The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford was named recipient of $138,595 from National Park Service’s Save America’s Treasures program for rehabilitation of the Monte Cristo Cottage, Eugene O’Neill’s boyhood home in New London.

The funding will be used to make necessary upgrades to the cottage, located at 322 Pequot Ave. in New London, including repairs to its siding, insulation, and interior heating and cooling systems to help better protect it from the seaside elements and preserve it for future generations.

“The Monte Cristo Cottage is an incredibly important landmark, not only for us at the O’Neill and the City of New London, but for the American Theater at large,” O’Neill Executive Director Tiffani Gavin said in a statement. “This funding will go a long way towards ensuring that students, scholars, and theater artists alike will be able to experience inspiration for two of O’Neill’s greatest works up close for years to come.”

The O’Neill is one of 58 projects in 26 states, the Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia receiving $25.7 million in grants provided by the National Park Service (NPS) in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) this year.

Registered as a National Historic Landmark in 1971, the cottage is the setting for two of O’Neill’s most notable works, “Long Day's Journey Into Night” and “Ah, Wilderness!” The cottage operates as a museum featuring a permanent exhibition on the life and works of O’Neill and an extensive collection of artifacts and memorabilia.