American Express and World Monuments Fund Announce $1 Million Award for Preservation Efforts at Six Historic Sites on 2012 World Monuments Watch

Today, American Express and World Monuments Fund announced $1 million in grant funding to six historic sites. This is the first allocation from a $5 million, five-year grant to the World Monuments Fund to support the World Monuments Watch. Each of the six locations was among the at-risk historical sites included on the 2012 Watch list, announced in October 2011. American Express is founding sponsor of the Watch program.

The projects receiving funding are the Ruta de la Amistad in Mexico City, Mexico; Salvador de Bahia, Brazil; Balaji Ghat in Varanasi, India; the Canterbury Provincial Government buildings in Christchurch, New Zealand; the ruins of the former Cathedral of Saint Michael in Coventry, United Kingdom; and the town of Sawara in Japan.