BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The restoration of a historic 18th-century tannery in Bethlehem is getting a big financial boost.
Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites says it is receiving $75,000 through the state’s Local Share Account grants program to restore the Tannery in Bethlehem’s Colonial Industrial Quarter.
The money will will allow the nonprofit to start restoration work this summer on the building, which is an integral part of the Moravian Church Settlements–Bethlehem World Heritage Site, Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites said in a news release.
The organization says the project will involve both stabilization work and restoration of the building to prepare it for public use and educational programming.
When the building reopens, it will become an integral part of HBMS programming, including Birthplace of Industry tours, new Maker’s Retreats, student programs, and Community Heritage Day in April, the organization said in its news release.
In addition to the $75,000 Local Share Account grant, the Tannery restoration project has received $63,600 from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission through its Keystone Historic Preservation Construction Grants program, according to the news release.
Built in 1761, the Tannery was essential to Bethlehem’s early Moravian community, with craftsmen transforming approximately 3,000 hides per year into leather goods such as shoes, boots, saddles and harnesses, Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites says.
During the American Revolution, the organization says the building played a pivotal role in the creation of supplies for the Continental Army.
Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites says the Tannery is the only extant 18th-century Moravian industrial building in the world.
It was originally restored between 1968 and 1971, the organization says.