01:00 AM EST on Monday, March 22, 2004

The Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission announced its grant awards for 2004. The six grants total about $47,000 and will fund a variety of programs including a marine archaeological survey.

Cranston will receive a grant award of $7,000 for workshops on repair and replacement of historic windows.

Newport and Salve Regina University will receive $7,400 to resurvey and nominate the Ochre Point-Cliffs as a National Register Historic District. The district contains one of the nation's most remarkable collections of 19th-century resort architecture.

Newport will also receive a grant of $2,500 to publish the standards and guidelines used by the city's Historic District Commission in assessing applications for Certificates of Appropriateness.

Pawtucket will receive $8,000 to develop a restoration plan for Slater Park's Bandstand and Boathouse, listed in the National Register, and to survey a number of buildings in the downtown area.

A grant of $6,000 to Providence will fund a Spanish translation of its historic district zoning standards, guidelines and application materials. The document will be available on the city's Web site. In addition, the city will provide a generic Spanish version of the guidelines to be used by other communities.

A grant of $4,000 to Warwick will fund the Public Archaeology Lab's reconnaissance survey of submerged Native American archeological sites off Cedar Tree Beach, Greenwich Bay.

The commission has also reserved about $12,000 to fund the 2005 State Historic Preservation Conference. A location for the annual conference and workshops will be announced later this year.

In making the announcement, the commission's executive director, Edward F. Sanderson, said: "The work carried out by municipal historical preservation programs is very important to our statewide preservation efforts. These grant awards are an acknowledgement of the commitment which these communities have made to protecting their historic resources."

The grants are funded by the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Parks Service, and awarded and administered by the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission.

The Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission is the state office for historic preservation and heritage programs. It is Rhode Island's only statewide historic preservation program that identifies and protects historic buildings, districts and archaeological sites.

The commission conducts statewide surveys of historic sites and buildings; nominates significant properties to the National Register of Historic Places and the State Register; administers programs of financial aid including grants, loans and tax credits; reviews federal, state and local projects to protect cultural resources; regulates archaeology on state land and under state territorial waters; and assists the preservation efforts of local governments, preservation societies and property owners. The commission also is responsible for developing and carrying out programs to document, support and celebrate the rich cultural heritage of Rhode Island's people.