By Staff
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Tanya Woo on the Louisa Hotel staircase where old murals line the walls. (Photo provided by Tanya Woo)
The City of Seattle announced on Nov. 5 that it awarded $755,000 to support 14 community-initiated projects through the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods’ Neighborhood Matching Fund (NMF).
The NMF has two funds: the Community Partnership Fund, which is offered three times a year with cash awards up to $100,000, and Small Sparks Fund, which is offered on a rolling basis throughout the year with cash awards of up to $5,000.
CID-CD Neighbors will get $27,932 to develop Redlining History and Culture Trail Walks, linking the Chinatown-International District, First Hill, and Central District, launch free guided walks, and produce interpretive display panels, outreach materials, brochures, and a webpage.
Louisa Hotel Historic Jazz Murals will get $50,000 to preserve, restore, and exhibit Prohibition-era murals of the only known speakeasy/jazz club in Seattle. Recently, intact original murals were uncovered during the renovation of the Louisa Hotel after a catastrophic fire.
“The Chinatown-International District is a culturally distinct area of the city that has enjoyed a rich history, which included thriving jazz clubs in the 20s and 30s. The Community Partnership Fund award will (help to) preserve and display 100-year-old Jazz murals so that we can use these last traces of history to celebrate and bring together several communities,” said Tanya Woo of the Louisa Hotel Historic Jazz Murals Project.
“The NMF team helped me through every step of the process, and I am eternally grateful for all the work they do unifying our neighborhoods.”
Over its nearly 30-year history, more than 5,000 projects have been funded in partnership with the NMF Program.
For more information, visit seattle.gov/neighborhoods/nmf.