Allen Park Mayor Gail McLeod (left), America in Bloom grant review committee Chair Marvin Miller, America in Bloom Executive Director Laura Kunkle and Allen Park City Manager Mark Kibby celebrate a $25,000 grant from America in Bloom and Canadian National Railroad’s “EcoConnexions from the Ground Up” grant program that will benefit the Allen Park Historical Museum.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
ALLEN PARK – City officials, Historical Commission supporters and America in Bloom and Canadian National Rail representatives gathered June 6 to celebrate a $25,000 “EcoConnexions from the Ground Up” grant award.
The beneficiary, the Allen Park Historical Museum, was once a farmhouse surrounded by fields before subdivisions arrived. It is located at 15504 Englewood Ave.
City Manager Mark Kibby welcomed the assembled guests and speakers, which included Mayor Gail McLeod, America in Bloom Executive Director Laura Kunkle, America in Bloom grant review committee Chair Marvin Miller, CN Rail North Division police inspector Jon Bondra, and Len Perotta of the Allen Park Historical Commission.
The America in Bloom “EcoConnexions from the Ground Up” grant program is designed to support community green initiatives that beautify public spaces and improve the quality of life for communities through which a CN Railway line passes. Allen Park has two CN Rail lines: one at Champaign Road, east of Bennie Elementary School, and another south of the intersection of Pelham and Wick roads.
Kibby said the grant money will allow the Historical Museum landscaping to be overhauled, with the addition of new shrubs, perennials, trees, concrete walkways and a patio area with bench seating that could be used for small community gatherings.
He said a new flagpole and upgraded lighting is also included in the proposed project, as is an improved electrical outlet for the Christmas tree, which may be replaced with a smaller, more manageable conifer.
Kibby said the city will provide matching funds for part of the project from its capital improvement fund.
He said the ongoing transformation of the Historical Museum, which has been underway since 2022, reminds him of the makeover reality television shows.
“When you look at the building, it’s phenomenal,” Kibby said. “An enclosed porch was removed from the left side of the house, and an aluminum awning that was on the right side was also removed, which opened up a whole other view of the building.”
He said when the gray paint on the exterior was blasted off, exposing the natural reddish-orange brick, the historical museum started to draw appreciative attention from passersby.
“I think there were a lot of people who walked by here, drove by here, they never even noticed the building,” Kibby said. “And that’s a shame that they didn’t see it, but it just kind of blended in, and now it really pops.”
The Allen Park Historical Museum will receive landscaping and exterior improvements provided through a $25,000 grant from America in Bloom and Canadian National Railroad’s “EcoConnexions from the Ground Up” grant program, celebrated during a June 6 ceremony.