NEW ORLEANS – National Historic Landmark and masterpiece of American landscape designer Ellen Biddle Shipman, Longue Vue House and Gardens will receive $372,250 in funding from the National Park Service through its Save America’s Treasures grant program. Longue Vue sought the grant to support ongoing development of the Shipman Collection- a preservation project to conserve and, where possible, restore Ellen Biddle Shipman’s masterpiece design.
Operating in a field dominated by men, Shipman created 600+ landscape designs and 8 interior designs across the nation between 1912 and 1950. Of these, Longue Vue is the only property where Shipman’s interiors and landscape design are intact and open to the public. Close to 20,000 visitors enjoy the gardens each year.
“Time is of the essence in this strategic effort” said Longue Vue Executive Director Dr. Stella Baty Landis in a press release. “As development accelerates in the area surrounding Longue Vue, sightlines and garden experiences are at risk. We need stronger community and municipal collaboration to mitigate these threats.”
Funds will go towards project activities such as archival stabilization, education and training, and the active restoration, conservation, and preservation of key Shipman design elements at Longue Vue House and Gardens. It is Longue Vue’s hope that these activities will increase public awareness and appreciation of Shipman’s contributions to landscape architecture history. The award is part of $25.7 million in Save America’s Treasures grants announced by NPS to fund 59 projects that will preserve nationally significant sites and historic collections in 26 states and the District of Columbia.
“The Save America’s Treasures program began 25 years ago and continues to enable communities across the United States to preserve and conserve their nationally significant historic properties and collections,” said National Park Service Director Chuck Sams. “It’s fitting to celebrate this milestone anniversary through a wide range of projects that help to pass the full history of America and its people down to future generations.”
Of the nearly 95,000 locations on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, Longue Vue is one of only 2.7% designated as National Historic Landmarks, a distinction reserved for properties that, “demonstrate exceptional value or quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States in history, architecture, archeology, technology, and culture” (National Park Service 2023).
