarded to organizations across Indiana, from South Bend to Madison. The grants will be used to fund a variety of projects including updating the Fort Wayne Heritage Trail’s digital presence, a deck of cards featuring Indianapolis architectural features, and a three-day weekend festival at historic Eleutherian College.

Indiana Humanities and Indiana Landmarks have awarded grants of up to $2,000 to 12 nonprofit organizations. Grants were awarded to organizations across Indiana, from South Bend to Madison. The grants will be used to fund a variety of projects including updating the Fort Wayne Heritage Trail’s digital presence, a deck of cards featuring Indianapolis architectural features, and a three-day weekend festival at historic Eleutherian College.

Indiana Humanities and Indiana Landmarks have been partnering in this granting opportunity for more than 15 years, providing at least $18,000 annually to the program.

“These grants help communities large and small celebrate their historic landmarks and educate Hoosiers about the importance of preserving our past,” said Marsh Davis, president of Indiana Landmarks.

Programs receiving 2012 Historic Preservation Education Grants include:

2012 City of Noblesville Student Docent Project, $2,000  

City of Noblesville, Noblesville

Student docents will receive training from Conner Prairie staff to give tours of historic downtown Noblesville, the historical society museum and the Indiana Transportation Museum.

Behind the Scenes: An Adaptive Reuse Tour of the Rushton Building, $2,000
South Bend Heritage Foundation, South Bend

The South Bend Heritage Foundation will develop and conduct guided tours of the 1906 Rushton apartment building, before and after renovation, and other historic structures including the Engman Natatorium, now the IUSB Civil Rights Center. The tour will be promoted to contractors, developers, architecture students and the general public.

Digital Heritage Trail, $2,000
ARCH, Inc., Fort Wayne

Designed in 1994 to commemorate the Bicentennial of Fort Wayne, the Heritage Trail consists of four walking tours with interpretive markers. This project will update the historical research and technological presentation of the trail.

Embassy Theatre Study Trips, $1,500
Embassy Theatre Foundation, Inc., Fort Wayne

This grant will help to support the Embassy Theatre’s Study Trip program, which combines a tour of the theatre with an opportunity for elementary school students to learn about the site’s preservation by reenacting the story of how the Embassy was saved from destruction.

Indianapolis Architectural Features Trading Cards, $2,000
Harrison Center for the Arts, Indianapolis

A deck of 52 trading cards will feature architectural terms and illustrations of the  Indianapolis buildings that exhibit them. The cards will be distributed in February 2013 to resource libraries and museums, neighborhood bed and breakfasts and youth organizations.

Landmark Lyrics: Speaking Through Structures from the Past, $2,000
Brick Street Poetry, Inc., Zionsville

Brick Street Poetry will match a poet to each of 15-20 historic properties in Indiana for the purpose of writing poems inspired by the life of the structure and its occupants. A reading will be held on Nov. 15, 2012. 

Preserving Historic Eleutherian College: A Public Education Event, $2,000
Historic Eleutherian College, Madison

A three-day weekend festival (Sept. 21-23, 2012), with school field trips, lectures and presentations, will educate a regional audience about the significance of Eleutherian College. A National Historic Landmark, the college was founded in 1848 and enrolled African Americans, becoming an important site on the Underground Railroad.

Primary Research of Sites and Structures in the Downtown, and State and Division National Register Districts in Elkhart, Indiana, $2,000
Downtown Elkhart, Inc., Elkhart

Primary source research will establish a definitive structural and social history of buildings in two historic districts in downtown Elkhart.

Rightsizing Communities Through Historic Preservation – A Sustainable Approach to the Shrinking City, $2,000
Richmond Columbian Properties, Richmond

A daylong historic preservation conference will take place on June 14, 2012, at the 1885 William G. Scott House and two adjacent historic churches. The keynote speaker, Donavan Rypkema, will offer preservation-related solutions to industrial cities affected by long-term population loss, a shrinking tax base and lagging business growth.

Studebaker Bendix Heritage Trail, $2,000
Studebaker National Museum, South Bend

A new web-based tour of local landmarks related to the Studebaker and Bendix families and their corporations will be developed by a coalition of cultural and historical organizations in South Bend. The Heritage Trail will provide a path for visitors and residents to experience the rich architectural history from the community’s industrial past.

Sustainability and the Re-Use of Historic Properties, $2,000
City of Valparaiso, Valparaiso

The City of Valparaiso will host the GreenTown Conference on Sept. 27-28, 2012, an event that attracts civic leaders and others interested in sustainable development. This grant will help to bring Adrian Scott Fine of the Los Angeles Conservancy to the conference to speak about the re-use of historic properties.

The Greatest Generation, $2,000
School City of East Chicago, East Chicago

High school students in the Social Studies Club of East Chicago Public Schools will research and identify historic structures in their city as they existed when the World War II generation came home in the 1940s. They will present their project at East Chicago Central High School’s annual Parent Night on Oct. 25, 2012.

“The communities and organizations funded by these grants have outstanding stories that need to be told,” said Keira Amstutz, president and CEO of Indiana Humanities. “We couldn’t be happier helping spread their stories and foster an appreciation for history among community members and young children.”

Indiana Humanities provides two annual grant programs: Historic Preservation Education Grants, in partnership with Indiana Landmarks, which supports educational projects related to historic structures; and Humanities Initiative Grants, given to nonprofit organizations to conduct public programs emphasizing the humanities. Humanities Initiative Grants are awarded twice a year—the next deadline is Aug. 1.

In the past five years Indiana Humanities, with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, has awarded 265 grants totaling nearly $350,000 to nonprofit groups in 73Indianacities and towns.

In addition to Historic Preservation Education Grants, Indiana Landmarks operates three grant programs that help Hoosier nonprofit organizations preserve historic places: African American Landmark Fund grants; Endangered Places Grants; and, in cooperation with the Central Indiana Community Foundation, Marion County Preservation Fund grants.