Preserve Historic Missoula is entering the grant-giving
era.

The four-year-old nonprofit that brought the county its 11 Most
Endangered Buildings lists and last year got the fairgrounds listed
on the National Register of Historic Places is looking for a couple
of historic buildings to paint.

Two grants of $500 each will be awarded to successful applicants
whose homes are at least 50 years old and either contribute to a
historic district or are individually listed historic
properties.

Hundreds of homes in Missoula County are eligible.

“It’ll be interesting to see the response we get,” said Dan Hall of
Preserve Historic Missoula.

The group posted the guidelines Monday on its website,
preservehistoricmissoula.org. It will accept applications through
July 25.

Hall said other municipalities have similar programs. Missoula’s is
being modeled off a wildly popular one in Deadwood, S.D.

The $500 grant amount “is what other communities are doing,” said
Hall. “It’s not intended to cover the entire thing, but to chip in
what we can.”

Turner Paints of Missoula will provide the paint, and has agreed to
give contractors’ discounts, which are typically 30 to 35 percent
for paint.

As part of the selection process, Preserve Historic Missoula will
view the exteriors of applicants’ properties. The group will offer
assistance on the process of choosing colors.

The Missoula Paint Grant arose from discussions over the historic
preservation ordinance passed by the city of Missoula last
year.

“People kept talking about how it would prevent people from
painting their houses or how they’d have to get approval,” Hall
said. “That wasn’t necessarily true. In fact, it wasn’t true at
all. Part of the idea is to increase awareness that that’s not what
historic preservation does.”

Reporter Kim Briggeman can be reached at 523-5266 or at
kbriggeman@missoulian.com.