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Hampton Hotels' Save-A-Landmark Program Draws Volunteers to Vermont Art Gallery & Library
Local Hotels Help Preserve St. Johnsbury Athenaeum during National Anti-Boredom Month
McLean, Va., July 15, 2010— Looking for ways to cure summer boredom? Hampton Hotels’ Save-A-Landmark program has the perfect remedy - a visit to a roadside attraction! Today, more than a dozen Hampton Hotel team members will help preserve the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum in Vermont in honor of National Anti-Boredom Month. St. Johnsbury Athenaeum is a center for culture and learning, containing both a library and historic art gallery.
Volunteers will spend the day working with Athenaeum staff to sand and protect the building’s front entrance, preserve original wood furnishings and brass fixtures, return the Magazine Mezzanine level staircase to the original color of its time and prepare the children’s library for the installation of a new sustainable floor. Overall, Hampton Hotels donated $10,000 towards the projects and future preservation efforts.
“Hampton Hotels is delighted to continue preserving historic landmarks, such as the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, during our 10th year of the Save-A-Landmark program,” said Judy Christa-Cathey, Vice President, Global Brand Marketing, Hampton Hotels. “We hope the hard work our volunteers are doing will inspire people to hit the road this summer and find their own local landmarks to visit and support.”
St. Johnsbury Athenaeum is a historic treasure in Vermont. It was built as a public library in 1871, and donated to the town of St. Johnsbury by the prominent Fairbanks family, whose legacy stems from the invention of the platform scale. An art gallery was added in 1873, and started out as a small collection which was also donated by the Fairbanks family. Today the collection holds more than a hundred works of art, primarily by American painters and members of the Hudson River School, a nineteenth century art movement consisting of landscape painters inspired by romanticism. TIME magazine once referred to the Athenaeum’s art gallery as “the United States’ oldest unaltered art gallery still standing.” The site was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1996, and is one of only ten libraries in the nation that claims this title.
The St. Johnsbury Athenaeum is the third landmark to be restored in 2010 as a part of the “All-American Landmarks” campaign and the 53rd landmark to be refurbished by the Save-a-Landmark program overall. This year, Save-A-Landmark is devoted to the preservation of landmarks that represent what it means to be American. Each holds a significant piece of American history that can be preserved for future generations. Next, the program will travel to Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark. and President Lincoln’s Cottage in Washington, D.C. The Save-A-Landmark program has already refurbished Wheeler Historic Farm in Salt Lake City, Utah and the Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer in Grand Island, Neb. earlier this year.
Last fall, the public voted and five landmarks were chosen to be restored in Arkansas, Nebraska, Utah, Vermont, and Washington, D.C. in 2010. Sites are chosen after extensively researching refurbishment needs and availability of Hampton volunteers. To nominate a landmark, go to www.hamptonlandmarks.com. Follow the Save-A-Landmark program on www.twitter.com/HamptonFYI and www.facebook.com/Hampton for the latest updates.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of Hampton Hotels’ Save-A-Landmark program. During the past decade, the program has helped research landmarks in need, promoted landmark sites and their importance, facilitated tens of thousands of volunteer hours, and donated several tons of supplies - all at an investment of more than $2.5 million. Uniting its hotels together in the communities they serve, Hampton team member-volunteers work hand-in-hand on the landmarks while Hampton provides the financial support to refurbish selected sites. The Save-A-Landmark program has already successfully refurbished a landmark in 43 United States, as well as sites in Canada and Mexico.