FITCHBURG — A $3,500 Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area matching grant for the Fitchburg Public Library’s OWL Capital Campaign was recently announced.

The money will be used towards restoration and stabilization of the 1885 stained-glass city seal removed from the old library building. Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area’s intention to invest in historical resources will partially fund the work necessary to preserve the historic Venetian and antique stained-glass window.

Facilitators of the Fitchburg Public Library OWL Capital Campaign are encouraging community members to donate to the campaign to help fulfill the 2:1 match this grant requires. Participation in this match will allow community members the opportunity to help restore this cultural and historical resource for generations to come at no cost to the city.

The Fitchburg Public Library is in the midst of a transformative $40 million renovation and expansion project designed to serve the community’s changing needs. The project includes stabilizing the Venetian and antique stained-glass Fitchburg city seal, which was originally above the front door of the 1885 Wallace Library and Art Building.

In the 1967 building, which replaced the Wallace Library, the stained-glass seal had been installed on the east end of the clerestory windows. The seal, a 51.5” diameter circle encased in a wood frame, was professionally removed from the construction project and it has been determined that the glass and metal construction is intact but very fragile.

Stabilization of this window involves cleaning, repairing the glass and the wood frame, and reinforcing the overall structure. When complete, this unique piece of Fitchburg’s history will be prominently displayed and backlit in the new lobby of the Newton Place entrance which connects the Wallace Building with the new addition.

Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area out of Devens serves as facilitator, host, and guide for heritage area-wide presentations, activities, and initiatives that recognize and preserve the unique identity of the area. It is committed to promoting, preserving, enhancing, and curating the natural, cultural, and historical resources that define its sense of place and as one of only sixty-two National Heritage Areas in the United States, Freedom’s Way tells a distinctly American story unique to the region inclusive of the multiple perspectives of those who live and work in the region.

For more information visit freedomsway.org and for more information on the Fitchburg Public Library OWL Capital Campaign and donating opportunities visit fitchburgpubliclibrary.org and click on the building project link.