Old San Rafael Neighborhood Organization

Church to be restored

Apr 13, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Danielle Dascalos at 303-427-0921 or 720-837-3845

Or Nicole Hernandez at (303) 534-5288 Ext. 16
www.historicdenver.org




Historic Denver is awarded $160,015 from the State Historical Fund to the Restore

Church on 23rd and Washington







Historic Denver-April 12, 2005?– Built in 1883, the Gothic Revival building on the corner of 23rd and Washington has long been in need of a restoration. The current congregation that owns the building is 430 Years Church of God in Christ, a struggling population that does not have the extra funds to support the restoration necessary on their building

Historic Denver, through its Sacred Landmarks Preservation Program has been working with the pastor of the church for 3 years on planning the restoration. Historic Denver first secured a $10,000 State Historical Fund (SHF) grant to complete a Historic Structure Assessment with an architect. On behalf of the congregation Historic Denver submitted a restoration grant application to the State Historical Fund and was awarded $160,015 that will pay for roof and masonry restoration on the building.

The building is a contributing historic structure to the San Rafael National Historic District, located 8 blocks northeast of downtown near Five Points. Currently the church serves a small, low-income African American congregation who would like to expand their outreach programs and the capacity of the historic building.

In the past year the organization has partnered with Exempla Healthcare Saint Joseph?’s Hospital in hosting a health fair for the community once a month. Topics center around healthcare for the uninsured that include: adult healthcare screenings, pediatric services, and immunizations. The congregation also prepares 50 Thanksgiving dinners annually for the needy and provides packages of toys and ham to families in need.

Restoration work is scheduled to begin early this summer. Once Roof and masonry work is completed the congregation hopes to raise funds for further restoration and maintenance of the building.





Background

Historic Denver, Inc.

Historic Denver, Inc. was founded in 1970 by citizens who were increasingly alarmed at the loss of the city?’s historic fabric due to urban renewal and insensitive development. The primary catalyst for the group?’s efforts, led by Ann Love, wife of then Governor John Love, was the donation of the Margaret ?“Molly?” Tobin Brown?’s home and the opportunity to preserve the structure for future generations of Denverites. For the last 34 years, Historic Denver has developed programs to help protect Denver?’s most valuable cultural and architectural landmarks. Historic Denver is one of the leading urban preservation organizations in the country and has a membership of over 1,700 citizens.

Our Sacred Landmarks Preservation initiative is the newest program of Historic Denver. Formed by a group of concerned clergy, congregants, and community members in 1999, the group joined forces with Historic Denver in the fall of 2000. With help from Partners for Sacred Places, the University of Pennsylvania, the Piton Foundation, and the Denver Clergy Committee, the Sacred Landmarks Preservation program conducted a survey of 25 diverse faith-based congregations in Denver?’s inner city to find out how they meet the needs of their community. While these congregations reported over 1,350 community programs as occurring in their facilities, many of the buildings are old and they cannot keep up with the physical demands placed on the structures. It became obvious that more must be accomplished to protect, preserve and maintain these important historic structures. The partnership and subsequent efforts are designed to keep inner city historic sacred places functioning as community centers.



State Historical Fund



The State Historical Fund (SHF) is the outcome of a 1990 citizen initiative legalizing limited-stakes gaming in Black Hawk, Central City and Cripple Creek, with the stipulation that 28 percent of these tax revenues would be used to protect Colorado?’s heritage. In 1993-under the administration of the Colorado Historical Society-SHF began awarding grants to public and non-profit organizations statewide for the purpose of preserving and interpreting Colorado?’s historic architectural and archeological resources. Types of projects funded include preservation of schools, theaters, agricultural sites, main streets and urban redevelopment initiatives, educational programs, interpretation of historic byways and archeological analysis. To date, SHF has awarded over $125 million in public funds to more than 2400 projects. SHF?’s contributions have directly benefited the economics of communities throughout Colorado by leveraging additional private funds, creating jobs, stimulating various industries and providing tax revenues.