|
Media contacts: Kim Schuette: 614.297.2314 or kschuette@ohiohistory.org
For Immediate Release
Harding Tomb Receives State Funding For Repairs
Ohio Historical Society To Begin Work In Spring
(COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 21, 2008) – The Ohio Historical Society announced today that recent state funding will enable needed maintenance and repair of the Harding Tomb in Marion to begin next spring. The tomb, which is the burial site for President and Mrs. Warren G. Harding, received a total of $340,000 from the biennium (FY2009-2010) capital appropriations bill passed by the Ohio legislature in June.
"It is through the support of the Marion community and the efforts of local legislators that the State of Ohio has allocated funds for the preservation of the Harding Tomb," said William K. Laidlaw, OHS executive director and CEO. "Investing in our state's historic sites will ensure that these tangible symbols of our cultural heritage will be around for future generations of Ohioans."
The funds, coupled with a previous capital appropriation (FY2007-2008) of $210,000, will finance general site improvements, including repaving of the terrace, repairs to the marble and interpretative plaques as well as cleaning of the tomb, tomb base and walkway. Previously scheduled to begin this summer, the Society rescheduled the project in order to do all of the work at once to the get best price for the work to be done and to cause less disruption at the Tomb, according to Laidlaw.
The project will be bid out to contractors in the fall when the new funding becomes available. Repairs will begin in the spring of 2009 with completion of work expected by the following fall.
Harding, the 29th President of the United States, died in 1923 while still in office. Florence K. Harding died the following year. Both were originally buried in the receiving vault in Marion Cemetery. School children sent in pennies to raise money for the memorial to President Harding. Construction of the tomb was completed in 1927 and President and Mrs. Harding's bodies were moved to the tomb in December of that year. On June 16, 1931 the tomb was officially dedicated by President Herbert Hoover.
The tomb, designed by Henry Hornbostel and Eric Wood, is a circular monument of white Georgia marble containing the remains of President and Mrs. Harding. The monument, set in ten acres of landscaped grounds, is similar in appearance to a round Greek temple. The simple Doric features and spacious surroundings combine to create one of the most beautiful presidential memorials outside Washington, D. C.
The Harding Tomb is at the corner of State Route 423 and Vernon Heights Boulevard in Marion. Vernon Heights is about 1-1/2 miles west of U.S. Route 23 off of State Route 95 in Marion County.
The Harding Home and Tomb are a part of the 58-site system administered by the Ohio Historical Society, a nonprofit organization that serves as the state’s partner in preserving and interpreting Ohio’s history, natural history and archaeology. For more information, visit www.ohiohistory.org.
|
