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Five American icons have been selected to be the 2009/2010 Tourism Cares/Globus Grantees. In 2004, Globus partnered up with Tourism Cares, a nonprofit public charity that preserves travel by awarding grants to natural, cultural and historic sites worldwide, to target icons for their preservation and restoration funding.
The five grantees are:
The Bostonian Society for the Old State House, Boston:
Opened in 1713, the Old State House is the oldest surviving public building in Boston. The Declaration of Independence was first read from its balcony in 1776. The grant will be used to make the site visitor-friendly and accessible to people with disabilities in preparation for its tricentennial in 2013.
Friends of Independence Hall for Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia:
This park is a 20-block interactive urban walking museum. It is designed to preserve, manage, operate, maintain, protect and interpret park resources associated with the American Revolution. The grant will help reupholster the Rising Sun Chair, which was used by George Washington when he presided over the 1787 Constitutional Convention. The grant funding will also help the site gather objects for the park's permanent museum artifact collection
Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum, Memphis:
This exhibition tells the history of Memphis music and the musicians of all racial and socio-economic backgrounds who overcame obstacles to create the music that they loved. The exhibition currently concludes with Memphis music of the 1960s and early 1970s but does not convey the impact that Memphis music had on world culture. The grant will be used to create a final gallery to bring this story forward. The funding will allow for added memorabilia, display cases, text panels and wall murals.
Parkway Partners Programs for Louis Armstrong Memorial Park, New Orleans:
This nonprofit organization provides residents with opportunities to create and maintain public green space to improve the quality of life in the city. The park contains the New Orleans Municipal Auditorium, the Mahalia Jackson Theatre of the Performing Arts, Congo Square and part of the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park. The grant will be used to care for the park's oak trees for the next two years.
Yellowstone Association for Yellowstone National Park, WY:
The Association fosters the public's understanding and appreciation of Yellowstone National Park. The grant funding will help with the renovation of the 1903 W.A. Hall's Mercantile building located in Gardiner, MT. It has become the Association's new educational headquarters and houses a bookstore where visitors can purchase maps and guidebooks. It also holds offices for staff and two classrooms.