First Lady Laura Bush today awarded the City and County of Honolulu a $150,000 Preserve America grant for the Chinatown Special Historic District, which she had designated a Preserve America Community last May. U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka and Congressman Neil Abercrombie accepted the award on behalf of the City in ceremonies on Capitol Hill.
Preserve America is a White House initiative that was developed with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the Department of the Interior, Department of Commerce, and other federal agencies. Chinatown was the first site in Hawaii to receive a Preserve America designation of any kind.
Mayor Mufi Hannemann, who has championed the revitalization of Chinatown as a culture and arts center, said,