American Express, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Main Street America announced the winners of the 2018 Partners in Preservation: Main Streets campaign. The 11 winning historic sites will receive a total of $1.6 million in grants to fund their respective preservation projects. At the outset of the campaign, an additional $400,000 was allocated to the 20 Main Street communities that participated in the program to increase public awareness of the importance of these historic places and build grassroots support for the participating Main Street districts.

The 2018 Partners in Preservation: Main Streets winning sites are:

• The Tabor Opera House, Leadville, CO*
• The Women’s Building, San Francisco, CA
• City Hall Clock Tower, Biddeford, ME*
• The Church of the Epiphany, Los Angeles, CA
• Bronzeville Cookin’, Chicago, IL*
• Wah Chong Tai Mercantile, Butte, MT*
• Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, Birmingham, AL*
• Historic First Baptist Church, San Marcos, TX*
• Spring Street, Danville, VA*
• National Women’s Hall of Fame, Seneca Falls, NY
• The Arch Social Club, Baltimore, MD*

Partners in Preservation is a community-based partnership created in 2006 to engage the public in preserving historic places. To-date, it has committed over $22 million in support of more than 200 historic sites across the country.

The 2018 Partners in Preservation: Main Street campaign featured 20 sites around the country which celebrate diversity and the struggle for equality. The sites participated in a public voting campaign hosted by media partner National Geographic from September 24 through October 26.

“We are pleased that such varied sites won grants for their historic preservation projects,” said Richard Brown, vice president of philanthropy, American Express. “From churches at the center of the Chicano and Civil Rights movements in California and Alabama to the birthplace of Women’s Rights in New York, these historic places located in the heart of America’s Main Streets highlight that our diverse history is deeply embedded in communities from coast to coast.”

“This year’s Partners in Preservation campaign saw a record-level of engagement by both the sites and the public,” said Germonique Ulmer, vice president of public affairs, National Trust for Historic Preservation. “The campaign’s success further demonstrates local communities’ commitment and support for Main Streets and celebrating our diverse history.”

To read about the winning projects, click here. 

* Main Street and UrbanMain communities