Fundraiser to Benefit Historic Church of the Presidents Restoration

-- Eighth Annual Cocktail Reception to raise funds needed for exterior restoration --

LONG BRANCH, N.J. (August 2, 2010) – A cocktail reception fundraiser will be held from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday, August 19, at the Ocean Beach Club, 1035 Ocean Ave., to benefit the restoration of the Church of the Presidents – the last remaining building associated with the seven presidents who vacationed here during the country’s Gilded Age.

Sponsored by the Long Branch Historical Museum Association (LBHMA), the fundraiser will help to raise the funds required to match a New Jersey Historic Trust grant. The $467,296 NJHT grant and matching funds are being used to complete the exterior restoration of the building, including the reconstruction and/or repointing of the brick masonry foundation, which is now underway.

In 2008, most of the tower, as well as the eastern face of the building, were painted in the Church of the Presidents’ original rustic earth-tone colors. Before painting began, shingles and trim in the affected areas were replaced or repaired as needed. Funding is required soon to complete the lower tower and the rest of the building to ensure the paint is consistent in tone and weathering. Siperstein’s is donating the paint for the restoration.

The exterior restoration comprises Phase II of a four-phase preservation plan that also includes internal infrastructure repairs and upgrades that must be completed before the Church of the Presidents can be re-opened to the public. In addition to the masonry restoration, siding repairs, and paint, a new roof has been installed, and the wood framing of the building and the tower have been reinforced. A $250,000 stabilization project (Phase I) was completed in 2003, saving the structure from impending collapse.

Nearly $910,000 has been spent on the exterior restoration thus far.  Including the NJHT grant and its match, about $2.5 million is required to complete restoration of the Church of the Presidents.

Admission to the reception is $100 per person. All contributions are tax-deductible. Reservations may be obtained by sending prepayment to LBHMA, P.O. Box 2204, Elberon, N.J., 07740. For more information, call 732-223-0874. LBHMA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Owned by LBHMA, St. James Chapel was built in 1879 and gained fame as the Church of the Presidents because presidents Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, and Woodrow Wilson attended services there. The building was deconsecrated and saved from demolition in 1953, and functioned as a museum until instability forced its closure in 1999. It is listed on both the State of New Jersey and National Register of Historic Places.

For more information, see www.churchofthepresidents.org.