Saxonburg receives $75K grant for wire rope workshop restoration
SAXONBURG — The borough now has an additional $75,000 in the bank to fund its pending structural restoration of John Roebling’s historic wire rope workshop.
The money comes in the form of a grant from the Allegheny Foundation, a nonprofit which awards grants primarily for historical preservation projects in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
For years, the borough has sought to stabilize the historic workshop where Roebling, who founded the borough in 1832, produced the wire rope that would become instrumental in the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge and other Roebling-designed suspension bridges. For nearly a decade, the workshop — located at Roebling Park on Rebecca Street — has been slowly sinking into the ground.
According to borough manager Steven May, the infusion of the grant leaves the borough with about $321,000 to fund the restoration project. This includes a $150,000 Local Share Account grant the borough received this past December, along with a $1,000 grant from Experience Butler County. The rest consists of donations from the community.
Bids for the restoration project were opened at Tuesday night’s meeting and the contract is expected to be awarded at the next borough council meeting, to be held July 21.
Meanwhile, the miniature-scale replica of the Brooklyn Bridge which was once connected to the workshop is in the process of being transported to a new location across from the Saxonburg Museum — also at Roebling Park.
