National Park Service awards $749,467 to Arlington Street Church

To help preserve America's LGBTQ rights history

The National Park Service awarded $5 million to eight projects in six states as part of the Historic Preservation Fund's History of Equal Rights grant program, which focuses on the preservation of sites directly associated with the struggle for all Americans to gain equal rights.

This year's grants are made to sites significant to the equal rights of women; Hispanic and African Americans; laborers; and the LGBTQ+ community.

"In our American experiment to create a more perfect union, we've struggled to meet our core principle of equal rights for all, but we continue moving forward in order to achieve a better future," said National Park Service Director Chuck Sams.

"The National Park Service is proud to help States, Tribes, local governments, and nonprofit organizations invest in locally-led preservation of historic structures which tell hidden stories of our nation's history."

Included in this year's grants is support for the preservation of the Arlington Street Church (ASC) in Boston.

ASC was built in 1861 and displays grand 16th-century Italian Renaissance and 18th-century English architecture primarily created in New Jersey brownstone ashlar. The building and congregation have hosted LGBTQ+ rights organizations and LGBTQ+ cultural events such as the Boston chapter of DignityUSA since 1977, and the nation's first LGBTQ youth prom in 1981 as organized by the Boston Alliance of LGBTQ+ Youth (BAGLY). This grant will restore the missing South Stairs and provide other accessibility improvements.