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More Historic Sites Given Preservation Grants

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Thirteen sites in the Twin Cities metro area have now been awarded preservation grants of at least $20,000, and an addition 12 will receive some funding for their own restoration projects.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express announced the awards on Thursday as part of the Partners in Preservation Program, which solicited votes on Facebook to see which of the initial 25 sites would receive grants.

Last month, it was announced the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis won the popular vote on the social networking site. The Basilica was granted $110,000.

On Thursday, awards for 12 more sites were announced. The largest grant will go to the Emerge Career and Technology Center in Minneapolis. They will receive $110,000 to restore the library's interior, which includes woodwork from 1893.

Some of the other places awarded grants include the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis, which will get $90,000 to restore the first-floor kitchen, dry storage room and butler's pantry; the Soap Factory in Mineapolis, which was awarded $70,000 to repair the roof; Fort Snelling's Upper Post, which will get $40,000 to restore the rare historic Seth Thomas/Hotchkiss model clock in the clock tower; and the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand, which will receive $30,000 to restore the architecture "in character with the 1937 structure."

The seven remaining places set to receive at least $20,000 in grants are:

• Waterford Iron Bridge, Waterford Township: $95,000.
• Pilgrim Baptist Church, St. Paul: $86,000.
• Harriet Tubman Center East, Maplewood: $84,000.
• C.S.P.S. Sokol Hall, St. Paul: $80,000.
• Historic Pilot Knob, Mendota Heights: $75,000.
• Christ Lutheran Church on Capitol Hill, St. Paul: $50,000.
• Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery, Minneapolis: $20,000.

Awards of $5,000 will be given to the remaining 12 sites originally in the running for the Facebook contest, which are: Banfill-Locke Center for the Arts, Fridley; Chaska Athletic Field, Chaska; Episcopal Church of Transfiguration, Belle Plaine; Fitzgerald Theater, St. Paul; Hennepin Center for the Arts, Minneapolis; James J. Hill House, Saint Paul; Landmark Center, St. Paul; Mill Ruins Park, Minneapolis; Minnehaha Park, Minneapolis; Minnesota Transportation Museum, St. Paul; Washington County Historic Courthouse, Stillwater; and Wayzata Depot, Wayzata.

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