Thank you!
Thanks to everyone who voted for the Earthworks! Because of your support, Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks Park has been named recipient of a $70,000 grant award in the 2010 Partners in Preservation program! This is a huge accomplishment given the competition in the Partners in Preservation initiative! A special congratulations to The Schooner Adventuress for winning the popular vote.
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The photos above show how there used to be a rock lined channel that ran through the split rings. Now grass has overgrown this water feature. The funding from Partners in Preservation will allow us to restore this channel, improve drainage in the bowls and repave the pathways. With funding already secured from 4Culture and Kent Parks, we will be re-grading the double ring pond late this summer. We are also working with volunteers to remove invasive plant species throughout the Park.
Press Release
Kent’s “Dam” Park Wins $70,000 “Partners in Preservation” Award Thanks to Community Support
KENT, Wash. — June 15, 2010 — American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation announced today Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks Park has been named recipient of a $70,000 grant award in the 2010 “Partners in Preservation” program.
One of 25 historic place contenders, Herbert Bayer Earthworks competed in a month long contest where the public voted online for their favorite places to receive funding.
“We couldn’t have done it without the public’s support,” said Cheryl dos Remedios, Visual Arts Coordinator for the City of Kent. “Their votes really made a difference. We finished in 12th place with three percent of the vote.”
Grant winners were chosen by an Advisory Committee comprised of civic and preservation leaders from the Seattle-Puget Sound area, as well as representatives from American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Factors that were considered in the selection process included public voting results and community support for the project, the preservation needs of the site, historic significance, project completion ability, and the role the site plays in the community.
“Funding from this grant will be used to restore the sculptural and artistic elements of the Earthworks to their original design. This includes restoring the channel that runs through the split ring and connects into the double ring pond. We’ll also fix drainage in the bowls of the park and repave pathways,” Remedios said.
The Earthworks is not only an internationally recognized artwork and popular public park but it also serves as a water detention dam, protecting the Kent Valley from flooding since its opening in 1982.
Information about all of the grant recipients can be found at www.preservationnation.org/partners-in-preservation/seattle/results.html.
About Partners in Preservation
Launched in 2006, Partners in Preservation is a program in which American Express, in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, pledged $5.5 million over a five-year period toward preserving historic places throughout the United States. American Express has already allocated $4.4 million in preservation grants and in support for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which has allowed recipients to make significant progress in achieving their preservation goals.
In this partnership, American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation seek to increase the public’s awareness of the importance of historic preservation in the United States and to preserve America’s historic and cultural landmarks. The program also seeks to inspire long-term support from local citizens for the historic places at the heart of their communities.
In other news:
The Earthworks is a finalist for a grant from the NEA Mayors' Institute on City Design 25th Anniversary Initiative. We’ve proposed a bicycle tour that will connect the Bayer, Morris, Jordan and GRNRA. The goal is to bring public awareness to artist designed stormwater management solutions at a time when the valley is at risk of flooding.