January 18, 2017
The MotorCities National Heritage Area, a non-profit organization dedicated to the historic preservation of the automotive industry, has completed its current Challenge Grant cycle awarding more than $65,000 to groups telling the story of how “We put the world on wheels.”
Grant recipients for 2017 include a diverse assortment of projects from physical restoration to historically significant buildings once owned by Henry Ford to an interactive display of a Model A engine. These projects represent the best in historic preservation for the auto industry and labor story – both such vital pieces to our common industrial legacy.
[ Interested in supporting the preservation of automotive heritage? Check out our 2017 membership benefits ]
“National heritage areas are large, lived-in landscapes and MotorCities is no exception,” said Shawn Pomaville, MotorCities Executive Director. “It encompasses 16 counties and approximately 6 million residents. Our grant program reflects this expanse and is an important component to protecting this enduring cultural and economic story.”
There were a total of 10 projects awarded grant funding this past grant cycle, including the following:
- Second Shift: From Crisis to Collaboration (Lansing) – $18,000
- SciEngiMathePloration Show (Southfield) – $3,436
- Building updates for Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum (Ypsilanti) – $1,206
- Worker’s Row House, Corktown Experience (Detroit) – $2,000
- Sharing our Automotive Heritage, asbe Foundation (Rochester) – $2,900
- Interactive Model A Starting Display, Model A Ford Foundation in partnership with the Gilmore Car Museum (Hickory Corners) – $5,500
- Raise the Roof, Ford Piquette Avenue Plant (Detroit) – $6,600
- Cherry Hill Ford Factory, Partnership for the Arts (Canton) – $19,500
- Haven Hill Edsel Ford Barn Exterior Plant, Friends of Highland Recreation Area (White Lake) – $600
- Documentary film: R. E. Olds and Industrial Lansing, R.E. Olds Transportation Museum (Lansing) – $7,287
The MotorCities Challenge Grant program has been funding historical and cultural preservation projects in southeast Michigan since 1998 when Congress passed the Automobile National Heritage Area Act. Since that time, MotorCities, an affiliate of the National Park Service and the state’s only National Heritage Area, has awarded nearly $1.4 million in grant monies to hundreds of projects.
Click here for more information on our grants program.
For more information on MotorCities, visit the website at motorcities.org; you can also follow them on Twitter and Instagram (@motorcities) or find them on Facebook.