AMERICAN EXPRESS ANNOUNCES A $100,000 GRANT FOR RESTORATION OF IGLESIA SAN JOSÉ IN OLD SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO
San Juan, PR, November 17, 2004 -- American Express today announced a grant of $100,000 to the World Monuments Fund (WMF) for restoration of the Iglesia San José in Old San Juan. Made through the World Monuments Watch program of New York-based WMF, the grant will fund structural stabilization and mural conservation for the historic building. The Iglesia San José, located in San Juan, Puerto Rico, was listed on the 2004 World Monuments Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites.
American Express is a founding sponsor of WMF's World Monuments Watch program, established in 1995 to draw attention to the plight of imperiled historic, artistic and architectural sites worldwide and ensure their preservation. American Express' ten-year, $10 million commitment to this program has enabled WMF to leverage millions of dollars of additional funding from local and national governments, global corporations, foundations, and individuals, and has encouraged new preservation activism worldwide.
“To date, American Express has awarded grants to 110 sites in 59 countries totaling $8.5 million. We are committed to this program because we understand how critically important it is to save cultural landmarks like the Iglesia San José. Not only are sites like this a great source of local pride, but they are a witness to our shared history, and by attracting visitors from all over the world, they promote a better understanding of that history,” said Mr. Kenneth I. Chenault, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of American Express Company.
The announcement ceremony took place at the Iglesia San José, hosted by Francis Hondal, American Express' Vice President and General Manager, International Dollar Card, Latin America and the Caribbean. Also in attendance, was Marilyn Perry, Chairman of the World Monuments Fund. Other distinguished guests included top officials in government and culture, the Hon. Jorge Santini, Mayor of San Juan and members of the media.
With its extraordinary ribbed vault system and maritime-themed murals, the sixteenth-century Iglesia San José in Old San Juan has been hailed as the oldest surviving and first significant work of architecture in Puerto Rico. The church is also considered one of the earliest extant examples of Gothic-influenced architecture in the New World.
This $100,000 grant from American Express will be devoted to restore the beautiful church so that it becomes, once again, an icon of Old San Juan. The grant will help stabilize this historic building and also help conserve important mural paintings.
Every other year, the World Monuments Fund invites governments and non-governmental organizations around the world to nominate endangered sites for inclusion on the World Monuments Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites. WMF then convenes an independent panel of experts who are leaders in the fields of archaeology, architecture, art history, and historic preservation to review the hundreds of nominations and select the most compelling sites with the greatest threats for inclusion on the List.
“One of the keys to the success of the Watch is the national and international awareness of endangered sites it raises,” remarked Perry. “Projects such as this one often need support from the international community. The Watch program opens the door to expanded partnerships among the corporate sector, nonprofit organizations worldwide, and local champions of the site. In the case of the Iglesia San José we are delighted to be working with the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico, and we are thrilled to see this process begin, with a grant from American Express.”
Since its inception in 1995, the World Monuments Fund's Watch program has awarded 379 grants totaling over $32 million to aid 185 sites in 72 countries. An estimated $79.6 million more has been leveraged directly to the sites from governments, businesses, individuals and institutions.
Since 1965, the private nonprofit World Monuments Fund (www.wmf.org), an international organization with headquarters in New York City, has been preserving and safeguarding the historic, artistic, and architectural heritage of humankind. Headquartered in New York City, American Express Company is a diversified worldwide travel, financial and network services company founded in 1850.
