NOMINATE a person or project!

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: Construction Awards, Leadership Awards and the Honor Awards. The latter are selected by Preservation Pennsylvania's Board, but we welcome your suggestions for consideration. Read on to learn about each category of award. We hope you'll nominate a project and help us spread the word!

Fee: $25 for nonmembers; one free nomination for members of Preservation Pennsylvania

(Members: Log in to your account, visit the Award fee payment page and your discount will be automatically applied.)

Deadline: June 15, 2023

Construction Awards

Construction Awards honor outstanding examples of

• Private/Homeowner/Small business rehabilitation
• Restoration
• Rehabilitation
• Infill/new construction in a historic district
• Documentation (pre-construction)

Examples of possible submissions might include a small business owner’s facade restoration; adaptive reuse of an old building for affordable housing; a homeowner’s sensitive update of a neglected building; or a company’s rehabilitation of a white elephant property for a new use.

Nominations are welcome from developers, municipalities, small business owners and homeowners.

ELIGIBILITY

Five-year window: Projects nominated for awards must have been substantially completed between June 1, 2018 and June 1, 2023.
National Register eligibility is not a requirement for submission. All work must demonstrate good preservation practices. Homeowner, municipal, and historic district infill projects are welcomed.

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.

CLICK HERE TO NOMINATE A CONSTRUCTION AWARD

LEADERSHIP AWARDS

Award Categories

Adaptability/Sustainability - Innovative approaches in planning for the effects of climate change. Examples might include a municipal study for stormwater management or mitigating the effects of flooding in a historic district; use of innovative technologies or materials in retrofitting a historic building, or creatively overcoming obstacles in the rehab of a challenging building.  2020 Recipient: Phipps Conservatory Exhibit Staging Center (Allegheny County) 

Communication - Exceptional quality in research initiatives, preservation/heritage publications, outstanding educational campaigns, social media outreach or media coverage of preservation/heritage efforts or issues. 2019 Recipient: Delaware Canal Vision Study, DCNR, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Bucks & Northampton Counties)

Community Involvement - Community preservation/heritage issues or projects ranging from a grassroots advocacy project to commemoration of a place/person or event. 2020 Recipient: Governor Wolf Historical Society (Northampton County) 

Education - Innovative preservation/heritage educational programs or curricula. 2020 Recipient: Al Capone’s Cell at Eastern State Penitentiary (Philadelphia County) 2019 Recipient: Neighborhood Preservation Toolkit, PennPraxis, Philadelphia (Philadelphia County)

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 tornados. 2018 Recipient: Saint Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church (Philadelphia County)

Grassroots Advocacy – Innovative examples of assistance that helped communities protect and preserve the historic places that matter to them. 2018 Recipient: Sydelle Zove for Abolition Hall (Montgomery County)

Local Government – Local Government - For exceptional government support and/or involvement in preservation/heritage issues, programs, or projects. 2022 Recipient: Luzerne County Courthouse (Luzerne County)

Preservation Planning - Demonstrate the best planning and development practices to promote historic preservation, whether grassroots development or large-scale multi-jurisdictional. 2022 Recipients: Belmont/David M. Mayer House (Lancaster County) 

Public Impact - Excellence in using a historic building as a catalyst to enrich a community. Includes examples of small business or adaptive reuse. 2022 Recipient: Columbia Market House (Lancaster County)

Stewardship - Exceptional stewardship efforts by an individual or group on behalf of a significant historic resource. (Ongoing standard maintenance does not rise to award level.) 2022 Recipient: Christ Church Tower and Steeple Restoration by the Christ Church Project Committee (Philadelphia County) 2020 Recipient: The Civic Club [Overlook] (Dauphin County) 

CLICK HERE TO NOMINATE A LEADERSHIP AWARD

HONOR AWARDS

The F. Otto Haas Award (lifetime achievement) and the Henry A. Jordan Award (local preservation) are selected by the Board of Preservation Pennsylvania. However, your suggestions are welcome. Use the same guidelines to tell us about the person or organization you think deserves recognition.

Interested in sponsorship opportunities?

Exclusive $10,000 - Keystone Sponsor

• • 8 event tickets
  • Opportunity to make brief welcoming remarks at awards event
  • Logo displayed at event on sponsor welcome board and presentation screen
  • Logo banner (4 months) on Preservationpa.org Home page
  • Logo displayed on Awards page of Preservationpa.org
  • Recognition in Preservation Pennsylvania’s social media
  • Acknowledgement of support in Preservation Pennsylvania’s November e-newsletter
  • Business-level Preservation Pennsylvania membership
  • Click here to purchase

F. Otto Haas Award
Sponsored by A. Roy Smith

Henry A. Jordan Award
Sponsored by Mrs. Henry A. Jordan

$2,500 - Ralph Modjeski Award for Excellence in Transportation Design, Preservation or Archaeology

• 4 event tickets
• Logo displayed at event on sponsor welcome board and presentation screen
• Name or Logo with hyperlink displayed on Awards page of Preservationpa.org
• Recognition in Preservation Pennsylvania’s social media
• Acknowledgement of support in Preservation Pennsylvania’s November e-newsletter
• Business-level Preservation Pennsylvania membership
• Click here to purchase

$1,000 - Brick Sponsor

• • 2 event tickets
  • Logo displayed at event on sponsor welcome board and presentation screen
  • Name or Logo with hyperlink displayed on Awards page of Preservationpa.org
  • Recognition in Preservation Pennsylvania’s social media
  • Acknowledgement of support in Preservation Pennsylvania’s November e-newsletter
  • Business-level Preservation Pennsylvania membership
  • Click here to purchase 

$500 - Mortar Sponsor

• • 1 event tickets
  • Logo displayed at event on sponsor welcome board and presentation screen
  • Name or Logo displayed on Awards page of Preservationpa.org
  • Recognition in Preservation Pennsylvania’s social media
  • Acknowledgement of support in Preservation Pennsylvania’s November e-newsletter
  • Click here to purchase

Pay online or click here to download our Sponsorship Opportunities pdf

2022 Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Awards

The Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Awards are an annual celebration of excellence that began in 1979.

We celebrated this year's honorees on Tuesday, November 15 at the Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center in West Chester (Chester County).

Honor Awards

F. Otto Haas Awards for Outstanding Achievements in Historic Preservation

Preservation Pennsylvania Ruby Anniversary Retrospective of Four Decades of Leadership in the Field

Henry A. Jordan Award for Outstanding Historic Preservation Efforts at the Local Level

Royal Square Development & Construction 
(York County)

Chairperson’s Award for Demonstrated Leadership in Historic Preservation

Tom and Heather Papinchak, Polymath Park
(Westmoreland County)

Leadership Awards

People Saving Places Award

In Honor of Preservation Pennsylvania’s 40th Anniversary
The Friends of the Sheepford Road Bridge and West Shore Historical Society
(Cumberland and York Counties)

Ralph Modjeski Award for Excellence in Transportation Design, Preservation and Archaeology

Bryn Mawr Avenue Bridges Rehabilitation Project
Bryn Mawr (Delaware County)
Honoring PennDOT Engineering District 6-0; TranSystems; Loftus Construction

Local Government

Luzerne County Courthouse
200 N. River Street
Wilkes-Barre (Luzerne County)
Honoring Luzerne County; John Canning & Co., Ltd.; A+E Group JV

Philadelphia Public Services Building - PPSB
(Former Philadelphia Inquirer Building)
400 N. Broad Street
Philadelphia (Philadelphia County)
Honoring: Tower Investments, Inc.; Powers & Company, Inc.; O’Donnell & Naccarato

Stewardship

Christ Church (Tower & Steeple Restoration)
20 N. American Street
Philadelphia (Philadelphia County)
Honoring Christ Church Project Committee; John Milner Architects; Haverstick Borthwick; Keast & Hood

Preservation Planning

Belmont/David M. Mayer House
1580 Fruitville Pike
Manheim Township (Lancaster County)
Honoring Delta Development Group, Inc.; Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County; Manbel Devco I, Limited Partnership; RGS Associates, Inc.; Ames Construction/Eby Exteriors; Bernardon; Belmont Investors, LLC; Hammel Associates Architects; Wohlsen Construction

Public Impact

For excellence in using a historic building as a catalyst to enrich a community
Columbia Market House
15 S 3rd Street
Columbia (Lancaster County)
Honoring Borough of Columbia; Hammel Associates Architects, LLC; Moore Engineering Company

Construction Awards

REHABILITATION

300-400 blocks of West 6th Streets   
Erie (Erie County)
Honoring Historic Erie Restorations, LLC; Delta Development Group; Kidder Architects, LLC: Kidder Jefferys Construction, LLC; Jefferys Engineering, LLC

Elizabeth Furnace
2121 Furnace Hills Pike
Elizabeth Township (Lancaster County)
Honoring EFP, LLC (Craig & Bruce Coleman); Delta Development Group, Inc.; BubbDesign; Citadel DCA, LLC; Stable Hollow Construction

Main Street Bridge over SEPTA
Main Street
Sellersville (Bucks County)
Honoring PennDOT District 6-0; HDR, Inc.; Loftus Construction

PATH Center
1919 Cottman Avenue
Philadelphia (Philadelphia County)
Honoring PATH (People Acting to Help), Inc.; Powers & Company; Bloomfield and Associates Architects; Bruce E. Brooks & Associates; W.S. Cumby Construction

Roxian Theatre
425 Chartiers Avenue
McKees Rocks (Allegheny County)
Honoring Roxian Live, LLC; PWWG Architects; CJL Engineering; Schneider Engineering, LLC; Babichacoustics

Wilkinsburg Train Station
Hay Street at Ross Street
Wilkinsburg (Allegheny County)
Honoring Wilkinsburg Community Development Corporation; Powers & Co.; MCF Architecture; SOTA Construction Services

RESTORATION

Gloria Dei (Old Swedes’) Church
916 S. Swanson Street
Philadelphia (Philadelphia County)
Honoring Historic Gloria Dei Preservation Corporation; Materials Conservation Co, LLC

Warfield House
Gettysburg National Military Park, Millerstown Road
Gettysburg (Adams County)
Honoring the National Park Service; the Gettysburg National Military Park Structures Preservation Branch; Page; Silman

2021 Awards

Thank you to everyone who joined us to kick off our 40th Anniversary year.

We honored Jeff Marshall (Bucks County) and Sydelle Zove (Montgomery County) for their outstanding work.

Our keynote speaker was Bonnie McDonald of The Relevancy Project, speaking about the future of historic preservation.

Not able to attend? View the event video below and read our news post about the 2021 Preservation Pennsylvania Honor Awards.

(Video not showing? Click here.)