Update on "The House That Beer Built"
What started as a grassroots effort to save Heurich House has now garnered the attention of a national cable news channel: CNN reported earlier this week on what they dubbed as "the house that beer built". On their website, the ubiquitous news network relayed the history of the house as well as the urgent financial situation. It's good to see that the word is getting out about keeping a piece of history open to the public.
One of the great things about the effort to save Heurich House has been the phenomenal community involvement. As communicated in an email from Gary Heurich of Friends of the Castle, during the 18 days before February 14, $79,578.65 were raise from 1,290 donations. Of these, 86 donations were made online and 157 were made by mail, with 1,048 made in-person during the tours and fundraisers. The Castle needs the equivalent of 680 people to make tax-deductible donations of $250 by March 15th. In addition to monetary support, there are still many ways to get involved in saving Heurich House:
1) Visit Heurich House; it is truly an awe-inspiring sight. I took my mother, who isn't easily wowed, and she was left speechless with the fine preservation and the beauty of the house. Their new tour schedule is as follows: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday – 11:30 & 1:00; Saturday – 11:30, 1:00, & 2:30; Sunday – 1:00 & 2:30; “First Friday Candlelight Tours” starting April 7 – 5:30-8:30 the first Friday of each month
2) Email and write to both Mayor Williams and City Councilmembers as a way to support Councilmember Jack Evans' request for a $500,000 line item for The Brewmaster’s Castle in the Mayor’s FY’07 budget. Though the sum cannot be applied to the March 15th deadline, it will go a long way in make sure the castle remains open to the public.
3) Get the word out. Tell your family, friends and neighbors about the effort to save Heurich House.
And again, thanks to all of those who have gotten involved with this impressive effort to preserve an important part of District history.