Local org competing for grant money to restore historic Rose Park church
For the second year in a year, Salt Lake City residents have the opportunity to help restore a historic local building with just the click of the button. A historic church at the northwest corner of the 1100 West and 400 North intersection in Rose Park is one of 20 historic sites vying for funding as part the Partners in Preservation Campaign.
Partners in Preservation is a community-based partnership created in 2006 to engage the public in preserving historic places. The program is a collaboration with Main Street America, American Express and The National Trust for Historic Preservation and to-date, the group has committed over $22 million in support of more than 200 historic sites across the country.
The local organization, Earth Community Garden & Food Pantry want to convert the historic church into the New Hope Community Center, a full-time community center that will include a business incubator, public kitchen and community garden. The church was completed in 1902 and was at one time the headquarters and studio for the hit TV series “Touched by an Angel.”
This year the campaign will award $2 million in grants to historic sites on America’s Main Streets. According to a statement from the program, each of the 20 sites featured in the campaign played a role in the development of a diverse nation or the struggle for equal rights. Until October 26, the public can vote for their favorite Partners in Preservation: Main Street site at VoteYourMainStreet.org, hosted by media partner National Geographic.
“When we tell America’s full history, we shift the conversation about who we are as a country and where we are going,” said Germonique Ulmer, vice president of public affairs, National Trust for Historic Preservation in a statement. “Whether it’s the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, the Women’s Building in San Francisco, or the many other diverse places participating in this year’s Partners in Preservation program, they offer us an opportunity both to learn the stories of our collective past and to create spaces for community empowerment for generations to come.”
In addition to being able to vote for their favorite historic site, the public will also have an opportunity to enter sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip to Washington D.C. at the close of the campaign, sponsored by National Geographic and Delta Air Lines.
The historic sites with the most votes will receive a share of $2 million in preservation funding. Winners will be announced on October 29.
The New Hope Community Center is Salt Lake’s second project to vie for preservation funds through the Partners in Preservation campaign. In 2017, the campaign awarded Studio Elevn, a film production and creative coworking company, $50,000 to redevelop the Granary’s Pickle and Hide Buildings into a 1.5-acre, energy-efficient, creative campus for the local arts community.
