35th Annual Maryland Preservation Awards

2010 Award Recipients

The Maryland Preservation Awards are presented annually by the Board of Trustees of the Maryland Historical Trust. The Trustees are appointed by the Governor of Maryland and represent all regions of the state. The awards honor outstanding achievements in historic preservation, architecture, archaeology, museums, cultural conservation, education, and related fields and represent the best of preservation in Maryland. Awards are made in six categories: Stewardship, Service, Project Excellence, Educational Excellence, Heritage Book, and the Calvert Prize. In 2009 the Trustees created two new categories for the Stewardship of Historic Properties by a Government Agency and Preservation Partnerships.

To learn more about these categories and past recipients click here.

For more information about the Maryland Preservation Awards please contact Elizabeth Hughes at (410) 514-7604.

Special Recognition for Outstanding Achievement

Jewish Museum of Maryland

Baltimore

The Jewish Museum of Maryland is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary in 2010.  The organization was chartered on April 11, 1960 as the Jewish Historical Society of Maryland and its original mission was to acquire, renovate and maintain the Lloyd Street Synagogue in East Baltimore, the first synagogue built in Maryland (1845) and the third oldest surviving synagogue in the United States.

Today, the Jewish Museum of Maryland has expanded its mission from the preservation of a single building to document Jewish Life in Maryland; preserve historical artifacts and photographs; publish newsletters, journals and books on Maryland Jewish History; and present exhibitions, talks and programs on the Jewish experience.  Historic preservation has been at the core of the museum’s mission since its founding, and the organization being honored for its leadership in the preservation, documentation, interpretation, education and stewardship of Maryland’s architecture and cultural heritage for the past fifty years.

Outstanding Achievement Awards are presented from time to time to organizations and individuals whose leadership and achievements serve as examples for their peers across the State.

Preservation Service

Click here for a list of past recipients of Preservation Service Awards

Birch Hotz

Myersville, Frederick County

Birch Hotz, a native of Ontario, Canada, and a long-time Frederick County resident, has been a leader and driving force in the preservation of central Maryland’s heritage for more than 40 years.  In the early 1970s Hotz led the effort to save Schifferstadt, one of the most significant Germanic 18th-century buildings in Maryland.   She founded the Frederick County Landmarks Foundation, the organization that acquired and restored the building on Motter Avenue in Frederick.  In the ensuing decades Hotz was instrumental in saving the Beatty-Cramer House and the Derr houses in Walkersville, and has been an avid advocate for the preservation of barns and agricultural landscapes throughout Frederick County. 

 

Heritage Tourism Alliance of Montgomery County

Montgomery County Heritage Days

Heritage Days is a two-day annual event, held on the last weekend of June, during which most of Montgomery County’s historic, cultural and recreational organizations open their doors for free to the public. Heritage Days brings history alive with family-style entertainment, music, fun, arts, hands-on-activities, refreshments, and food. The sites are located throughout the county and are varied and many.

Heritage Days started as History Days in 1998 with about 20 participating sites. After the creation of Heritage Montgomery, HTA took over the sponsorship of the event from the Montgomery County Historical Society in 2004. At that time this event featured 31 sites for which HTA created a full-color brochure that was marketed and circulated in local libraries, community centers and post offices resulting in about 1,500 visitors. Aggressive marketing efforts and strategic partnerships has resulted in increased attendance at Heritage Days events and heightened awareness of the role of historic sites and heritage tourism on the region's economy.

Heritage Book Award

Click here for a list of past recipients of Heritage Book Awards

The Oyster Question: Scientists, Watermen, and the Maryland Chesapeake Bay Since 1880

Christine Keiner and the University of Georgia Press

The Oyster Question explores the history of regulation, conservation efforts, techniques, and the people and places that have defined Maryland's oyster industry since the late 19th century. Author Christine Keiner sheds light on the history of conservation initiatives at the state rather than federal level and emphasizes the role of regular people rather than wealthy interests in shaping conservation traditions; challenges the established market-based understanding of conservation dynamics, since capital accumulation did not drive most Maryland watermen; and reveals the importance of rural minorities in shaping conservation policies during legislative malapportionment, the era prior to the 1960s Supreme Court decisions mandating “one man, one vote” in both houses of state legislatures.

 

Edmund G. Lind: Anglo-American Architect of Baltimore and the South

Charles Belfoure and the Baltimore Architecture Foundation

Edmund G. Lind, Anglo-American Architect of Baltimore and the South, by Charles Belfoure, is a masterly look not only at the work and influence of a prominent mid-nineteenth century American architect, but also provides a close-up, insider’s look at the vagaries of the architectural profession in this period.  Trained in London, Lind made his way to America and Baltimore in 1855 and not long after (now in partnership with William T. Murdoch) won the prestigious competition to design the new library philanthropist George Peabody was offering to Baltimore.  Both with his original design, completed in 1861, and his magnificent addition with its multi-level, cast-iron interior (1875-78), Lind’s reputation as an important American architect was established.

One of the things that makes Edmund G. Lind, Anglo-American Architect of Baltimore and the South so special for students and devotees of American architecture are the copious and large-size illustrations.  Because of Belfoure’s determined research, the reader has the opportunity to not only look at the author’s fine photographs of existing Lind work, but also experience and enjoy Lind’s incredibly detailed and accomplished watercolor renderings, floor plans, and detail sketches.   Added to this are beautiful color reproductions of architectural renderings and drawings and color photographs of buildings and architectural details.  In all, the 203-page soft-cover book contains some 180 outstanding illustrations.

 

Stewardship of Historic Properties by a Government Agency

Prince George's County Department of Parks and Recreation

Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission

The M-NCPPC in Prince George’s County has a long tradition of stewardship of historic properties, which began with the purchase of the Riversdale Mansion in 1949.  Today M-NCPPC owns 38 historic properties, all managed by the Department of Parks and Recreation, including 10 properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places, 2 National Historic Landmarks, 28 properties designated (or proposed) as county Historic Sites, and six properties subject to Maryland Historical Trust Easements.

The Natural and Historical Resources Division operates five historic house museums open to the public:  Marietta, Montpelier Mansion, Riversdale, Surratt House, and Darnall’s Chance, and two archeological parks, Mount Calvert Historical and Archaeological Park and Northhampton Slave Quarters and Archaeological Park. The Division also operates College Park Airport (1909), the oldest operating airport in the country, was acquired in 1973 to preserve this nationally important historic site and to keep the airport open and operating, the College Park  Aviation Museum and the Columbia Air Center, which opened in the fall of 2009. The Arts and Cultural Heritage Division manages six historic properties as rental venues: Adelphi Mill, Dorsey Chapel, Oxon Hill Manor, Snow Hill, Billingsley and Newton White Mansion.  A number of historic buildings are used as department offices, such as Abraham Hall, which serves as the headquarters for the Black History program.  Still others, such as Dorsey Chapel and Seabrook School, are open to the public periodically. 

The historic properties owned by M-NCPPC are a crowning achievement in the preservation of the county’s cultural heritage. The agency has committed to a continuing policy of best practices in ownership, stewardship and interpretation of its historic properties.  

 

Preservation Partnerships

Click here for a list of previous Preservation Partnerships Award recipients

Miller's Court

Baltimore

Miller’s Court is an exemplary model of preserving a landmark historic building that has gone beyond bricks and mortar to revitalize an entire community and integrate sustainable design principles.  Constructed in 1874, the former H. F. Miller and Son’s Tin Box and Can Manufacturing Company served as a manufacturing site for the American Can Company. Abandoned for 20 years, this landmark building has now experienced a renaissance as a mixed-use redevelopment offering affordable apartments for teachers in loft-style residences, (40,000 SF of one, two and three-bedroom apartments) 30,000 square feet of office space and 5,000 SF of rent-free conference facilities.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the renovation of this brownfield site has followed the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, while also conforming to the requirements for LEED-NC Gold Certification on a construction budget of $10,300,000 (Total project costs of $21,000,000). The rehabilitation of this four-story structure has spurred the revitalization of the surrounding community, creating a sense of stability and long-term commitment in this transitional urban neighborhood.

Effective collaboration between the developers, design team, contractors, tenants and the community was critical to delivering such an innovative project within an aggressive development and construction schedule (less than two years from start to finish) and limited budget ($10.3 million for all construction and tenant fit out costs). 

Project Excellence

Click here for a list of past recipients of Project Excellence Awards

Rehabilitation of the American Brewery

Baltimore

The American Brewery project was approached with the desire to transform a derelict 1887 building into one which demonstrated the owner’s strong commitment to the distressed neighborhood, while at the same time preserving the iconic structure and incorporating some of the brewery’s industrial elements as design features in the new space. The building incorporates a variety of meeting and conference rooms to accommodate these functions. Staff have been hired from the neighborhood, and several spin-off businesses have started up as a direct result of contact with the project.

The American Brewery project returned a building that had been vacant for more than 30 years into a top-quality, high character, inspiring home for an established social services agency. Humanim provides welfare to work, outpatient mental health services, family support groups, behavioral support services, workforce development services and job creation opportunities to a neighborhood desperate for economic revitalization.

The significant investment in this neglected building and community not only demonstrates Humanim’s commitment to the neighborhood but also strengthens their mission “to identify those in greatest need and provide uncompromising human services.” When Humanim made the critical decision to relocate from Columbia, Maryland into the heart of their prime service location in east Baltimore, they set in motion the process for the American Brewery’s revitalization as a Baltimore icon, and more important, became the prime catalyst for the redevelopment of one of Baltimore’s most impacted neighborhoods.

 

Rehabilitation of the Savin-Conrey House

221 George St., Chesapeake City

Cecil County

 

The Savin-Conrey House located at 221 George Street was built by Thomas Conrey c.1850 and is located in the Chesapeake City Historic District along the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal. The house was used as a telephone exchange at one time and later rented as a private residence. After many years of only minimal basic maintenance to the house the trees had become overgrown, water leaks damaged the roof and caused significant mold problems. Alan Marine and Catherine Soukup carefully rehabilitated the house, repairing the existing historic materials wherever possible, and replacing deteriorated and inappropriate materials with historically compatible new materials where necessary. This modest and unassuming house has been transformed from an eyesore to an attractive home that Chesapeake City can be proud of.

 

Restoration of the Mackall Tobacco Barn

Historic St. Mary's City

St. Mary's County

The colonial-era 1785 Mackall Barn may be the oldest standing wooden barn in Maryland. John Mackall constructed the building in 1785 (the date has been corroborated by dendrochronology - tree ring dating - as a tobacco house. The structure has also been used as a granary and, most recently, as a stock barn for cattle. The barn has most of its original sills, posts, plates, joists, false plates, and common rafters, along with clapboard siding from the late 1700s. The flooring probably dates to the early 19th century. Carved Roman numerals used to guide the construction over 200 years ago are still visible on many of the original large timbers.

Historic St. Mary’s City’s began preserving its oldest intact building in fall 2007.  The project involved stabilizing interior beams and flooring, replacing exterior wood siding and a modern tin roof with simulated and stained simulated clapboard, and removing side sheds installed in the 1940’s and attaching smaller side sheds more like those that were probably in place in the earliest structure. The sheds allow viewing of the interior of the original barn while protecting it and create 80 linear feet of wall space for exhibit panels. These exhibits interpret the development of colonial architecture from 17th-century English precedents, the changing agrarian economy of Maryland and its impacts upon the natural environment and Chesapeake Bay, and the growth of an enslaved African and African American labor force that likely helped to build (and certainly used) this structure. A rare horizontal tobacco press that HSMC had in storage is now part of the exhibits, which opened in March 2010.

 

Restoration of the Maryland Building at the Baltimore Zoo

Baltimore

The Maryland Building was designed by noted Baltimore architect George A. Frederick for the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. It is one of only two State buildings that have survived, the other being the Ohio Building. The building was dismantled and relocated to the Maryland Zoo after the close of the Exposition and had fallen into a state of disrepair in recent years. Rather than demolish the deteriorated, but salvageable building, the Maryland Zoo chose to restore the building for classroom and administrative use. The building has been carefully restored, including historically accurate paint colors and exterior detailing, while meeting all modern safety, accessibility, and functional requirements.

The Zoo’s decision not to demolish the structure was likely the most important outcome of the initial investigation and reporting. Comments extracted from the project proposal tell the story ”Despite the ragged appearance of the Maryland Building, it is in perfectly repairable condition, for a budget significantly less than demolition/new construction, and does not have to be emptied during restoration. Be comfortable that a positive decision to restore and improve the building can be backed up by sound engineering findings, informed judgment as to repair techniques, a reasonable budget, and the local availability of effective rehab specialists.” The building remained occupied during construction, allowing the Zoo to maintain operations at no additional costs.