The Mount awarded 2005 Preserve America Presidential Award

Lenox, Mass. (May 2, 2005) --

Lenox, MA – The Mount Estate and Gardens, home of the renowned American author Edith Wharton, received the Preserve America Presidential Award from President Bush at the White House on Monday, May 2, 2005.  The selection of The Mount and three other historical organizations was announced by President Bush in the Rose Garden, followed by a private award ceremony with the President and First Lady Laura Bush in the Oval Office.  In honoring The Mount for its preservation work, the President remarked that “Edith Wharton once said that there are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.  Your work reflects her light, and will enrich our national heritage.”  He praised the contributions of The Mount and the other award winner to America’s cultural heritage and economic development, saying they “have drawn tourists to museums and towns, created jobs and revitalized neighborhoods.  They’ve also opened new opportunities for learning.”

Representing Edith Wharton Restoration (the nonprofit organization that maintains and operates The Mount) at the ceremony were Stephanie Copeland, President and CEO; Barbara de Marneffe and Guy Robinson, Co-Chairmen of the Board of Trustees; Pauline C. Metcalf, Chairman of the Interior Restoration Committee; David Andersen, Restoration Project Manager; and Terence Field, Chairman of the Town of Lenox Board of Selectmen.

The Mount, along with the Texas Heritage Trails program, was honored in the category of heritage tourism.  Bolduc Historic Properties of St. Genevieve, Missouri and the Isaiah Davenport House Museum of Savannah, Georgia received awards as privately funded preservation projects.  The federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation reviewed 40 nominees from across the country and made recommendations to the White House, which chose the four winners.

Built in 1902 in Lenox, Massachusetts, The Mount is now a National Historic Landmark.  Nearly $15 million has been spent to date restoring the 42-room mansion and 3 acres of formal gardens.  This spring, 3,000 flowering annuals and perennials will be planted, completing the restoration of the gardens, one of the largest and most significant in New England.  Edith Wharton was the author of such classics as Ethan Frome, The Age of Innocence and The House of Mirth, and was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.  The Mount is open to the public daily from May through October and offers tours, lectures, and readings.

For more information on visiting The Mount, including details on 2005 exhibitions and programs, visit www.EdithWharton.org or call (413) 637-1899.

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Downloadable, high-resolution photos and more information available on request.

Contact:

Susan Wissler

Vice President

Edith Wharton Restoration, Inc.

413-637-1899 ext. 103

swissler@edithwharton.org