National Cathedral Wins Preservation Funds Contest
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Washington National Cathedral and George Washington's Mount Vernon estate have both won $100,000 grants among 24 sites around the nation's capital competing for historic preservation funds.
The earthquake-damaged National Cathedral won the most votes from the public over the past three weeks, earning nearly 1.4 million points in the Partners in Preservation program.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express announced the winners Monday, awarding $1 million in preservation funds to sites in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.
The cathedral will use the funds to repair its nave vaulting, which has been draped with netting to catch falling debris since the earthquake. Mount Vernon won $100,000 to paint, plaster and restore Washington's dining room.
Eleven other sites also won grants ranging from $50,000 to $90,000.
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