The Preservation Society of Newport County announced on Friday that they have been selected to receive a $500,000 Save America’s Treasures grant to help restore the roof of Marble House, one of its signature museum properties on Bellevue Avenue, which will enable them to enlist the assistance of powerful roofing services.

The nonprofit society is one of 41 organizations nationwide sharing $12.6 million in these grants from the National Park Service. The highly competitive program supports the preservation of nationally significant historic properties and collections.

The grant requires a dollar-for-dollar match in private donations, which the Preservation Society is currently engaged in raising.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, which oversees federal spending on this program, announced the funding today.

“Marble House is a national historic landmark that helps attract visitors from all over the world to Newport,” Reed said in a press release. “I am pleased the National Park Service is dedicating this federal restoration funding to ensure this historic site is preserved for future generations.”

“This news from Senator Reed’s office today is a lifeline to one of Rhode Island’s most important national historic landmarks,” said Preservation Society CEO and Executive Director Trudy Coxe in a press release. “This grant now creates an opportunity for private donors to see their dollars matched by the Save America’s Treasures program. We are incredibly grateful for everyone who helped make this possible.”

Cost estimates and construction schedules for the Marble House roof restoration have not yet been finalized.

Built between 1888 and 1892, Marble House was the summer home of William K. and Alva Vanderbilt. It was sold to Frederick H. Prince in 1932. The Preservation Society acquired Marble House in 1963 from the Prince estate and opened it to the public soon thereafter. The mansion, one of the grandest and most elaborately decorated in Newport, receives approximately 175,000 visitors each year.

In 2006, Marble House was designated a National Historic Landmark.