Support Will Help Rebuild Nepal’s Char
Narayan Temple, Destroyed by a Devastating Earthquake One Year Ago
Today
Sites in Italy, Mexico, Spain, and the
United Kingdom Will Also Benefit from Support
American Express (NYSE: AXP) and World Monuments Fund (WMF)
announced today $1 million in grant funding to support preservation
efforts at five historic sites currently on the 2016 World
Monuments Watch.
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The projects receiving funding are: Char Narayan, a
sixteenth-century temple in Nepal that was reduced to rubble during
the catastrophic earthquake on April 25, 2015; the Arch of Janus,
one of the remaining unrestored monuments at the Forum Boarium in
Rome, Italy; a nineteenth-century gatehouse located in Mexico
City’s Chapultepec Park, the oldest and largest public park in
Latin America; the historic convents of Seville, Spain; and Moseley
Road Baths, an Edwardian swimming complex in the United
Kingdom.
“We are grateful for the longstanding support of American
Express to the World Monuments Watch,” said Joshua David, President
and CEO of World Monuments Fund. “For over 20 years, they have
given more than $16 million to help preserve 160 heritage sites in
70 countries. This generous support has been transformative to
these historic sites and our work would not be possible without
this significant contribution.”
“Historic preservation has long been a hallmark of American
Express and we are proud to serve as a founding sponsor of the
World Monuments Watch,” said Timothy J. McClimon, President of the
American Express Foundation. “Conserving the world’s most treasured
places is an important investment in our history and the heritage
of future generations.”
American Express has partnered with a number of leading
preservation organizations throughout the past two decades to help
preserve sites in need, build awareness, and engage the public in
preservation efforts across the world. Through these partnerships
and other individual grants, American Express has granted more than
$50 million to support hundreds of preservation projects.
Char Narayan Temple,
Nepal
A year ago today, a devastating earthquake rocked Nepal. The
earthquake, and its associated aftershocks, claimed thousands of
lives and damaged or destroyed many examples of Nepal’s cultural
heritage. Support from American Express and WMF will help to
rebuild Char Narayan, the oldest of the temples located in Patan’s
Durbar Square. WMF’s long-standing partner in Nepal, Kathmandu
Valley Preservation Trust (KVPT), will conduct all necessary work
on-site and lead the conservation program. For WMF and KVPT this is
an especially meaningful collaboration; years before the
earthquake, both organizations worked together to support
preservation at a selection of buildings in Kathmandu, many of
which survived the earthquake with little or no damage due to
seismic retrofitting.
"For nearly 20 years, World Monuments Fund has partnered
with Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust to support our ambitious
program to preserve the architectural heritage of the Kathmandu
Valley,” said Erich Theophile from KVPT. “At this time of need, we
are fortunate that once again—in alliance with American
Express—WMF has taken the lead role in helping KVPT to recover,
rebuild, and strengthen a monument of major local, cultural, and
historical significance. Since 1565 the Char Narayan temple has
been a focal point of the urban townscape of Patan's main square.
We are grateful that a renewed WMF–KVPT partnership will
lead the critical work on Char Narayan.”
Arch of Janus, Italy
Support from American Express and WMF will launch a conservation
program for the Arch of Janus, one of the important extant
buildings of the Forum Boarium, the great marketplace of ancient
Rome. The four-sided arch is surrounded by a fence and has not been
accessible to the public since 1993. The nearby temples of Hercules
and Portunus were included on the World Monuments Watch in 1996 and
2006, respectively, and were restored with support from American
Express and other donors. WMF will collaborate with the
Superintendency for the Coliseum and the Central Archaeological
Area to complete a study and carry out the complete restoration of
the Arch of Janus, which will help expand the visitor experience of
the Forum Boarium and offer the public a richer understanding of
this ancient commercial space.
Chapultepec Park, Mexico
Containing nine museums, a zoo, an amusement park, and a variety
of green recreational spaces located near popular commercial
districts, Chapultepec Park is an invaluable ecological oasis, and
a cultural, social, and civic space. Support from American Express
and WMF will help to transform the former nineteenth-century
gatehouse building, which served as an entrance to the military
school that once operated in the park, into a museum and
orientation center. WMF will work with the Chapultepec Trust to
restore this iconic building, which will become an important link
between the nineteenth-century origins of Chapultepec Park and its
use in the twenty-first century as a major cultural and recreation
destination for millions of visitors and residents of Mexico
City.
Convents of Seville,
Spain
Throughout Seville, cloistered convents built between the
thirteenth and seventeenth centuries are challenged by the
decreasing number of monastic communities and the means available
to maintain them. Some convents have been able to meet this
challenge by adapting and opening areas for public use and
programming. By doing so, the convents generate economic
resources to sustain their conservation and upkeep. Creating more
tourism options will also benefit the historic city, which will
help relieve the pressure at its most popular tourist destinations.
With support from American Express, WMF will collaborate with the
city’s tourism office and the Instituto Andalúz de Patrimonio
Histórico to create a printed guidebook of the remaining convents,
highlighting their historic and artistic importance. A pilot
project will be carried out in the Convent of Santa Inés, a
fourteenth-century convent for Franciscan nuns, to allow partial
public use of the space.
Moseley Road Baths, United
Kingdom
Moseley Road Baths serves a diverse urban community in
Birmingham, England. The first class gala pool, with filigree cast
iron arches spanning over a space surrounded by spectator galleries
on three sides, has been closed since 2003 for safety reasons. A
smaller pool remains popular with swimmers of all ages. The
Edwardian-era complex is now at risk of closure due to cutbacks in
government spending. Local advocates, led by the Friends of Moseley
Road Baths, have mobilized since 2006 to keep the baths open and
make the case for their social, historical, and architectural
significance. The baths are the oldest of only three bathing
complexes in Britain listed in the Grade II* category by Historic
England still in operation. Support from American Express and
WMF will help with advocacy efforts to ensure that the complex—with
its historic interiors and rare, century-old fixtures—remains open
for future generations to enjoy.
Visit www.wmf.org/fivetowatch for more information.
About American Express
American Express is a global services company, providing
customers with access to products, insights and experiences that
enrich lives and build business success. Learn more
at americanexpress.com and connect with us
on facebook.com/americanexpress,
foursquare.com/americanexpress, linkedin.com/company/american-express,
twitter.com/americanexpress,
and youtube.com/americanexpress.
Key links to products, services and corporate responsibility
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corporate responsibility.
World Monuments Fund is the leading independent
organization devoted to saving the world’s treasured places. For
over 50 years, working in 100 countries, its highly skilled experts
have applied proven and effective techniques to the preservation of
important architectural and cultural heritage sites around the
globe. Through partnerships with local communities, funders, and
governments, WMF seeks to inspire an enduring commitment to
stewardship for future generations. Visit wmf.org for more
information, or connect with us on facebook.com/worldmonuments,
twitter.com/worldmonuments, and
instagram.com/worldmonumentsfund.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160425006241/en/
Press Contacts:World Monuments FundDaniela Stigh,
Communications Director, +1-646-424-9582dstigh@wmf.orgImages
available upon request.orAmerican ExpressAmelia Woltering,
+212.640.7034amelia.t.woltering@aexp.com
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