Richard H. Driehaus Foundation National Preservation Awards Awarded at PastForward Conference

The National Trust for Historic Preservation recognized its annual series of Preservation Awards recipients last November at the PastForward Conference in Chicago. Among the award categories is the coveted Richard H. Driehaus Foundation National Preservation Awards, which recognize and celebrate the country’s best preservation projects—projects that highlight cutting-edge preservation approaches or technologies. This is the highest national recognition bestowed upon a preservation project by the National Trust.

SurveyLA award recipients with Stephanie K. Meeks, CEO and president, National Trust for Historic Preservation , and Richard H. Driehaus, president, Driehaus Capital Management.

Only three of 52 applicants were selected to win the award, including:

• Washington Hallin Seattle: After 100 years in existence, Washington Hall was under threat of demolition in 2007. In 2009, Historic Seattle bought the threatened historic building and, after a seven-year campaign returned the property back to its roots as a “Hall for All” and “Hall for Notables.”  This project embodies the best that the field of historic preservation offers.
• Hamnett PlaceNeighborhood Outside Pittsburgh: This community had deteriorating housing stock and high property taxes, which led to years of disinvestment. The Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation took action, applied principles of historic restoration and preservation to transform the neighborhood, including an astounding 67 units of housing in historic buildings, and renewed a community, without displacing residents.
• SurveyLA: The survey spanned the city of Los Angeles and covered an unprecedented area of almost 500 square miles. This massive effort identified approximately 30,000 historic resources including individual resources, historic districts, and district features representing a wide range of themes, topics and property types. It also resulted in several tech innovations.

The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation National Preservation Awards were distributed during the Opening Plenary at the PastForward Conference. Videos of the awards presentation are available on the PastForward 2017 Playlist on YouTube. Nominations for the 2018 awards are due March 1.

The Chicago-based Driehaus Foundation benefits individuals and communities by supporting the preservation and enhancement of the built and natural environments through historic preservation, encouragement of quality architectural and landscape design, and conservation of open space.

David J. Brown is the executive vice president and chief preservation officer of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and a past/founding member of the INTO Executive Committee