Union station - American Express regilding project

American Express

For more than a decade, American Express has been supporting preservation through program sponsorship and direct grantmaking.

For more than a decade, American Express has partnered with the National Trust to preserve and protect America’s cultural and historic places, supporting preservation projects across the country.

Since 2006, Partners in Preservation has awarded over $28 million in support of more than 260 sites in cities from San Francisco to New York, from Seattle to Washington, D.C. and beyond. Partners in Preservation believes historic sites play a key role in helping us understand who we are, as well as our relationships to each other and our communities. From San Francisco to New York City, Partners in Preservation has helped to protect and preserve sites that directly reflect the diverse cultural heritage of America and its people. Past winners have included the Washington National Cathedral in D.C., the Apollo Theater in New York, and St. Augustine Parish Hall in New Orleans.

Beginning in 2012, American Express has been the Presenting Partner of the Trust's National Treasures program, helping to make possible our work to save dozens of nationally important places and providing preservation grants to historic sites.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express partnered for the first-ever Virtual Preservation Month in 2020, providing 31 days of experiences to help people at home enjoy the beauty and comfort of historic places.

In 2021, we launched Backing Historic Small Restaurants, with the goal of awarding $1 million in grants to 25 historic and culturally significant restaurants throughout the United States to help them improve, upgrade, and preserve their exterior physical spaces and online businesses.

#ShopSmall: Backing Historic Small Restaurants

25 historic and culturally significant restaurants in the U.S. owned by underrepresented groups will receive $40,000 in grants, plus technical assistance and support in areas their businesses need most.

The gallery below highlights some of the places where American Express has directly funded brick-and-mortar projects, from re-gilding the ceiling of DC's Union Station to restoring San Francisco's Haas-Lilienthal House.

American Express Supported Places

“As a company committed to Historic Preservation for many years, we are honored to partner with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Together we have helped people across the country save places at the heart of their communities.”

Timothy J McClimon – President, American Express Foundation