The city of Des Moines has received grants of $420,000 from the State of Washington's Heritage Capital Fund and $100,000 from Boeing Mariners Care as primary sources of funding for restoration of the grandstand and ball field at Field House Park.

City Parks and Recreation Director Patrice Thorell said additional funding for the project, timed for the city's 50th anniversary, includes $75,000 from a state Recreation and Conservation Funding Board Youth Athletic Facilities Grant, $75,000 from a King County Youth Sports Facilities Grant, $10,000 from the Des Moines Rotary Club, $10,000 from King County 4Culture and $40,000 from the Des Moines Legacy Foundation community fundraising effort including individual donations.

Thorell said work will begin in the spring with completion anticipated by late fall. The grandstand currently is closed because of structural deterioration.

Ball field expansion and play equipment replacement to improve play and remedy safety concerns will be completed within the same timeframe.

A grand re-opening of the facilities is planned for spring 2010.

"We are especially grateful to Boeing, the Seattle Mariners, the State of Washington, King County, and our Legacy Foundation and Rotary Club, along with everyone else who is stepping up to the plate to make this restoration project a reality during the city's 50th anniversary year." Thorell said.

"With the help of the Des Moines community and these outside grants, the city will restore, preserve and bring up to code this community treasure and regional historic resource,"

Des Moines Field House Park was built in 1938 by a civic group with assistance from the Works Progress Act. It became the first park in the King County Park System.

There are no other remaining historic wooden baseball grandstands in the King County Park System and only a handful of wooden grandstands left in the Northwest.

The park received King County Landmark designation in 1984 due to its significance as a strong example of Depression-era public architecture, also known as CCC-style or Park Service Rustic.

It is eligible for listing on both the Washington and National Historic Registers.

Grandstand restoration will include the removal, design and reconstruction of the superstructure - its walls and roof, repairs to some areas of the seating structure, and painting.

Some modifications will be made to comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.

Tax-deductible contributions may be made to: Grandstand Project, c/o the Des, Moines Legacy Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization, at 1000 S. 220th Street, Des Moines, WA.

For more information, call 206-870-6527.