Event will spotlight historic East Mount Zion edifice, awarded $225k from National Fund for Sacred Places 

Cleveland mayor Justin M. Bibb will deliver the keynote address for the Cleveland Restoration Society’s Community Luncheon Thursday, November 17, at 11:30a, at East Mt. Zion Baptist Church, 9990 Euclid Ave [44106]. The annual event brings together the Greater Cleveland preservationist community to support and celebrate the area’s cultural heritage. A tour of the church sanctuary will precede the luncheon. 

Last month the historic church, now pastored by Reverend Dr. Brian A. Cash, was awarded $225,000 from the National Fund for Sacred Places, a program of Partners for Sacred Places in collaboration with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. East Mt. Zion is one of 16 organizations in 2022 to receive a total of over $2 million in funding from the National Fund for Sacred Places to protect and preserve sacred worship places. Funding received supports East Mt. Zion’s roof replacement and stabilization. 

“The National Fund for Sacred Places highlights both the tremendous value and the stewardship needs of historic houses of worship across the United States,” said Paul Edmonson, President and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “We are honored to support these congregations as they advance important preservation projects at places such as the civil rights landmark Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta; the 250-year-old Church of St. Francis of Assisi in Puerto Rico; and Arch Street Meeting House in Philadelphia, which blends Georgian architecture with a simple Quaker design.” 

The Cleveland Restoration Society has partnered with East Mt. Zion on a number of initiatives in the past few years, most recently an analysis of the church’s serpentine stone façade. EMZ was designated a Cleveland landmark in 1980, and in February of 2022, CRS successfully nominated the Romanesque Revival style building to the National Register of Historic Places. EMZ’s interior original historic architectural features and the finishes in the sanctuary and chapel remain, including stunning stained-glass windows fabricated by J&R Lamb Studios.

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