Westmoreland Cultural Trust keeps eye on donor recognition as it renovates for 100th anniversary

Sandra Finley drove to the Greensburg Garden & Civic Center recently to play bridge, and when she arrived, she noticed that the plaque recognizing the building’s founders was missing.

“I didn’t know what happened,” Finley said.

She was initially concerned that the Westmoreland Cultural Trust was no longer interested in recognizing donors.

But as trust officials look ahead to the organization’s 100th anniversary in 2026, its members know they’d have never reached this point without support from the community.

That’s why the trust is updating several areas that pay tribute to donors who helped make the organization what it is today.

Recently, visitors to The Palace Theatre also noted an updated donor wall.

“It looks wonderful,” said trust spokesperson Daniel Stainer. “We’re stewards of The Palace, the Greensburg Garden & Civic Center and some other historic buildings, and we’re continuing to make some great changes both inside and out.”

That includes temporarily removing the founder’s plaque at the civic center while restoration work takes place on interior walls, Stainer said.

In addition, the trust is close to choosing a new location for The Palace Theatre paver bricks bearing the names of donors.

“The bricks had unfortunately become a tripping hazard,” Stainer said. “But every single brick has been saved. We’re in the process of determining which bricks have been damaged over the years and need replaced.

“We’re not quite ready yet to announce the new location, but we’ve found a meaningful way to repurpose them.”

Trust officials posted a message on social media about the bricks in mid-April.

The removal of the brass “train” that recognized donors who contributed to the renovation of the Greensburg Train Station, is out of the trust’s control — the group sold the station to a New Stanton developer a decade ago.

“At the request of Amtrak, who is now managing restoration efforts at the station, we’ve shared available blueprints to assist with the planned reinstallation of the original donor plaques,” Stainer said. “We’re digging through our archives to help because we do recognize how important our past donors are.

“But we haven’t owned the building since 2015, and all we can do is assist them.”

Stainer said no one should think that the trust has forgotten about its donors.

“We’re ramping up for our centennial in 2026 and that involves a tremendous amount of work, including our donor recognition areas,” he said. “We just ask the community to be patient as we finish restoration and renovations.”