Preservation Awards: And the nominees are …
Recently restored façade of 102 North Lewis enjoys attention during the holiday season.
This year the City of Montgomery’s Montgomery Historic Preservation Commission initiated a historic Preservation Awards program. The goals of the inaugural Historic Preservation Awards program were to encourage excellence in the planning, design, and execution of projects affecting the City’s historic resources and heritage, and to raise greater public awareness and understanding of historic preservation efforts and their many benefits to the City of Montgomery. The awards program was open to any individual, organization, agency, or business that had demonstrated outstanding achievement in a preservation project. The projects must have been located within the City of Montgomery and must have been completed in the 2016 calendar year. To celebrate May as National Preservation Month, at the most recent monthly meeting, the Commission announced the nominees for these historic preservation awards. At the next meeting in June awards will be presented for these outstanding contributions and activities celebrating local historic preservation efforts and cultural resources that promote Montgomery’s rich history and architectural heritage. A variety of projects were nominated, each demonstrating just how effective historic preservation can be as an economic tool.
The nominees for the 2017 Historic Preservation Awards and a short description of their projects are listed below:
Overall Residential Restoration
102 North Lewis Street (St. Charles Historic District/Capitol Heights)
Memorial Capital Investments LLC bought and renovated the house with Elliott Neumann of Cajun Man Repair doing an outstanding quality restoration. Once in bank foreclosure, the classic bungalow faced an unsure future. The financial agency had the foresight to partner with the local contractor to produce a very well-planned and implemented quality restoration that is a very large asset to the North Lewis Street streetscape. Neumann worked closely with the city and the ARB making sure all work was in compliance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Rehabilitation Standards. The new owners, Kayla and Stephen Frisby, are welcome additions to the neighborhood.
Craftmanship
Maxwell Senior Officers Housing Window Restoration
Old House Specialists LLC with Hilda Dent conducted a pilot project restoring the 30 windows and 12 doors in the circa 1933 two-story family housing located on Maxwell Air Force Base. Built in the early 1930s, this handsome base housing was long overdue for a window facelift as are many of the other structures with almost 80 years pf exposure to the elements. The project showed that a good window restoration will increase energy efficiency, resident safety and preserve the historical integrity of the homes and community. The project is the foundation for a larger 48 home restoration project that will continue this spring.
Creative Repurposing of a Building
Woman’s Club at 572 S.Hull Street
Old House Specialists LLC with Hilda Dent is repurposing the 1906 Woman’s Club located at 572 S. Hull Street as workshop and living space. The project includes restoring the 42 windows in the structure, reconfiguring some room functions and making the structure overall come alive again.
Ticketholders enjoy a nice afternoon of touring impressive early 20th century homes designed by Frank Lockwood.
Heritage Education and Outreach Programming
Frank Lockwood Tour of Homes in February of 2016.
The tour by the Education Committee of the Landmarks Foundation of Montgomery showcased five representative Lockwood-designed houses that expressed the many influences on his work and revealed his masterful use of space and volume with his attention to detail. Local historian John Scott presented an informative lecture about the many facets of Lockwood’s projects.
Mary Ann Neeley continues to give tours of Dexter Avenue, Commerce Street, Oakwood Cemetery, etc.
Robert G. Daniel Award
Mary Ann Neeley
Mr. Daniel was a long time historic preservationist and member of Montgomery’s Historic Preservation Commission since its inception in the late 1960s. Mrs. Neeley was chosen for this outstanding award for her continued support and promotion of Montgomery’s rich architectural heritage.
An awards ceremony and reception honoring these projects will be held at the monthly Historic Preservation Commission’s meeting on Tuesday afternoon, June 13 at 5:30 in the Council Auditorium at City Hall located at 103 N. Perry Street. The public is invited to come and see more about these outstanding projects and meet these involved folks who are making a difference in our community!
Carole King (not the singer, just the hummer) enjoys midtown living from South Capitol Parkway in Capitol Heights where she has lived for 25+years. Carole has been the historic properties curator for the Landmarks Foundation that manages Old Alabama Town for 28 years and is passionate about neighborhoods, their architectural character, their people, and their preservation!
It thrills my heart to see a beauty like this restored.Homes that have “lived” a long life have a sweet soul that needs to live on!