LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) — The National Endowment for the Humanities will provide up to $125,000 to help restore the oldest building at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
The Center for Louisiana Studies must raise another $375,000 over the next four years to get the full amount, Director Joshua Caffery said in a news release earlier this month.
“The Roy House is over 100 years old, and we want to make sure it’s here in another 100 years. We’re thankful and honored that the NEH has chosen to support our efforts to bring the Center for Louisiana Studies to this prominent, historic building,” Caffery said.
The center began restoring the Roy House last year. It was built in 1901 by landowner, businessman and Lafayette Parish School Board member J. Arthur Roy, and is the only university building on the National Register of Historic Places.
The university’s news release doesn’t give the total needed for renovations. At present, the center has offices in the Edith Garland Dupré Library.
The Center for Louisiana Studies, established in 1973, promotes scholarly investigation of Louisiana’s people and history. It includes the Archive of Cajun and Creole Folklore, the largest collection of audiovisual materials related to the traditional cultures of southwestern Louisiana.
The center also oversees the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Press.
Restoration plans include a reading and listening room where scholars and other patrons can access the center’s audiovisual archives, and a bookstore where UL Press titles will be sold.
