Save America's Treasures

Hillary Clinton in front of the Star Spangled Banner, one of the first Save America's Treasures Projects, 1998

Save America's Treasures is a United States federal government initiative to preserve and protect historic buildings, arts, and published works. It is a public-private partnership between the U.S. National Park Service and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The National Endowment for the Arts, Heritage Preservation, and the National Park Foundation also are allied.

History

Save America's Treasures (SAT) was established by Executive Order 13072 in February 1998 by President Bill Clinton, in conjunction with the White House Millennium Council's activities. Instrumental in its founding was then First Lady of the United States Hillary Rodham Clinton.^[1][2] Its Honorary Chair is traditionally the First Lady as designated by the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities ^[3]

On December 9, 2009, First Lady Michelle Obama said “Save America’s Treasures invests in our nation’s irreplaceable legacy of buildings, documents, collections and artistic works. These awards empower communities all over the country to rescue and restore this priceless heritage, and ensure that future generations continue to learn from the voices, ideas, events and people represented by these projects.” Despite this initial endorsement, both the Save America's Treasures and the Preserve America grant programs were later eliminated by the Obama Administration.^[4] On January 30, 2010, President Barack Obama in his "Tough Choices" FY 2011 Budget proposed eliminating the Save America's Treasures and Preserve America grant programs, stating that "both programs lack rigorous performance metrics and evaluation efforts so the benefits are unclear."^[5] The National Trust for Historic Preservation eliminated its Save America's Treasures office in 2011 during a reorganization.

From 1999 - 2010, over $318 million dollars were awarded and matched by over $400 million dollars from other sources, resulting in the preservation of over 1200 significant historic structures and repositories of cultural heritage.^[6] As of 2012, the program had been responsible for the creation of about 16,000 jobs. This corresponds to a cost of about $13,000 to create each job.^[7] According to the American Architectural Foundation, although no new grants have been awarded since 2010, there are 175 ongoing SAT projects.^[8]

List of Official Projects and Awardees Chronologically and By Honorary Chairman^[9][10]

Hillary Clinton, Honorary Chair

1999

• The Mount, Lenox, MA ($2,865,000)
  

  Edith Wharton's home, The Mount, Lenox, MA, 1999 Awardee

2002

• Jay Heritage Center - 1838 Peter Augustus Jay House Rye, NY ($100,000)
  

  1838 Peter Augustus Jay House Rye, NY, 2002 Awardee
• American Architectural Foundation, Washington, DC - Model of World Trade Center ($62,000)

Laura Bush, Honorary Chair

2003 ($14.4 Million Awarded)

• Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, MA - Diaries of John Quincy Adams
• Kennedy Library, Boston, MA Ernest Hemingway's Papers

2005

• Rye Meeting House, Rye, NY ($50,000)

2006

• Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site ($197,058)

2007 ($7.6 Million Awarded)

• Race Street Friends Meetinghouse,Philadelphia, PA

2008

• Pittsburgh Courier Historic Archives, Pittsburgh, PA ($148,000)

2009 ($9.5 Million Awarded)

• Temple University - William Still Collection of Papers, Photographs, and Abolitionist Pamphlets
• Havre Historic Post Office and Courthouse, Gilford, Montana ($100,000)
• Hollyhock House, Los Angeles, CA ($489,000)
• Episcopal Church of the Nativity, Huntsville, AL ($432,216)
• Smithsonian, Washington, DC - National Anthropological Archives ($323,000)
• Old Naval Hospital Washington, D.C. ($150,000)

2010 ( Million Awarded)

• Norman Rockwell Museum Stockbridge, MA - Norman Rockwell’s Works on Paper, Illustrated Posters and Photographs($144,240)
• R. Buckminster Fuller and Anne Hewlett Dome Home Carbondale, IL ($125,000)
• Fort Mason San Francisco, CA ($700,000)
• Mission Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA ($650,000)
• SS Red Oak Victory, Richmond, CA ($700,000)
• Peabody Museum of Natural History - 19th-Century Dinosaur Collections of Othniel Charles Marsh
• Old State House (Little Rock) - Civil War Battle Flag Collection
• Harvard University Peabody Museum - Historic Alaska Native Kayaks and Related Collections
• Washington National Cathedral, Washington, DC ($700,000)
• National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C. - Heye Foundation Collection ($29,905)
• Renwick Gallery, Washington, D.C. ($335,000)

See also

• Historical preservation
• State Historic Preservation Office
• Sustainability

References

Further reading

• "The economic benefits of preserving community character: a practical methodology". Joni Liethe, National Trust for Historic Preservation (1991).

External links

• Official website
• Preserve America Grants Effectiveness (Advisory Council on Historic Preservation)
• The Economics of Historic Preservation (Randall Mason, Brookings Institution)
• The Economics of Historic Preservation: A Community Leader's Guide (Donovan Rypkema, National Trust for Historic Preservation)
• The Economic Benefits of State Historic Preservation Investment Tax Credits
• Measuring the Economic Impact of Federal Historic Properties
• The Preservation Economic Impact Model (National Park Service).
• PlaceEconomics evaluation of Save America's Treasures vs. Economic Stimulus Plan