Party Like It’s 1816! May 25 Gala to Feature Historic Personages + Vintage Motor Car

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Media Advisory
May 18, 2016
Contact Mandy Katz
email | phone: 202.486.7645

Lavishly Honoring the Bicentennial of American Treasure Tudor Place

May 25, 2016 | 6 – 9 p.m.

Washington, DC–Traditional Georgetown understatement will be nowhere in attendance at the annual Garden Party fundraiser for Tudor Place this Wednesday, May 25, when 500 guests are expected to celebrate the site’s Bicentennial in grand style. Along with philanthropists, elected officials, donors, diplomats from 10 countries, and others, “historic attendees” will include Tudor Place’s founders and their servants, kin, and famous friends including the Marquis de Lafayette; John Luckett, who escaped both slavery and the Union Army before working at “Tudor;” and the first President himself, “Grandfather” George Washington.

Party Chair Marcia V. Mayo has spared no extravagance of imagination for this music-filled evening adorned with lush lighting, abundant blooms and costumed interpreters representing fascinating personages from the site’s storied past.

Pierce-Arrow grill and hood ornament

Automotive Special Appearance: 1919 Pierce-Arrow

Members of the press wishing to cover this lavish event and/or extensive preparations for it in the days preceding are asked to contact us now.

In ardent supporter and museum Trustee Ms. Mayo, Tudor Place has found an extraordinary chairperson to mark an extraordinary milestone, the 200th anniversary of an immaculately preserved American house and garden.In keeping with the site’s slogan, America’s Story Lives Here, she has created an event to evoke the site’s storied history and key figures who helped shape it.

In addition to unusual people and lavish music, spectacular cars will feature at the event. As guests enter, they can enjoy examining the museum’s dashing 1919 Pierce-Arrow motorcar, relocated to the front of the historic house (weather permitting) for special viewing. As they depart, they will be met by the fantastically patterned “Lilly Jeep” from Lilly Pulitzer, which opens its Georgetown boutique this week. In between, they can mingle in the five-and-a-half-acre garden, reception rooms of the historic house, and the elegant South Lawn dining marquee dripping with chandeliers and blooms.

TO SEE AND HEAR:collage of Garden Party hats

  • Costumed interpreters representing the historic estate’s past owners, servants, and famous guests, with cast and costumes by Washington National Opera
  • Performers from the Washington National Opera Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program
  • Original, custom-built 1919 Pierce-Arrow motor car and Lilly Jeep.
  • 5 ½ acres of historical gardens and elegant event marquee on South Lawn.
  • Hats.

WHEN:

Wednesday, May 25, 2016, 6-9 pm

WHERE: 1644 31st St. NW, Washington, DC 20007

ABOUT TUDOR PLACE & THE GARDEN PARTY:

Garden Party guest in North Garden

The annual Garden Party, now in its 24th year, is the most significant annual fundraiser for Tudor Place, one of the nation’s first National Historic Landmarks. Tudor Place Foundation since 1983 has preserved and operated the National Historic Landmark as a museum. Its historic landscape, buildings, collections, and archive comprise one of the nation’s largest and most intact urban estates from the Federal era. Cultivated since the 18th century, the landscape provides a living history of American land use over time and a rare expanse of green space in the urban environment. The house and collections, including more than 200 objects owned by George and Martha Washington, mark American progress and change from the agricultural to the digital age, an unparalleled record of social, cultural, political, and labor history.

As a pioneer in historic horticulture and sustainable public gardening, the Tudor Place landscape serves as a learning laboratory for school groups, garden clubs, artists, researchers, and horticulturalists. More than 23,000 people visit the house and garden each year, including more than 3,000 school-aged children from D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, many in Title I schools.

Pierce-Arrow image by Bruce White.
North Garden image by James Brantley.

 

Washington’s Revolutionary War Encampment at Tudor Place

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2 Ways to Cover “The First Oval Office” in its Sole D.C. Appearance

First Oval Office photo and painting

(L) Washington’s Revolutionary War Encampment in 2015 (credit: The First Oval Office). (R) First Oval Office watercolor by Peter Waddell.

media advisory
contact
April 24, 2016 Communications Director Mandy Katz
Bicentennial Communications Assistant Jen Pollakusy
mobile: 202.486.7645
press@tudorplace.org, bicentennial@tudorplace.org

A Tudor Place Bicentennial Event

     George Washington Parke Custis’s most famous acquisition from his grandparents’ home at Mount Vernon was Gen. Washington’s Revolutionary War “marquee,” a hard-used tent in which Custis hosted parties and commemorations. But Custis’s Lee descendants lost it when they sided with the Confederacy, and after the Federal government took the tent for safekeeping, it took Lees descendants more than a century to reclaim it, later selling it for public exhibition. While the original undergoes conservation, reproductions of Washington’s headquarters tent and the dining tent that stood alongside are on tour, coming to just one site in the capital region for just one weekend, and featured during two public events.

Washington, DC – On April 29 and 30, George Washington’s Revolutionary War headquarters and dining tents will be the site of three novel events at Tudor Place in Georgetown, during the encampment’s only stop in the Washington, D.C., region. On the Tudor Place South Lawn, visitors can tour the scrupulous reproduction of “The First Oval Office” and many of its furnishings, experiencing the linen-walled spaces where General Washington and his staff slept, ate, and strategized during critical moments of the Revolutionary War.

Tudor Place has invited the public to view the tent in two settings: an adults-only “sneak peak” evening party, April 29, and a day-long “encampment,” April 30, featuring the tents, colonial crafts and activities, and story-telling and history discussion about the roles of women and African-Americans during the Revolutionary War.

WHAT

Special exhibition of the dining marquee, office, and sleeping quarters that served as George Washington’s Revolutionary War headquarters. The tents will open first for a “Sneak Peek” Tudor Nights cocktail party for adults, Friday evening, April 29, with appearance by costumed interpreter “Mrs. Martha Peter,” founder of Tudor Place, who will chat and answer questions about life on the estate, 18th-19th century politics and events, and early times in the nation’s capital. On Saturday, April 30, guests of all ages can tour the tents during the Revolutionary War Encampment program with activities and features including Mrs. Peter and soldier-enactors, storytelling, and colonial crafts. Press are invited to cover either or both  of these events.

WHEN
  • 6:30 – 8:30 pm, Friday, April 29 (Tudor Nights “Sneak Peak” private event)
  • 10 am – 4 pm, Saturday, April 30 (public viewing)
WHERE

Tudor Place
1644 31st St. NW
Washington, DC 20007

FEATURING
  • Revolutionary War Encampment featuring George Washington’s Revolutionary headquarters marquee and accompanying dining and baggage tent
  • Costumed interpreters to include Tudor Place founder “Mrs. Martha Peter,” played by award-winning actress and Smithsonian scholar Mary Ann Jung (Friday evening + Saturday afternoon), and two costumed revolutionary war interpreters (Saturday daytime).
  • In the HQ tent, furnishings including reproductions of Gen. Washington’s traveling camp stools based on the original in the collection at Tudor Place, one of two remaining from the original set of 18.
  • Candle-making and tea-blending demonstrations and activities (Saturday daytime)
  • Interactive storytelling and discussion about roles of women and African Americans in the Revolutionary War (Saturday daytime)
  • Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, tours of the tent and garden strolls by twilight, and conversation with Mrs. Peter during the Tudor Nights Tent “Sneak Peek” (Friday evening)

Remembering Austin Kiplinger, Tudor Place Champion

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT
November 23, 2015 Mandy Katz
  Director of Communications
  ph: 202.580.7329

This is a charmed place. It just raises your spirits whenever you’re here. And I feel that way and I have felt that way for many years and I’m continuously reminded that there is a continuity in life, and the more we know about it, the better we can cope with changes that are coming… 

— Austin Kiplinger, Honoree, 20th Annual Tudor Place
Spring Garden Party, May 2012

The board and staff of Tudor Place mourn the loss of Trustee Emeritus Austin H. Kiplinger, known as “Kip,” who died November 20 at age 97. His passing leaves a void among lovers of D.C. history. His enthusiasm for preservation and gleanings from our shared past will be sorely missed.

“Working with him for 15 years, I found him to be gracious, ebullient, and generous in sharing his love for the history he knew so well of this city and of Tudor Place,” said Leslie Buhler, Tudor Place Executive Director until October 2015. “He connected the past to the present in very real terms,” she added, praising his “extraordinary memory, sparkle in his eyes, and thirst for knowledge.”

Mr. Kiplinger championed Tudor Place since the museum opened in 1988. He first delved into its history after he and his wife purchased Montevideo, a dilapidated 1830 house in Montgomery County, Maryland, in 1958. Montevideo’s builder, John Parke Custis Peter, was the son of Martha Parke Custis and Thomas Peter, the founders of Tudor Place. Peter built Montevideo to match the Federal-style center block of Tudor Place, his childhood home. His parents’ graves and those of two of their children remain on the property.

With painstaking attention to detail and sound preservation practices, Mr. Kiplinger restored Montevideo, raising his family there with a keen shared interest in its past and its “parentage” at Tudor Place, Ms. Buhler noted. When Tudor Place opened to the public in 1988, he joined the foundation’s Board of Trustees, becoming president two years later and serving in that role for eight years. He continued to support the museum for the rest of his life. Tudor Place celebrated his lasting leadership and commitment in 2012 by naming him honoree of  the 20th Annual Spring Garden Party.

On that occasion, he recalled first encountering Tudor Place not as a homeowner, but as a boy. “When I was in my teens and a student at the great, distinguished Western High School here in Georgetown,” he told the audience of several hundred gathered in his honor, “I used to wander past this great place up on the hill and wonder about it and wonder what went on behind that gate. And little did I know at the time that a lot of American history went on behind that gate, a reflection of it at least, in five generations of one family.”  (See the video.)

A pioneering publisher and journalist, Mr. Kiplinger recognized innately the importance of knowing history to understanding modern times. At Tudor Place, he said in his Garden Party address, six generations of one family “lived through some of the most tortured times in any nation’s history…  And we can deal with the present and the future better if we know something about the past.”

Tudor Place extends condolences to Mr. Kiplinger’s his son and daughter-in-law, Knight and Ann Kiplinger, his companion, Bonnie Barker Nicholson, and the extended Kiplinger family.

Mark Hudson Appointed to Lead Tudor Place Into Its Third Century

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 27, 2015
contact: Mandy Katz

Tudor Place South Facade

Tudor Place and its iconic Federal-style south facade with Portico.
[credit: Ron Blunt Photography]

Tudor Place is pleased to announce the appointment of Mark Hudson as the museum’s next executive director, commencing October 5, 2015, on the cusp of the National Historic Landmark’s bicentennial year. Mr. Hudson succeeds Leslie Buhler,

who is retiring after 15 years of extraordinary leadership during which she established Tudor Place — first opened to the public in 1988 — as a noteworthy contributor to the nation’s historic and cultural life.

“Mark brings to the position extensive professional experience, a strong academic background, and remarkable enthusiasm for the future of Tudor Place,” said Geoffrey B. Baker, president of the Tudor Place Board of Trustees.  Mr. Hudson comes to Tudor Place from the Vermont Historical Society, which he has directed since 2009.  The Vermont Historical Society is a multifaceted statewide organization encompassing a museum and substantial collections, a genealogical research library, a biennial state History Expo, the Vermont Women’s History Project, and a publishing arm.

Mark Hudson“I have for a number of years been following the activities at Tudor Place, particularly with respect to the care of its extraordinary collections,” Mr. Hudson said of his appointment. With respect to the Master Preservation Plan and Bicentennial initiatives underway, Mr. Hudson noted, “having the opportunity to lead Tudor Place as it embarks upon these ambitious endeavors is amazing.”

Mr. Hudson looks forward to bringing to fruition the plan to secure Tudor Place’s historical and cultural assets for a new century. “As I have learned more about this historic treasure,” he noted, “my enthusiasm has grown. The museum’s master plan reflects a bold vision that demonstrates a commitment to the preservation and interpretation of this nationally significant site,” he said.

During Mr. Hudson’s tenure, the Vermont Historical Society received the 2012 American Association for State and Local History’s Leadership in History Awards for the History Explorer website and the publication, A Very Fine Appearance: The Vermont Civil War Photographs of George Houghton. His work at Tudor Place marks a return to our region, as he directed the Historical Society of Frederick County, Maryland, from 1998-2009. During his term there, the society secured accreditation from the American Association of Museums (in 2003) and received the 2005 Small Museum Association’s Hunter-Burley Award for advancing public access and professional growth in an individual institution. Early in his distinguished career, Mark was curator of the Boone County Historical Society in Missouri, his home state.

Mr. Hudson’s other professional and civic commitments include, since 2010, chairing the Vermont Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission by gubernatorial appointment. He served six times as a Museums for America field reviewer for the Institute for Museum and Library Services. His Board service includes the Save Historic Antietam Foundation (2006-2009) and Maryland Association of History Museums (1999-2005).

Mark was selected by Tudor Place Trustees following an extensive national search conducted by a firm specializing in museum placements.

See more blogposts.

May 20 Garden Party to Honor Museum Champion Ellen Charles

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CONTACT

TICKETS
Mary Michael Wachur Click here.
Associate Director for Annual Giving & Events
202.580.7323 | mwachur@tudorplace.org

Some 500 celebrants will gather at Tudor Place on Wednesday, May 20, 2015, at 6 p.m. for the site’s 23rd Annual Spring Garden Party. The festive social event, chaired by Elizabeth Powell of Georgetown, draws prominent Washingtonians and guests from around the nation and abroad. Ellen MacNeille Charles, a transformative and longtime leader of Tudor Place, will be honored . Mrs. Charles’s special blend of experience, wisdom, and good humor benefits and enriches every organization she touches — including Tudor Place, where her leadership and advocacy have made an indelible mark. Tudor Place hosts more than 23,000 visitors annually. Its education programs serve more than 3,000 school children each year from schools in D.C. and surrounding communities, providing a living classroom on American history, the environment, architecture and other subjects.

Thank You, Sponsors

The Spring Garden Party, as Tudor Place’s most important fundraiser of the year, provides more than 20 percent of its annual operating budget. enabling it to serve as a destination for education and entertainment of broad audiences of local, national, and international visitors. Corporate sponsorship is led by Washington Fine Properties and Cooke & Bieler, and supported by Wagner Roofing, Davey Trees, and Huntington T. Block. Proceeds also support innovative programs employing Tudor Place as a living classroom for the teaching of American history, science and environmental studies, and architecture, for more than 3,000 public and private school children a year.

Director Leslie Buhler to Retire, Leaving Tudor Place Strengthened

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January 22, 2015

Knot Garden with Arbor by Ron Blunt

Knot Garden and Grape Arbor [CREDIT: Ron Blunt Photography]

A Change in Leadership

Leslie L. Buhler has announced she will retire as Executive Director of Tudor Place at the end of June 2015 after 15 years of transformational leadership. Since 2000, Leslie created on the historic site an engaging and educational modern museum serving a diverse audience of Washington-area residents, visitors to the nation’s capital, and a worldwide digital audience. A professional search for her successor is underway.

Executive Director Leslie BuhlerTudor Place was completed in 1816 by Thomas Peter and his wife Martha Custis Peter, a granddaughter of Martha Washington, and is noted for its architecture, archive, and extensive collections, including more than 200 items owned by Martha and George Washington. Now a National Historic Landmark on five and a half acres in Georgetown, the estate had been open to the public 12 years when Leslie took the helm. Her innovations and accomplishments included establishing regular tour hours and appropriate zoning as a permanent museum; building a rich schedule of education programs; undertaking archaeological explorations into the site’s past; and transferring many museum operations outside of the historic house so it could be properly preserved and interpreted.

“I’ve experienced great professional and personal satisfaction in advancing one of the greatest house museums in the nation’s capital, bringing attention to the extraordinary collection and archive it holds, and engaging the public with wonderful historic and cultural resources unique to Tudor Place,” Leslie said. “I look forward to the next chapter in my life knowing that the museum is stronger and poised to successfully complete a capital campaign to ensure its future as a 21st century museum.”

Assessing, Repairing, Readying for the Future

scaffold on South Facade
When Leslie came to Tudor Place, it badly needed repair and restoration. First tackling deferred maintenance and undertaking studies to assess restoration needs, she led a forward-thinking effort to develop a Master Preservation Plan to secure all the site’s historic and cultural assets. A first phase of work on the National Historic Landmark house was funded by a $3.5-million campaign funded in part by awards from Save America’s Treasures and the D.C. Government. In addition, Leslie advanced conservation of the landscape, collection, and archive and also built a strong, competent staff charged with continuing the museum’s momentum.

“Tudor Place has benefited enormously from Leslie’s outstanding leadership and engagement with the community,” said Geoffrey B. Baker, President of the Board of Trustees. “She has led the institution through a major assessment and planning process and developed an educational component that engages young and old with the powerful lessons of American history and culture. It is with profound gratitude that we wish Leslie well.”

Building Audiences, Collections, and the Institution

2 students with shardFrom early in her tenure, Leslie made it a priority to increase and diversify the visitor pool while enlarging the museum’s core supporters, and she broadened the museum’s reach into the local community through a lively education program. These efforts substantially increased visits by Washington-area children, families, young adults, and seniors. The dynamic school program introduced under her leadership now reaches 3,000 children each year.

Augmenting the collection, Peter family members gave several significant gifts during Leslie’s tenure. These include a collection of rare books from the original library of Martha and Thomas Peter and a William G. Webster pocket watch that Martha and George Washington gave Eleanor Calvert upon her marriage to Martha Washington’s son, John Parke Custis.

Leslie’s contributions also include judicious management in expanding the museum’s budget, increasing reserve funds, and raising monies from private and public sources to increase the capacity of the museum’s conservation, education and outreach programs.
Thank you for your support of Tudor Place.

Holidays Through History Open House | Saturday, December 6, 2014

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Tudor Place Recognized with National Award for Preservation and Collections Care

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT
May 21, 2014 Communications Officer Mandy Katz
202.486.7645 | mkatz@tudorplace.org

The Tudor Place Foundation has been honored with the 2014 Ross Merrill Award for Outstanding Commitment to the Preservation and Care of Collections at Tudor Place Historic House & Garden. The award, established in 1999, is presented jointly by Heritage Preservation and the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC). Recipients are selected by a panel of distinguished preservation and conservation experts from across the nation.

icon-Conservation-Care

Curator Erin Kuykendall and specialist Mark Adler preserved and made minor repairs to an 1804 Broadwood & Son pianoforte.

The Ross Merrill award recognizes the systematic and strategic work of Tudor Place over the years to preserve and care for all its historic and cultural assets belonging to the National Historic Landmark. Since it assumed ownership of Tudor Place in 1984 from its last private owner, the Foundation has committed itself to inventorying, cataloguing, assessing, and conserving its historic and cultural assets – the buildings, object collection, archive, book collection, and landscape – and expanded its collections staff from one person to three. In recent years, significant effort has enabled a comprehensive Master Preservation Plan that will permit the public’s engagement with the museum’s assets while also protecting them.

Conservation-02

Conservator Greg Byrne and Erin Kuykendall compare X-radiographs and a wax figure from a tableau created for Martha Washington. Additional funding is sought to complete this significant project.

“It is an honor to see the often quiet work of many years recognized with this highly coveted award,” Executive Director Leslie Buhler said. “Heritage Preservation and the AIC are internationally renowned for their work to preserve our country’s cultural resources. We are gratified to see Tudor Place recognized for its contributions toward that goal.”

Tudor Place has clearly demonstrated its commitment to protecting, preserving, maintaining, and interpreting its historic property and collections. Beginning in 1990 with a Conservation Assessment Program grant, the museum has methodically assessed its holdings.  From 2004 to 2011 alone, the organization solicited the help of more than a dozen conservation professionals to assess the condition of its collections. In addition, staff are tasked with conducting a detailed condition assessment of every object on display annually.

The museum’s dedication to better understanding its collections has allowed it to identify deliberate short and long-range conservation goals and priorities. This attentiveness has also served as the impetus for the museum’s comprehensive polices and plans throughout the years from the implementation of an integrated pest management plan in 1996 to improved environmental monitoring in 2007. In fact, in 2008 Tudor Place created a Master Preservation Plan that outlines clear goals for the site and primacy on preservation best practices.

Jennifer A. Zemanek, a textile conservator who worked with Tudor Place on conserving a 1783 shell and waxwork tableau, commended the board’s and staff’s “…enthusiasm, patience and diligence in tackling this very complex conservation project, ultimately making decisions that exemplify Tudor Place’s absolute dedication to the preservation and conservation of its collections.”

The award committee was also impressed by the museum’s conservation-focused outreach activities both for its own staff and the general public. Tudor Place’s collections team—which has grown from one staff member to three since 2000—works collaboratively with all departments to inform staff of preventive steps they can take to ensure events, tours, and educational programs do not harm the grounds, house, or collections. Through newsletters, public reports, and programs, the general public is also informed of the museum’s conservation efforts.

“The Museum’s sustained commitment to issues of preservation is truly impressive,” said Lawrence L. Reger, Heritage Preservation president. “I, along with AIC, applaud the Tudor Place for its achievements and commend both its board and staff for their tireless efforts.”

The Ross Merrill Award for Outstanding Commitment to the Preservation and Care of Collections will be presented during a ceremony at Tudor Place Historic House and Garden on Wednesday, June 18.

The Award

The Ross Merrill Award for Outstanding Commitment to the Preservation and Care of Collections has been presented on an annual basis since 1999. Previous recipients include nationally prominent organizations such as Colonial Williamsburg and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and smaller institutions such as the Historical Society of Frederick Country (Maryland) and Maymont Foundation (Richmond, Virginia). In 2012, the Alaska State Museum and the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame received the award. The Indianapolis Museum of Art was also a recipient of the 2013 award.

About AIC

The American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works is the national membership organization of conservation professionals dedicated to preserving the art and historic artifacts of our cultural heritage for future generations. AIC plays a crucial role in establishing and upholding professional standards, promoting research and publications, providing educational opportunities, and fostering the exchange of knowledge among conservators, allied professionals, and the public. Learn more about AIC at www.conservation-us.org.

About Heritage Preservation

Heritage Preservation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving our nation’s heritage. Its members include museums, libraries, archives, and other organizations concerned with saving the past for the future. Learn more about Heritage Preservation at www.heritagepreservation.org.

Presentation of the award will take place at a reception at Tudor Place on Wednesday, June 18, 2014. Attendees will include many of the several dozen conservators, advisors, donors, staff, and past employees who have contributed to conserving and preserving Tudor Place’s assets.

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Download This! Woodturning and Artisanry Featured at Free Georgetown Festival

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woodturner demonstrations

Woodturners will demonstrate at Tudor Place, Saturday.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

contact: Mandy Katz Washington DC 20007
cellphone: 202.486.7645
office:202.965.0400
email: mkatz@tudorplace.org

WASHINGTON, DC – Don’t expect flat screens or Google Glass at the free public festival in Georgetown this Saturday, March 29, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. In fact, protective goggles may be the only unusual eyewear on hand at the first Tudor Place Tree Fest, on the grounds of Tudor Place Historic House & Garden. The outdoor, rain-or-shine event celebrates the tree canopy and open space in the city and introduces a just planted “future old-growth” tree, a white oak.

The schedule features active, person-to-person experiences like mini garden tours, nature-oriented puppet shows and craft projects for children, artisan demonstrations, and a Market Fair featuring locally made handicrafts and food. Tours of the historic house will also be available, at the usual entry price. (The full schedule can be viewed here. Puppetry and crafts will be moved indoors in the event of rain.)

Also expect demonstrations of lathe work by local woodturners from the Montgomery County and Chesapeake Woodturners clubs. In May 2013, several of them salvaged heavy trunk pieces from a towering 200-year-old oak in the museum’s North Garden that had to be felled due to disease. (The newly planted tree replaces it.) In the woodturners’ hands, this “dead” wood received new life in stunning bowls, bottle stoppers, and other pieces, some of which will be on view Saturday.

 

wood bowl

Bowl by Don Van Ryk from the Tudor Place white oak.

“It means a lot to see such beauty come from what started as a sad event – the loss of a tree that lived through the change from a port to a thriving neighborhood,” explained Tudor Place Director of Education and Visitor Services Talia Mosconi. “The woodturners are keeping an ancient craft alive, and it’s fascinating to see how they do it.”

The bowls reflect not just skilled craftsmanship, but the artists’ ability to find refined beauty in raw and rough-hewn pieces, often turning irregularities or “blemishes” in the wood into distinctive features of a crafted piece. Bowls from the Tudor Place white oak are on sale now and during the Tree Fest from the Museum Shop. The demonstrating wood turners will have additional hand-crafted pieces available for purchase during the festival.

 

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Tudor Place Receives $100,000 Matching Grant from DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities

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Tudor Place South Facade
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE &#183 Feb. 26, 2014
Contact Mandy Katz
mkatz@tudorplace.org
202.486.7645

WASHINGTON, DC: In recognition of its important role in making historic resources available to residents of all eight wards of the District, the D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities has awarded Tudor Place Historic House & Garden a $100,000 matching grant for 2014 to maintain and restore critical infrastructure. The project, which requires Tudor Place to raise an equal amount, is funded in part by the DCAH, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

The grant and matching funds will help Tudor Place continue serving local students and residents as well as visitors to the Capital City and protecting valuable artistic and cultural collections.  It includes replacement of a late 19th-century roof, repointing of a brick structure, and restoration painting of the exterior woodwork on the National Historic Landmark house, which welcomes over 20,000 visitors a year.

“It is one thing to make the case for splashy restoration projects the public sees every day,” commented Tudor Place Executive Director Leslie Buhler, “but the kind of long-term preservation and maintenance covered by this grant are no less essential. We applaud DCAH for supporting the literal foundations of an impressive historic resource in our city.”

   better horizon. pic stitch

Tudor Place Historic House & Garden, a 5-½-acre estate in the city’s Georgetown neighborhood, is a 501(c)3 non-profit serving schools and residents from across the District.  The National Historic Landmark house is a unique testament to our city’s past, described by the U.S Commission on Fine Arts as, “without doubt, the most significant early 19th-century residence in Washington.” The site serves over 3,000 D.C. students annually, the majority of them in Title I schools.

In addition to providing enriching field trips, Tudor Place offers public programs in history and culture; sponsors historic and archeological research into the economy, labor, and demographic history of D.C.’s free and enslaved residents; and hosts professional development workshops for over 350 teachers annually. The historic site connects the public to American history through the personal experiences of those who lived and worked on the estate and encourages all people to know their own stories and recognize their roles in shaping history.
1644 31st Street, NW
Washington, DC 20007