Each year during Preservation Month in May, Preservation Maryland recognizes the people, projects, and places that exemplify and advance our statewide movement at our Best of Maryland awards. This year, we’re pleased to present our Smart Growth Excellence Award for the first time and award multiple Stewardship Awards to public and private property owners. Congratulations to this year’s awardees!
2019 Awardees
PRESIDENT’S AWARD
JACQUES KELLY
THE BALTIMORE SUN
Jacques Kelly is the voice of local history in The Baltimore Sun. He has been writing about the City’s historic neighborhoods and architecture since 1986 with a focus on writing for city residents that love Baltimore and want to learn more about the place they call home. Expanding on his local history column, Kelly is the author of Bygone Baltimore.
LEGISLATIVE CHAMPION
DELEGATE STEPHEN W. LAFFERTY
Delegate Stephen W. Lafferty of Baltimore County is a long-time advocate for investment in Maryland’s cities and towns and protection of the environment. Delegate Lafferty has led efforts to secure resources for residential and commercial revitalization, improve transportation to provide better access to opportunity, and prevent the loss of farms and forests to development. He has served in the Maryland House of Delegates since 2007 and currently chairs the House Speaker’s Regional Revitalization Workgroup and the Environment and Transportation Committee’s Subcommittee on Land Use and Ethics.
Attend the Awards: Help us celebrate this year’s Best of Maryland awardees at a fun and festive presentation on Thursday, May 16, 2019 under the vintage neon lights of Glen Echo Park in Montgomery County. Tickets state at only $20 and it’s one of our biggest events of the year! Step right up.
THE PHOENIX AWARD
THE CATOCTIN FURNACE HISTORIC BUILDING TRADES PROGRAM
CATOCTIN FURNACE HISTORICAL SOCIETY & SILVER OAK ACADEMY
The Catoctin Furnace Historic Building Trades Program in Western Maryland embodies the mythology of the Phoenix as the symbol of rebirth and new life for both the historic buildings and the young people who take part in their preservation. Historic building trades are the centerpiece of the program, now in its seventh year, operated in conjunction with Silver Oak Academy, a residential boarding school for at-risk teens overseen by the State of Maryland Department of Juvenile Services. These students learn valuable construction skills while working alongside preservation experts as they undertake building rehabilitation and restoration. Through the Building Trades Program, students gain marketable real world job skills that attract potential employers in preservation, conservation, museums, and the trades – or may even inspire students to start their own company. The partnership between the Catoctin Furnace Historical Society and Silver Oak Academy exemplifies private and public resources coming together to save important historical buildings while improving young lives.
PRESERVATION ARTISAN AWARD
David Gibney
David Gibney has honed his skill for preservation artistry over a 40 year career. David transitioned from new construction to historic preservation in the 1970s when he was one of just a handful of people selected for a new Restoration Workshop program offered by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Since then, he has helped repair and restore countless historic places that continue to thrive as a result of his interventions. In Maryland, David has left his fingerprint on important and comprehensive restorations at the Homewood Museum and Doughoregan Manor in Baltimore City, the Maryland Theater and Long Meadows in Hagerstown, the iconic Thomas Point Lighthouse on the Chesapeake Bay, and the full restoration of Tolson’s Chapel in Sharpsburg. David is also responsible for the chinking and daubing of the Maryland slave cabin that is now part of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Over David’s impressive career, he has shared his passion and expertise with countless apprentices and employees, helping to continue and invigorate the vital role of the traditional trades within the preservation field.
GEARHART PROFESSIONAL AWARD
Eli Pousson
Eli Pousson joined Baltimore Heritage. Inc. as a Field Officer in 2010 with funding from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and transitioned into Preservation and Outreach Manager since 2013. Much of Eli’s professional work and personal projects focus on community engagement, equity and representation, and open source access. Exemplifying his ethos, Eli created an open learning environment online to teach preservation ethics and techniques to a diverse cohort of Baltimoreans; part of that curriculum is now hosted and taught by the National Park Service. Eli should also be commended for his coordination of the annual Bmore Historic Unconference, his research of Baltimore’s Civil Rights Landmarks, and his commitment to providing access to much of his work via the Explore Baltimore app and mobile website. After nearly 10 years with Baltimore Heritage, Inc., Eli has accepted a Fellowship in the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.
SMART GROWTH EXCELLENCE AWARD
NIST Gaithersburg Campus Master Plan
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) campus in Gaithersburg is one of the largest intact groupings of modernist buildings in Maryland and is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. NIST, always at the forefront of advancing scientific research, exacting standards, and leveraging technology, has embraced its new-found role as steward to one of the state’s best modernist environments. Its Campus Master Plan completed by Metropolitan Architects & Planners embodies smart growth in all areas. Key tenants of the plan include converting much of the lawn to meadow and reforesting peripheral areas; improving water and energy efficiency; improving bike and pedestrian access to the campus; and rehabilitating historic structures.
Stewardship Award
Collaborative Revitalization Project at The Peale Center
Baltimore Department of General Services
The Peale CENTER FOR BALTIMORE HISTORY & ARCHITECTURE
SM+P Architects
Ruff Roofers
C&H Restoration
The Peale Center is a National Historical Landmark in the heart of Baltimore City and part of the City’s portfolio of historic assets at the Department of General Service. It is often referenced with pride as the first purpose built museum in North America – however, nearly 20 years of disuse wore on the structure. In 2014, the City began this complex revitalization project in earnest, bringing in SM+P Architects who designed a historically-accurate roof in appearance and construction; Ruff Roofers to execute that roofing scheme using the traditional method of field-forming short pans of terne-coated copper; C&H Restoration who worked diligently on the historic masonry, repaired and rebuilt windows, and provided a final protective coat of paint; and Nancy Proctor, now director of The Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture, offered her respected international museum expertise. Together, the investment and stewardship into the oldest museum in the United States has led to the birth of a new kind of museum providing access to history, art, architecture, and culture to all Marylanders.
Stewardship Award
Residential Rehabilitation of Hagerstown Firehouse No. 3
Doug & Kristy Carroll
Wagner Roofing
Standing tall amongst the Hagerstown skyline, the ca. 1852 Junior No. 3 Firehouse was recently rehabilitated into a residence by Doug and Kristy Carroll. After previous work on its masonry facades and other renovations, the Carrolls engaged Wagner Roofing to restore the highly detailed roof cupola with matching Buckingham slate and copper flashing, along with finishing the job using historically accurate paint colors on the iconic bell tower and ornate cornices. The stunning result is a bright beacon of private investment and careful preservation in downtown Hagerstown.
Stewardship Award
Creating a Modern Family Estate at Mt. Welcome Retreat
George and Pei Schlossnagle
brennan + company architects
Mt. Welcome Retreat, a historic Federal-style granite farmhouse in Baltimore County surrounded by 13-acres and several auxiliary buildings, is now home to George and Pei Schlossnagle and their family. The main farmhouse was creatively retrofitted by brennan+company architects, preserving the farmhouse’s interior while providing modern living spaces in new additions built within the footprint of historic additions. Much of the work was completed with local preservation artisans and local materials – in some cases reclaimed from the estate itself. The buildings and grounds are protected with Land Trust Conservation Easements and review by the Maryland Historical Trust. Outside of the farmhouse, the large bank barn has been returned to its agricultural use and now houses chicken, goats, and llamas, while the pond has been replanted with native plants and attracts turtles, geese, bees, and other wildlife. The owners and architects worked together to steward this family estate into the 21st century by prioritizing green interventions while preserving key elements of its past and providing new functionality to its current owners.
Stewardship Award
Accessibility Architecture at the Perry Point Gristmill
VA Maryland Health Care System
Davis Buckley Architects and Planners
Sited upon the Susquehanna River in Cecil County, this ca. 1721 gristmill became part of the 280-acre Perry Point facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Its coastal location and disuse began to threaten the future of the building. Under the direction of the Maryland Historical Trust, the VA sought to repair and transform the gristmill into the Perry Point Veterans Museum. The smart design by Davis Buckley Architects and Planners retains the rough historic industrial interior and pairs it with exposed modern building components of steel and glass. The necessary interventions provide accessibility to the mill and its exhibits through a modern elevator, ramp, and stair – in fact, a glass enclosure was designed to preserve and showcase the historic interior mill stair. During the process, the lower-level of the structure was dry-proofed, constructed, and finished with durable materials able to resist floodwater damage. Noted as the oldest historic structure in the portfolio of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, this worthy project respects the mill’s past and current service to the community.
COMMUNITY CHOICE AWARDS
Lisa and Dave Everett for their investment and careful rehabilitation of the ca. 1889 Phelps House into Laurel’s only historic Bed and Breakfast, the Laurel Manor House.
AIA Baltimore and the Baltimore Architecture Foundation for the steady growth of the unique Doors Open Baltimore event, introducing thousands to Charm City’s historic architecture.
Historic St. Mary’s City utilized the unique structure of the Brome Slave Cabin, a duplex slave cabin to interpret the experience of enslaved people before and after the Civil War.
Sweet Elizabeth Jane storefront renovations on Main Street after both the 2016 and 2018 flood exemplify the resiliency of Ellicott City’s business and preservation community.