WASHINGTON, DC - The efforts to preserve the heritage of Louisville’s historic Portland neighborhood were honored by First Lady Laura Bush.

Louisville Metro Historic Preservation Officer Joanne Weeter and Portland Museum Executive Director Nathalie Andrews attended a Capitol Hill ceremony where Mrs. Bush designated Portland a "Preserve America" community and announced a $150,000 grant to support the neighborhood’s ongoing preservation and interpretive-history efforts.

Metro Parks, which has been working with neighborhood residents on the Portland Wharf project, will provide the local match for the federal grant. The wharf project is intended to bring Portland’s waterfront back to life with a 56-acre park that preserves and interprets its historic and natural resources.

"This designation recognizes the long-time dedication of a number of Portland residents and our employees who have worked hard together to preserve the heritage of one of Louisville’s most historically significant neighborhoods," said Mayor Jerry Abramson.

The Portland Museum, an independent not-for-profit organization, is the entity that will accept and manage the grant administered by the Department of the Interior. Louisville’s Portland was among the first five neighborhoods in the country to be awarded one of the competitive grants, which are intended to support heritage-tourism initiatives, promotion and marketing programs, and interpretive/educations initiatives involving historic resources.

Metro Parks has been helping with excavation and development of a master plan for the Portland Wharf interpretive park. A floodwall stands between modern-day Portland and the site of the historic wharf, which dates to the early 1800s.  Buried beneath river sediment is an archaeological treasure of streets, building foundations and the actual wharf that once served large amounts of river traffic.

The city’s other preservation-related efforts in Portland include:

Identifying and reusing a "brownfields" site for the newly constructed Kroger, allowing for the preservation of historic commercial buildings on Portland Avenue;

Leading the construction management, grant writing and administration of the U.S. Marine Hospital restoration;

Securing $1.65 million in federal funding from the McAlpine Lock and Dam project to support the Marine Hospital and Portland Wharf projects;

Coordinating Portland’s listing on the National Historic Register;

Designating several local landmarks, including the Portland library branch, Roosevelt School, and Squire Earrick House;

Issuing numerous Historic Tax Credits to various rehabilitation projects; and 

Grant-writing and other technical assistance for preservation or rehabilitation projects.

In addition to Metro Parks, the Louisville Metro Development Authority and Louisville Metro Planning & Design Services have been involved in the Portland-area preservation efforts.