Apply to Be a Grants Reviewer
Do you ever wonder how we review and select grants for funding? The Maryland Heritage Areas Program is seeking panelists to review grant applications for the 2021 fiscal year. Successful candidates will receive a unique opportunity to learn about and support Maryland’s historic, natural and cultural heritage, get an inside look into our grants process, and gain insight into what makes a good grant proposal. It's also a way to give back to the broader heritage community of Maryland!
Panelists can have experience in a broad range of areas, from construction and marketing to historic preservation and outdoor recreation. The panel selection will focus on geographic and human diversity, as well as diversity of experience. Visit our website to learn more and fill out the application by Friday, November 22, 2019.
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Come Work with Us!
MHT's Office of Preservation Services is currently recruiting for an Administrator of the Historic Preservation Capital Grants Program. The successful candidate will have the strong technical knowledge and interpersonal skills needed to manage our Historic Preservation Capital Grants Program. You can read more about that position and apply here.
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In documenting historic properties and cultural sites, historians, architectural historians, archeologists, and others have frequently focused on the legacies and associations of powerful people. This practice routinely minimized or omitted the stories – and even the existence – of ordinary, often marginalized, people whose lives and efforts also shaped the world we live in today. Omissions have material consequences as well: without recognition in the National Register of Historic Places, in particular, these sites may not benefit from review during Federal or State projects, and they may not qualify for historic preservation financial incentives. In public meetings to develop PreserveMaryland II, the statewide preservation plan, we heard loud and clear from constituents that more needs to be done to illuminate these hidden histories.
Over the past several years, MHT has taken steps to help tell the full story of our state’s historic places. In 2014, we received a matching grant from the National Park Service to support a partnership between MHT, Baltimore Heritage, Inc. (BHI) and the Baltimore National Heritage Area to help document properties associated with African-American Civil Rights in Baltimore City. BHI produced a historic context and a National Register Multiple Property Documentation Form for "Civil Rights in Baltimore, Maryland, 1831–1976," as well as a National Register form for an associated property, the Arch Social Club - now a focal point of the newly designated Pennsylvania Avenue Black Arts and Entertainment District.
The Arch Social Club building in Baltimore. Photo credit: Eli Pousson
Building toward the 2020 celebration of the anniversary of the 19th Amendment, former graduate intern Kacy Rohn completed groundbreaking research on the women’s suffrage movement in Maryland, which uncovered the contributions and achievements of so many Maryland women. Upcoming efforts will include amending the existing National Register documentation for the Lyric Theater in Baltimore, where Susan B. Anthony gave her last public speech, “Failure Is Impossible,” at the 1906 National Convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Another amendment will add context to the Westminster Historic District in Carroll County, where the Just Government League, a prominent suffrage organization, held meetings at the Opera House/Odd Fellows’ Hall.
Maj. Gen. Linda L. Singh, Adjutant General for Maryland, and MHT Director Elizabeth Hughes unveil a historical marker celebrating the Just Government League. Photo credit: Maryland National Guard.
In 2019, MHT is excited to partner with Preservation Maryland on a multi-pronged project to document LGBTQ history in Maryland. MHT awarded Preservation Maryland two grants – a Historic Preservation Non-Capital grant and a Certified Local Government grant (on behalf of Baltimore City and Montgomery County) – totaling over $100,000 for this important effort. In addition to a comprehensive statewide context study, the work will include an interactive map and database of historic sites, accompanying National Register nominations and updates, and recommendations for future site designation, survey, and documentation. You can explore the map and contribute information to the project through Preservation Maryland's web page.
On Thursday, October 24, you can learn more about these and other efforts at MHT's annual Architectural Fieldwork Symposium in Crownsville. (Pre-registration is required.) The agenda includes presentations on the African American Experience during Reconstruction by historian Edie Wallace, the LGBTQ historic context study by Dr. Sue Ferentinos, and DNR's Curatorship Program by Peter Morrill. Well-known architectural historian Willie Graham will speak about documenting domestic service outbuildings in Southern Maryland, typically the work spaces of individuals bypassed by earlier histories: enslaved people, servants, women, and children. There will be plenty of time to network with fellow colleagues from the field. We hope to see you there!
The Historic Preservation Capital Grant Program promotes the acquisition, restoration, and rehabilitation of historic properties in Maryland. Eligible properties are listed in or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, either individually or as a contributing structure within a district. You can register now to learn more at grant workshops, to be held around the state November 6-21. Additional information is available on MHT's website.
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OUR HISTORY, OUR HERITAGE: BLOG ROUND-UP
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