Fort Mac getting ready for its closeup?
Fort McHenry, the Antietam battlefield and the C&O Canal are among the historic sites that will get freshened up with $6.6 million in new federal aid from the National Park Service.
The infrastructure projects are being financed from a $750 million slice of the stimulus package, formally known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which is designed to provide badly needed rehab to 750 projects nationwide and employment opportunities as well.
In Baltimore, the Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine will receive $736,000 for energy efficiency improvements in two buildings, a new fire suppression system in four historic buildings and to fix solar lights on the entrance road and in the parking lot.
"The Recovery Act is about jobs, jobs, jobs," Democratic Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski said in a joint statement with her junior Democratic colleague from Maryland, Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin.
At Fort McHenry, officials said the new state-of-the-art fire suppression system is needed to protect four nationally significant buildings in the Star Fort.
“The buildings are over 200 years old, made of dry wood and plaster, although they withstood the bombardment of 1814, they are fragile,” Chief of Interpretation Vincent Vaise said in a prepared statement.
The installation of 50 historic wooden shutters will give the fort a more historic look. They were removed years ago because of rot and the expense of maintaining them. The new shutters, though made of special, easier-to-maintain materials, will appear to be historically accurate.
Among the Maryland projects, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal will receive the largest single amount. $1.235 million is being allocated for repointing the masonry on canal locks, replacing a boat ramp on the Potomac River at Point of Rocks, and expanding the existing boat ramp at Brunswick. Money will also go into the labor-intensive job of ridding the DC-to-Cumberland waterway of exotic plants.
Controlling exotic species will also be one of the goals of a $247,000 project at the Monocacy National Battlefield near Frederick, along with continuing rehab of the historic Baker barn.
Antietam will get $731,000 for paving, preserving historic headstones and replacing the roof on the administration building.
Catoctin Mountain Park, near Camp David, is getting $1.18 million for work on the underground electrical system and relocation of the fueling station.
A substantial amount of Park Service money will go into repair and restoration work in Washington, including fixing the reflecting pool at the Lincoln Memorial ($30 million) and shoring up the seawall at the Tidal Basin near the Jefferson Memorial.
