The
Bush Administration announced late last month that it would permit federal
funds to go to renovate historic sites used for religious purposes. Interior
Secretary Gale A. Norton made the announcement on the steps of the Old
North Church in Boston, which, as a result of the new policy, will receive
$317,000 for historic renovations through the Save America’s Treasures
program.
“Today’s grant will help make sure the Old North Church,
as a beacon of freedom and a great historic treasure, will continue to
stay strong,” Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton said in remarks
outside the 280-year-old building. Two lanterns displayed in the church
steeple signaled to Paul Revere on April 18, 1775, that the British were
advancing on Lexington and Concord. “Today we have a new policy
that will bring balance to our historic preservation programs and end
a discriminatory double standard that has been applied against religious
properties,” Norton said.
The decision marks a shift from a 1995 Justice Department opinion that
prevented historic preservation grants from going to places actively used
as houses of worship. Norton said the new rule will allow churches, synagogues,
mosques, and other religious institutions to apply for funds under the
Save America’s Treasures program, a public-private partnership between
the Interior Department’s National Park Service and the National
Trust for Historic Preservation. The program administers about $30 million
annually to preserve historic sites.
—Tracy F. Ostroff
Copyright 2003 The American Institute of Architects.
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