The Mount Urges Saving of "Save America's Treasures"03:47PM / Friday, March 12, 2010
LENOX, Mass. - The Mount is urging public support for the vital national preservation program, Save America's Treasures (SAT), which is slated for elimination in the 2011 federal budget. Since its 1998 inception, Save America's Treasures has funded eight Berkshire County historic sites: The Mount, Chesterwood, the Colonial Theatre, the Mahaiwe Theater, Norman Rockwell Museum, the Reverend Harrison House Museum, the William Cullen Bryant Home Homestead, and, just last year, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. These Berkshire cultural treasures are among nearly 60 sites funded across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The Mount and Save America's Treasures
In 1999, The Mount received one of Save America's Treasures first and largest federal grants, nearly $2.9 million for the estate's restoration. This federal funding was matched by $1.5 million from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and another $240,000 raised by SAT's private partner at the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Mount remains one of Save America's Treasures flagship preservation sites.
"The Mount is one of many irreplaceable architectural and cultural gems that Save America's Treasures has been proud to support," says Bobbie Greene McCarthy, director of Save America's Treasures at the National Trust. "This program raises awareness and new resources to ensure the protection for the icons of our national heritage that we can't afford to lose. At the same time, it creates jobs our country needs."
"It is not an exaggeration to say that without Save America's Treasures, the restoration of The Mount simply would not have happened," says Susan Wissler, executive director of The Mount. "It has been that important."
Wissler adds, "The program has also been a vital source of funds for seven other historic sites in the Berkshires. The loss of this essential and highly effective program would be devastating to the preservation of our unique and valuable history, in Berkshire County and around the nation." |
