Partners in Preservation Competition

Image from Paragon Carousel website

With the warmer weather approaching (almost here, really), we’re mentally preparing ourselves for the inevitable: tourists. Lots and lots of tourists. People from across the country and the world are drawn to Boston to experience the environment in which we Bostonians find ourselves every day: a unique urban landscape, both historic and modern.

But with the swarms of tourists on the Freedom Trail and Duck Tours, it’s all too easy to step back and leave the city’s historic sites to visitors. After all, we see these places all the time. The truth, though, is that historic sites are in constant danger of development, demolition, or disrepair. The locations that Bostonians pass by day after day might someday not be there anymore.

There are lots of great groups and institutions to keep this from happening, but thanks to a recent collaboration between American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP), the public can participate in historic preservation in an entirely new way. With a program called “Partners in Preservation,” American Express has pledged $1 million to help preserve and restore historic places in the Greater Boston area. With an American Idol-like, vote-for-your-favorite online voting system, the public can choose from 25 sites in the Boston area. The site that receives the highest number of votes is guaranteed a grant, and the remaining grants will be determined by the NTHP and an advisory council. The public can vote once a day through May 17th.

The historic places up for grants from this program are diverse, ranging from churches to carousels, schooners to schools, town halls to theaters. A full list of grant nominees is below. And on this Saturday and Sunday (May 2nd and 3rd), all of these historic places will hold open houses, featuring free or discounted events and activities—9 of which are in Boston. For descriptions of each site and details about open houses, visit Partners in Preservation.

Post contributed by Kate Danckert. Full list of nominated sites after the jump.