[MassHistPres] Stewardship Preservation Awards

[Rebecca Williams]

Hello,

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has an Honor Award for Stewardship, called "The Trustee Emeritus Award for Excellence in the Stewardship of Historic Sites"
This award recognizes sustained excellence by a nonprofit organization or government agency in the preservation, management and interpretation of one or more historic sites.  The award recognizes achievement over a period of at least 25 years in any one or more of the following areas:

 *   Promoting preservation through unique and effective programming
 *   Preservation and maintenance of historic structures and landscapes
 *   Interpretation and education programming for the public
 *   Excellence in general or fiscal management, especially in challenging situation
To see previous winners of the award, please visit http://www.preservationnation.org/take-action/awards/.

Rebecca

Rebecca Williams| Program Officer, Northeast Office
National Trust for Historic Preservation | Seven Faneuil Hall Marketplace, 4th Floor, Boston, MA  02109
Phone: 617.523.0885| Fax: 617.5231199| Email: Rebecca_Williams at nthp.org<blocked::blocked::mailto:Rebecca_Williams at nthp.org> | www.PreservationNation.org<blocked::http://www.preservationnation.org/>

From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu [mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Dennis De Witt
Sent: Monday, October 18, 2010 5:58 PM
To: MHC MHC listserve
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Stewardship Preservation Awards

Having partly instigated the discussion, perhaps I can help clarify the question.

The typical MHC preservation award -- probably like most given by local commissions and other organizations throughout the state -- is given for some combination of rescue and/or restoration -- e.g. the abandoned building that has its aluminum siding removed, detailing restored, and is given a viable new use.  Normally such awards are not really for "preservation" in the sense of maintaining an historic building as originally built.  They tend more to be for resuscitation.

It occurred to some of the Commissioners that, at least in the case of especially difficult circumstances -- whether owing to the nature of the building, or some other reason -- there might be a different category of award, called Stewardship, recognizing extraordinary efforts to maintain, rather than revive.

Your "living in old houses" suggestion was mentioned as a possibility -- e.g. in a case where the house was lived in and maintained truly intact with no additional mod cons.

Landscape designs, which are notoriously difficult to maintain intact, even over much shorter periods than the lifetime of a house, might be another possibility.

One example cited that has been given a Stewardship award in Brookline was the Van Houten Chocolate pavilion from the 1896 Chicago Worlds Fair -- a stucco over wood framed building intended to last a summer with extensive painted faux architectural embellishments.  It was moved and reconstructed in Brookline after the fair.  The award went to a dedicated couple, owners of some 50 years standing, in recognition of the high standards to which they have kept this inherently difficult to maintain building over that extended time.

Hope that helps.

Are there other commissions which recognize such efforts?  And, what are the criteria used?

Dennis De Witt

[http://www.brooklinema.gov/assessors/Pictures/6000/296001.jpg]
On Oct 18, 2010, at 5:00 PM, Electa Tritsch wrote:


Chris - This is probably ignorance on my part, but could you give us a better idea of what MHC means by Stewardship? Does it refer to land, historic structures - preservation of land, maintenance of structures, living in old houses...? I'm sure you get the gist of my question. Thanks.
Electa

At 03:36 PM 10/18/2010, Skelly, Christopher @ SEC wrote:



The Massachusetts Historical Commission is investigating an expansion of our annual Preservation Awards program to include a stewardship category.  If your organization has such a category, please contact me with more details such as the application, examples of past awardees and the criteria for decision-making.  Thanks.  Chris.

Christopher C. Skelly

Electa Kane Tritsch, Director
Oakfield Research
233 Heaths Bridge Rd.
Concord, MA 01742
978-371-2128
www.oakfieldresearch.com<http://www.oakfieldresearch.com/>
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