Greater Cincinnati museum receives $750,000 grant for infrastructure improvements

A Greater Cincinnati museum will receive a $750,000 infrastructure grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The Taft Museum of Art was awarded the competitive Infrastructure and Capacity Building Challenge Grant, the NEH announced Tuesday. The funds will help to preserve and reconstruct the museum’s historic house, which turns 200 years old this year.

“As the Taft Museum of Art embarks on our bicentennial infrastructure project, we are thankful to our partners in this endeavor and to the National Endowment for the Humanities for supporting our historic house’s much-needed rehabilitation efforts,” Deborah Emont Scott, president and CEO of the museum, said in a news release. “This will ensure that the TMA, its historic architecture and culturally enriching offerings remain in excellent condition for future generations.”

Built in 1820 by Martin Baum, the Taft house is the oldest domestic wooden structure remaining in its original location in Cincinnati. The house was the home of many prominent Cincinnatians, including Nicholas Longworth, David Sinton, Anna Sinton Taft and Charles Phelps Taft. The grant will go toward installation of a new HVAC system and repairs to the envelope and façade of the building, which is a National Historic Landmark.