Inaugural preservation grant awarded to St. Mark AME Church

St Mark AME Church Courtesy Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation will present its inaugural Wade and Mary Lu Mitchell African American Heritage Preservation Grant to St Mark AME Church at a ceremony on July The new grant will award annually to African American preservation projects within the city of Atlanta The grant is made available through the Mitchell Family Fund at the Region Foundation for Greater Atlanta The grant will be officially awarded at the July ceremony at a m at St Mark s James P Brawley Drive NW Georgia Trust President and CEO Wright Mitchell will present the grant to The Beloved Group Inc which will partner with the Atlanta Preservation Center to oversee the project Additional remarks will be made by Pastor Winston Taylor of The Beloved Society and David Mitchell executive director of the Atlanta Preservation Center St Mark AME Church a landmark in the English Avenue neighborhood was originally constructed in as Western Heights Baptist Church The St Mark congregation moved into the building in Notable for its rare vernacular interpretation of the Mission Revival style featuring hand-laid Stone Mountain granite the church not only served as a house of worship but also a vibrant area hub hosting graduations civic meetings and cultural events during the mid- th century The congregation remained until after which time the building became vacant until it was purchased by the current owner Pastor Winston Taylor in The roof and the interior of the church were altogether removed due to major structural and water damage and the site now operates as an open-air space The grant will advocacy urgently needed masonry repairs in the church s southeast corner Specifically the work will include repointing mortar and stabilizing cracks with stainless steel stitching installed within mortar joints These repairs are essential to ensure the structural integrity and long-term preservation of this iconic site During their lifetimes Mary Lu and Wade Mitchell were staunch proponents for the advancement of a large number of African American causes in Atlanta The grant was established by their children Catherine Mitchell Jaxon and W Wright Mitchell who is president and CEO of the Georgia Trust My sister and I are excited to establish this grant to honor our parents legacy disclosed Wright Mitchell Both of our parents worked tirelessly to advance African American causes in the city of Atlanta and this grant is a perfect way to continue their pivotal work by providing funds directly to minority historic preservation projects in the city that they both loved Mitchell added that African American historic tools are vital to understanding the full story of Atlanta s history yet a multitude of remain significantly underfunded and unprotected We hope that this grant will contribute to the preservation of these irreplaceable support and contribute to a more inclusive telling of Atlanta s collective history for future generations The post Inaugural preservation grant awarded to St Mark AME Church appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta