Denver Public Schools and the State Historical Fund will host a ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony at Dora Moore K-8 School, 846 Corona St., from 2-3 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26 at the community plaza in front of the main entrance on the north side of the building (facing 9th Ave.). The ceremony will be followed by refreshments and guided tours from 3 to 4 p.m.

At 2 p.m. T. Jason Martinez, principal, will give welcoming remarks followed by recognition from public officials including: Elaine Gantz Berman, president of the Board of Education; Jerry Wartgow, superintendent of Denver Public Schools; Mark Wolfe, director of the State Historical Fund; Barbara Pahl, regional director for the Mountains/Plains Office of the National Trust for Historic Preservation; and Denver Mayor John W. Hickenlooper. The ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony will happen at 3 p.m., and refreshments and interpretive tours of the historic preservation project at Dora Moore School will last until 4 p.m.

The event will mark the completion of an extensive historic preservation project at Dora Moore School and honor the partnerships that made this project possible. The collaborative stewardship efforts at Dora Moore also represent an important national initiative to improve the quality and diversity of urban communities by saving historic neighborhood schools.

Commitment to Historic Preservation & Education: Denver is one of only two school districts in the nation to institute district-wide processes for designating architecturally and historically significant schools. DPS preservation efforts also include curricula for students to study the history and architectural style of their school, as well as reference these buildings as benchmarks for other historical events. DPS use of historic schools as teaching tools began at Dora Moore School in 1975 when students publicly defended the nomination of their school as a local landmark. This model has since come to involve more than 500 students and is being mirrored in other districts throughout Colorado.

Project Cost: The final project cost for the exterior restoration of Dora Moore School is estimated to be $1.8 million. Denver Public Schools’ funding contribution to the project came from a past 1998 citywide bond initiative.
Grant Amount: The State Historical Fund (SHF) awarded two grants totaling $200,850 to help restore the windows - including reinstalling the stained-glass transom windows - the masonry and other exterior repairs at Dora Moore School. SHF also provided technical expertise and consulting to ensure that this preservation project met with The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties and its guidelines for preserving, rehabilitating, restoring and reconstructing historic buildings.

The State Historical Fund (SHF) is the outcome of a 1990 citizen initiative legalizing limited-stakes gaming in Black Hawk, Central City and Cripple Creek, with the stipulation that 28 percent of these tax revenues would be used to protect Colorado’s heritage. In 1993 - under the administration of the Colorado Historical Society - SHF began awarding grants to public and non-profit organizations statewide for the purpose of preserving and interpreting Colorado’s historic architectural and archaeological resources. For more information, please call 303-866-2825 or visit the web site at www.coloradohistory-oahp.org.

Press kits will be available at the event. For all press inquiries, including scheduling interviews, please call Jennifer Cook at 303-866-2049.