The Voice of America building in Bethany, Ohio, has been named to the National Register of Historic Places. The designation could qualify the building for millions in grants in an effort to convert it into a $12 million national museum, West Chester township officials say. Trustee Catherine Stoker says ”It well deserves the honour because of its important position in helping us win World War II and telling other countries the truth of what was happening on the other side of the Iron Curtain during the Cold War.”
The VOA building is the last surviving bit of the former shortwave station, which began broadcasting in 1942. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the station closed in 1995 as cost-cutting measure.
The federal government gave the two-story brick building to West Chester in the late 1990s with the understanding the township would convert it into a museum. Last week, township leaders announced the State was earmarking $750,000 from Ohio’s capital budget - expected to be approved soon – for building repairs. That money will be combined with $275,000 in township funds already set aside to stop the building from further deterioration while the museum project continues.
(Source: Cincinnati Enquirer/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)
The VOA building is the last surviving bit of the former shortwave station, which began broadcasting in 1942. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the station closed in 1995 as cost-cutting measure.
The federal government gave the two-story brick building to West Chester in the late 1990s with the understanding the township would convert it into a museum. Last week, township leaders announced the State was earmarking $750,000 from Ohio’s capital budget - expected to be approved soon – for building repairs. That money will be combined with $275,000 in township funds already set aside to stop the building from further deterioration while the museum project continues.
(Source: Cincinnati Enquirer/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)