Landmarks Illinois awards more than $25,000 in grant funding to preservation projects across the state

CHICAGO, Feb. 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Landmarks Illinois has awarded $25,500 in grant funding to preservation projects in the communities of Chicago, Effingham, El Paso, Gibson City, Macomb and Middletown. The matching grants were awarded through Landmarks Illinois’ Preservation Heritage Fund and Barbara C. and Thomas E. Donnelley II Preservation Fund for Illinois grant programs. 

Preservation Heritage Fund grant recipients

Landmarks Illinois’ Preservation Heritage Fund grants are intended to provide monetary assistance to significant structures or sites in Illinois that are under threat of demolition, in imminent deterioration, in need of stabilization, in need of structural or reuse evaluation or need to be evaluated for landmark eligibility.

A total of $23,000 has been awarded to five Illinois preservation efforts in this latest round of grant funding. Visit our website to learn more about each grant recipient.

• First Baptist Congregational Church, Chicago: $5,000 to make roof repairs on the iconic church in Chicago’s West Loop constructed in 1869-1871.
• Project XV Museum, El Paso: $5,000 to make necessary repairs, including window replacement and electrical upgrades, to the historic Legacy Building, which Project XV Corp. is currently repurposing into Illinois’ first voting rights museum.
• Gibson City Restoration Association, Gibson City: $5,000 to make priority repairs on the Burwell Building, an 1883 building on the city’s commercial corridor named after Gibson City’s first banker, MT Burwell.
• Western Illinois Museum, Macomb: $3,000 to repoint the Old Macomb Motors building, home to the Western Illinois Museum.
• Knapp Chesnut Becker Historical Society, Middletown: $5,000 for masonry and roof repairs to the historical society’s 1840 Federal-style building, which is thought to be one of the oldest brick structures in Logan County.

Donnelley Preservation Fund grant recipients

The Barbara C. and Thomas E. Donnelley II Preservation Fund for Illinois provides monetary assistance to preserve or protect significant structures and sites in Illinois that are under threat of demolition, in imminent deterioration, in need of stabilization, in need of structural or reuse evaluation or need to be evaluated for landmark eligibility. One project was awarded a grant through this latest round of funding. Visit our website to learn more about the grant recipient.

• The Heart Theatre, Effingham: $2,500 to conduct a feasibility study on the historic, Art Deco cinema that was recently purchased by a new owner who is working with the City of Effingham to rehabilitate the vacant property.

More about Landmarks Illinois grants

Landmarks Illinois grants are given on a matching basis, requiring the recipient to raise funds equal or greater to the Landmarks Illinois grant amount. Landmarks Illinois grant funding is used toward preserving historic and significant places in communities throughout the state. Often, these small grants help spark community engagement around the preservation of a place and help boost local fundraising efforts for the preservation project. 

Grant applications for the next round of funding through the Preservation Heritage Fund and Barbara C. and Thomas E. Donnelley II Preservation Fund for Illinois grant programs are due April 1. Visit our website to learn more about our grant programs.

About Landmarks Illinois

We are People Saving Places for People. Landmarks Illinois is a membership-based, historic preservation nonprofit organization serving the people of Illinois. We inspire and empower stakeholders to save places that matter to them by providing free guidance, practical and financial resources and access to strategic partnerships. For more information, visit www.Landmarks.org.

Media Contact:
Kaitlyn McAvoy
Director of Communications
Landmarks Illinois
[email protected]

SOURCE Landmarks Illinois