CELEBRATING PRESERVATION EXCELLENCE
Each year, since 1979, Preservation Pennsylvania has presented the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Awards. These awards honor exceptional preservation work taking place across the commonwealth. There are three major categories for award recognition: the Honor Awards, Leadership Awards, and Construction Awards.
Preservation Pennsylvania thanks everyone who attended the 2023 Awards event, held at the State Museum in Harrisburg. The seventeen projects represented an array of preservation work — two National Historic Landmark buildings in Philadephia being maintained and updated for the future, a decade-long research project about a “lost” pioneering architect culminating in an exhibit and book, two projects repairing damage from extreme weather, two Pennsylvania At Risk projects that reached positive, significant turning points in their timelines, and several projects driven by community pride in local history that have already starting making significant impacts in the local economies. Our congratulations to each and every person involved in these projects for your belief in the power of preservation, your perseverance, and your passion!
Learn more about each project: 2023 awards publication pdf
Download your project team’s photograph from the awards event on October 19
We’d also like to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors, whose support helps us continue the work we do throughout the year to educate, advocate, and help people save the special old places they love.
Honor Award Sponsors
F. Otto Haas Award sponsored by Tom Hagen
Henry A. Jordan Award sponsored by Mrs. Henry A. Jordan
Chairperson’s Award sponsored by Margaret B. Wallis
Leadership Award Sponsors
Ralph Modjeski Award sponsored by Modjeski and Masters
Turning Point Award sponsored by A. Roy Smith
Brick Sponsors
Element Environmental Solutions
Premier Building Restoration, Inc.
Thomas R. Rippon
Mortar Sponsors
Robert & Rebecca Kinsley
Pennsylvania Historical Association
Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia
Bischoff Inn, Libations Sponsor
and a special thank you to the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission
for providing us the use of the State Museum of Pennsylvania!
This year’s F. Otto Haas Award for Outstanding Achievements in Historic Preservation was presented to architect Jeff Kidder of Erie. For more than three decades, he has guided the preservation of hundreds of historic buildings in northwest Pennsylvania and western New York. In Erie, his leadership and passion for preservation has been transformative. “It’s all about the buildings for me; especially the historic buildings,” said Kidder during his acceptance speech. “We’ve been able to build a small firm that is 95% historic preservation. Even though this is an award for me as an individual, we’ve seen in all the projects that it’s a team effort.”
He went on to thank Tom Hagen for the creation of the Erie Historic Preservation Trust five years ago. “I’m living a dream right now,” he said, referencing the work to rehabilitate 35 historic buildings in the West State Street Historic District, ten of which have been renovated to date. Kidder said “historic preservation, in the eyes of the citizens of Erie County, is alive and well,” noting that people in the community talk to us about what’s happening on West 6th street — ”the community needs, welcomes and appreciates the work that’s going on.”
The Henry A. Jordan Award for Outstanding Historic Preservation Efforts at the Local Level was presented to David Morrison, Executive Director of Historic Harrisburg, for his long career of preservation advocacy and promoting local history. The award was presented by Charlie Jordan, son of the late Henry A. Jordan, a former board member of Preservation Pennsylvania.
Bonnie Wilkinson Mark accepted the Chairperson’s Award in recognition of Demonstrated Leadership in Historic Preservation, capping a remarkable career of collaboration to protect and preserve iconic landmarks across the state, including the Bedford Springs Hotel (Bedford County) and Yorktowne Hotel (York County).
For a full list of recipients, please scroll down or download the 2023 Award publication (sent by mail to members and recent donors)
HONOR AWARDS
F. OTTO HAAS AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS IN HISTORIC PRESERVATION
Jeff Kidder (Erie County)
Haas Award Sponsor: Tom Hagen
HENRY A. JORDAN AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING HISTORIC PRESERVATION EFFORTS AT THE LOCAL LEVEL
David Morrison (Dauphin County)
Jordan Award Sponsor: Mrs. Henry A. Jordan
CHAIRPERSON’S AWARD FOR DEMONSTRATED LEADERSHIP IN HISTORIC PRESERVATION
Bonnie Wilkinson Mark (Dauphin County)
Chairperson’s Award Sponsor: Margaret Wallis
SPECIAL FOCUS AWARD
Ralph Modjeski Award for Excellence in Transportation Design, Preservation or Archaeology
For an exceptional effort within the transportation field that results in an improvement in transportation systems while respecting and preserving the best practices of compatible design and historic preservation principles.
Chestnut Street Bridges over CSX and 24th Street (Philadelphia County)
Honoring: PennDOT District 6-0; Benesch; Buckley & Co.; Materials Conservation Collaborative/Marco Federico, Heritage Conservation Collective, LLC
Ralph Modjeski Award Sponsor: Modjeski and Masters, celebrating 130 years of technical excellence and innovation
LEADERSHIP AWARDS
TURNING POINT AWARD: In recognition of an individual or organization whose efforts have resulted in a crucial change in the potential outcome for a historic place.
Sponsored by A. Roy Smith
Carlisle Indian School Farmhouse Rehabilitation (Cumberland County)
Honoring: United States Army Garrison Carlisle Barracks
Lynnewood Hall (Montgomery County)
Honoring: Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Community preservation/heritage issues or projects ranging from a grassroots advocacy project to commemoration of a place/person or event.
Slate Belt History Project (including the Quarry Hoist Pavilion) (Northampton County)
Honoring: Borough of Bangor; Totts Gap Arts Institute; Slate Belt Heritage Center
EDUCATION: Innovative preservation/heritage educational programs or curricula
Minerva Parker Nichols Research Project, Exhibit and Book (Philadelphia County)
Honoring: Molly Lester, William Whitaker, Heather Isbell Schumacher, and Elizabeth Felicella
EMERGENCY RESPONSE: In recognition of quick action to repair and/or preserve a historic resource after a threat or catastrophic event, such as fire, flooding, or extreme weather.
Fort Washington Ida Tornado, Homeowner Porch Reconstruction (Montgomery County)
Honoring: Sharon Shapowal; J&M Preservation Studio; JRB Historic Restoration, LLC
PUBLIC IMPACT: Excellence in using a historic building as a catalyst to enrich a community. Includes examples of small business or adaptive reuse.
Nicholson Tourism Center at the Historic DL&W Railroad Station (Wyoming County)
21 Lackawanna Trail, Nicholson
Honoring: Nicholson Heritage Association; Reuther + Bowen
STEWARDSHIP: Exceptional stewardship efforts by an individual or group on behalf of a significant historic resource.
The Athenaeum of Philadelphia (Philadelphia County)
219 S. 6th Street, Philadelphia
Honoring: The Athenaeum of Philadelphia; Kreilick Conservation, LLC
CONSTRUCTION AWARDS
RESTORATION
The Orchid House at Longwood Gardens (Chester County)
Honoring: John Milner Architects, Inc.; Bancroft Construction
REHABILITATION
Burk-Bergman Boathouse (Philadelphia County)
11 Boathouse Row, Philadelphia
Honoring: University of Pennsylvania; Ewing Cole; Keast & Hood; SBK + Partners, LLC; Pennoni; Target Building Construction
Bischoff Inn (Schuylkill County)
320 Lafayette Street, Tamaqua
Honoring: Torat Ltd.; Warehaus; Gina M. Douty Historic Preservation Consulting; Heim Construction Co., Inc.
Old Neiffer Road Bridge Over Swamp Creek (also known as Sunrise Mill Bridge) (Montgomery County)
3431 Neiffer Rd., Schwenksville
Honoring: Montgomery County; Gannett Fleming, Inc.; A.D. Marble; Loftus Construction, Inc.
Old Lehigh County Courthouse (Lehigh County)
503 Hamilton Street, Allentown
Honoring: County of Lehigh; Artefact, Inc.; The Architectural Studio; Benesch; Strunk-Albert Engineering; Skanska USA; S.A. Comunale; Albarell Electric; JBM Mechanical; The Warko Group; Wilmer R. Schultz, Inc.; Element Environmental Solutions
Yorktowne Hotel (York County)
48 East Market Street, York
Honoring: York County Industrial Development Authority; NuTec Design; JDB Engineering; Beatty Harvey Coco Architects; Delta Development Group; Kinsley Construction
THANK YOU, SPONSORS!
