Celebrating projects from all across the state of Pennsylvania, twenty-three people and projects will be honored at the Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Awards on October 12.
Pennsylvania’s First Lady Frances Wolf will participate in the awards ceremony, taking place at The State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg. The awards are hosted by Preservation Pennsylvania, the commonwealth’s only statewide, private, nonprofit membership organization dedicated to the protection of historically and architecturally significant places.
We invite Pennsylvania’s preservation community to join us in celebrating these outstanding efforts. More information about tickets and sponsorships are available on the Preservation Pennsylvania website.
This year’s three Honor Awards, the highest preservation recognition in the state, will go to:
The Progress Fund, a Westmoreland County community development lender, which will receive the F. Otto Haas Award for outstanding individual achievements in historic preservation.
The Henry A. Jordan Award for outstanding historic preservation efforts at the local level will be presented to James L. Brown IV, of the Parkside Development Corporation, honoring a lifetime of dedication to preservation in Philadelphia.
The Chairman’s Award will be presented to Shirley Hanson and the Chestnut Hill Conservancy, in recognition of 50 years of preservation, conservation and education efforts.
“The range of this year’s awards honorees — from loans and technical assistance to place-making and redevelopment — demonstrates that preservation has evolved from early focus on saving a single building into a powerful tool for economic stimulus and neighborhood revitalization,” said Mindy Crawford, Executive Director of Preservation Pennsylvania.
Congratulations to each of this year’s recipients of Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Awards!
SPECIAL FOCUS AWARDS
Ralph Modjeski Award for excellence in transportation design, preservation and archaeology
- Walnut Lane Bridge Over Wissahickon Creek (Philadelphia County), Honoring PennDOT Engineering District 6-0; TranSystems
Walnut Lane Bridge, Spanning Wissahickon Creek, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, West Elevation, Looking East from South Bank of Wissahickon Creek. August, 1998 by Helen P. Ross, HAER (Historic American Engineering Record)
Preservation Planning Award
- Wilkinsburg Neighborhood Restoration (Allegheny County), Honoring The Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation; LDA Architects
- Carroll Cabin (Fayette County), Honoring Katherine Peresolak, IUP Archaeology Program and Forbes State Forest/DCNR
- Washington’s War Tent (Philadelphia County), Honoring Museum of the American Revolution; Keast & Hood; Virginia Whelan, Textile Conservator
Wilkinsburg Neighborhood Restoration (Allegheny County). 517 Jeanette Street is one of the seven single-family houses Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation has restored and sold to new owners and residents of the Hamnett Place neighborhood as part of their overall efforts to revitalize the Wilkinsburg Neighborhood.
Public Impact Award
- Buddy’s Brew on Carson, formerly the Sankey Brick Company (Allegheny County), Honoring Jacob Nickman; Margittai Architects
- Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center, formerly the West Chester National Guard Armory (Chester County), Honoring UPTOWN! Bravo Theatre, LLC, Homsey Architects, Bancroft Construction Company
- The Millworks, formerly the Stokes Millworks (Dauphin County), Honoring Historic Holdings, LLC, DMarC – David McIlnay Architect and Gina M. Douty, Historic Preservation Consulting, LLC
- Easton Public Market, formerly Rader’s Dry Goods (Northampton County), Honoring Greater Easton Development Partnership, Artefact, Inc, Boyle Construction, Inc.
Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center, Formerly the West Chester National Guard Armory (Chester County). This former National Guard Armory building might have become a vacant white elephant, but with guidance of local civic-minded visionaries it was transformed into a vital community center for the performing arts, offering performances and classes for enrichment of locals of all ages.
CONSTRUCTION PROJECT AWARDS
- Dollar Bank (Allegheny County), Honoring Dollar Bank, FSB; Strada Architecture
- Beaver Station Cultural and Event Center, formerly the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Passenger Station (Beaver County), Honoring Beaver Area Heritage Foundation; Pfaffmann & Associates; L.C. Renninger, Inc.
- The Big Mill Apartments, formerly the Curtis and Jones Company Shoe Factory (Berks County), Honoring Shuman Development Company; Plick and Associates Forensic Engineers; Delta Development Group
- Tarbell House (Crawford County), Honoring Oil Region Alliance of Business, Industry and Tourism; StruXures, LLC
- Dickson Tavern (Erie County), Honoring Kidder Wachter Architecture and Design
- Governor George Wolf Building. formerly Easton High School (Northampton County), Honoring VM Development Group; Artefact Inc.
- East Park Canoe House (Philadelphia County), Honoring Philadelphia Parks and Recreation; SMP Architects; Heritage Design Collaborative
- Willow Grove Ave Bridge over SEPTA (Philadelphia County), Honoring City of Philadelphia Streets Department; KSK Architects
- York College Center for Community Engagement, formerly the Lafayette Club Building (York County), Honoring York College of Pennsylvania; Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects; JBD Engineering
Dollar Bank (Allegheny County). The Dollar Savings Bank building, completed in 1871, with additions in 1906, is located in what is commonly referred to as “Pittsburgh’s Wall Street.” The National Register-listed building anchors the Fourth Avenue Historic District and is its second oldest building. Original lions were brought indoors and restored, with replicas placed outside. Historic “modular” office fittings were recreated and the ornate interior was restored.
INITIATIVE AWARDS
Stewardship
- Keim House (Berks County), Honoring Historic Preservation Trust of Berks County
Keim House and ancillary building, 2015. Photograph by Phill Pendleton from Keim Homestead Draft National Historic Landmark Nomination, March 2015.
Community Involvement
- Conneaut Lake Town Hall, formerly the High Street Church (Crawford County), Honoring Universal Development
- Musselman/Vesta Iron Furnace Center (Lancaster County), Honoring Rivertownes PA USA; Lancaster County Park and Recreation; Hammel Associates Architects
ABOUT PRESERVATION PENNSYLVANIA
Annually, since 1979, the Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Awards have honored individuals and organizations that exhibited excellence in the field of historic preservation. Preservation Pennsylvania is the commonwealth’s only statewide, private non-profit, membership organization dedicated to preserving Pennsylvania’s historic places through creative partnerships, targeted educational and advocacy programs, special projects, and technical assistance. Sabra Smith is Communications Director.
