Mount Vernon Place Conservancy has been awarded the National Park Service’s “Save America’s Treasures” grant, a prestigious and highly competitive honor awarded under the NPS’s Historical Preservation Fund.
The $750,000 grant will be used for Mount Vernon Place Conservancy’s next major restoration project: the revitalization of the North and South Squares. In partnership with the City of Baltimore, the project will restore the squares on the Charles Street corridor, which is a main artery of the city and a National Scenic Byway.
The revitalization is Phase 2 of a three-part master plan for Mount Vernon Place, in which features will be added to make the parks more widely accessible to people using wheelchairs or other mobility aids. Plans include “repairing hardscape and deteriorating stone, widening sidewalks and adding strategic lighting for pedestrian safety, implementing new irrigation and stormwater management systems to reduce water use, updating electrical infrastructure to meet programming needs, and installing engineered soils and new plantings to ensure the viability of the Squares’ ecology, resulting in more lush and vibrant gardens,” according to the press release.
The National Park Service’s FY2023 funding cycle awarded 59 projects for preservation projects of national significance, for a total of $25.7 million in grants. Conservancy’s project is the only award in the State of Maryland this year. This additional federal support adds to substantial support committed by the City, State, and Federal government. Private individuals and foundations have also contributed monetarily to the project.
The Conservancy’s request — $750,000 — was fully funded and was the highest possible award amount. The Save America’s Treasures award will be the first major investment in the parks of Mount Vernon Place in over 100 years and bring to $9.5 million the Conservancy’s $13.5 million fundraising goal.
“Mount Vernon Place is the centerpiece of a National Historic Landmark District and the geographic and historic heart of the city of Baltimore,” said Lance Humphries, executive director of the Mount Vernon Place Conservancy. “We are tremendously honored to have received this highly sought after award which recognizes Mount Vernon Place’s importance to our nation.”
The squares are difficult to use in their current configuration, as they’re inaccessible and at times, dangerous for pedestrians and people who use wheelchairs. The plan involves restoring the marble and granite to maintain the character-defining historic elements. The parks’ infrastructure, however, will be upgraded for 21st-century use. The transformation should yield North and South Squares that are pedestrian friendly, accessible to all sorts of mobility aids, ecologically sustainable, and capable of enduring and thriving with an increased volume of visitors well into the next century.
Read more about the Save America’s Treasures grant by clicking this link and about the Conservancy’s vision for the future by clicking this link.
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