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TO: Mayor Thomas J. Weisner
FROM: John Russell, Grant Writer
DATE: 10/06/14
SUBJECT:
Requesting approval to enter into a Grant Agreement with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and acceptance of a $200,000 Tourism Attraction Development Grant for creation of exhibits and replication of the historic Chandelier for the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Museum.
PURPOSE:
This grant will allow for the creation and development of entertaining, educational and interactive exhibits for Aurora's soon-to-be-restored Grand Army of the Republic Museum, and for the replication of the historic Chandelier which hung over the Angel Room, the main display area on the first floor of the Museum.
BACKGROUND:
The Aurora Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Hall, Post 20, was built in 1878 as a gathering place for Union Army veterans of the Civil War, as a tribute to their fallen colleagues, and as Aurora's first free public library. Its construction was funded entirely by donations from a grateful community, and it was built on land donated by one of Aurora's earliest settlers, Joseph Stolp. Over the years, more than 700 Union Army veterans were members of GAR Post 20. The Museum is on the National Register of Historic Places and in the Stolp Island Historic District. The Museum has been closed since the 1990s because of concerns over the building's safety. The City now is about to begin the final stages of restoration, focusing on the interior of the building. Funding from the Tourism Attraction Development Grant will allow for creation of exhibits which will make for an educational and enjoyable experience for all visitors, while the historic Chandelier will add to the beauty of the restored building.
DISCUSSION:
By the time the restoration project for the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Museum is completed in 2016 (the 150th anniversary of the founding of the National GAR), more than $3.75 million will have been spent on...
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