Preservation Maryland will Manage Federal Grant for First LGBTQ National Register Nominations

BALTIMORE - June 15, 2020 - PRLog -- Preservation Maryland, a statewide non-profit dedicated to historic preservation and public history, is managing a Certified Local Government (CLG) grant that will result in the first-ever historic designation of a property in Maryland for its significance to LGBTQ history. The grant, awarded by the Maryland Historical Trust with funding from the National Park Service, supports LGBTQ site documentation in the City of Baltimore and Montgomery County.

The research will be conducted by Dr. Susan Ferentinos, author of the forthcoming Historical Context Statement on Maryland LGBTQ history, funded by the Maryland Historical Trust's Historic Preservation Non-Capital Grant Program.  Building on that research, the CLG grant will fund three new National Register of Historic Places nominations in Baltimore City and two Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties forms in Montgomery County.

In Baltimore City, the properties that are planned to be nominated to the National Register include the site of early 1920-30s social events and drag performances in West Baltimore, a long-running bar, and a health clinic important in the era of the AIDS epidemic that is still serving Baltimore's LGBTQ community. In Montgomery County, the residences of two influential and out Marylanders will be documented and submitted to the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties.

Of the more than 90,000 properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places, fewer than 20 reference LGBTQ historical significance. There are no sites or districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland for LGBTQ historical significance.

Preservation Maryland Executive Director, Nicholas Redding commented on the organization's commitment to diversifying the historic records in Maryland, "We're proud of our organization's work to uncover new perspectives of Maryland history from the LGBTQ community. The stories that we're uncovering and the project's inclusive community-driven approach are new model for public history."