Preservation at its Best Awards
Each year, the Iowa Historic Preservation Alliance in partnership with the Iowa Gaming Association seeks to honor individuals, organizations, projects, and programs whose work demonstrates a commitment to excellence in historic preservation. In doing so, we hope to inspire others to take action to preserve, protect, and promote historic resources. The categories for awards include: residential (single family, four or fewer units, or more than four units), public, rural, archeological, commercial and commercial/mixed-use (large and small project) and special, non "brick and mortar" projects.
The call for nominations typically goes out early in the calendar year with nominations due in March. In past years, winners have been honored in May at an awards ceremony in Des Moines. The "Celebrate Community History Day" event also recognizes annual National Register listings and CLG (preservation commission) grants.
2008 Preservation at its Best Awards
Commercial - Large
Dubuque Star Brewery, Dubuque, Dubuque County
Dubuque Star BreweryThe Dubuque Star Brewery served as a brewery between 1899 and 1993 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The City of Dubuque acquired the building in 2001 for redevelopment into a business and entertainment complex. The City stabilized the building, including roof repairs, re-pointing, and some demolition and gutting of the interior. EPIC Construction began interior and exterior rehabilitation in December 2005. The work included new wood windows throughout to match the historic windows, restoration of the storefront, painting, and the general reconditioning of historic materials, such as the brick walls, cast iron columns, and arched brick ceilings. Rooftops were converted into outdoor patios and dining space. Even the original copper brewing kettle was cleaned and restored for use as a focal piece in the current Star Restaurant. In addition to City and private funding, the project was awarded Federal and State historic preservation tax credits.
Commercial - Small
Breadeaux Pizza Building, Hampton, Franklin County
Breadeaux Pizza BuildingOn July 13, 2007, Joel Orr, the owner of a historic building in downtown Hampton, began work to fix bowing vitrolite glass panels. As he removed the panels from a support column, the column began to collapse. The windows in the building bowed, the metal cornice separated and twisted, and the brick facade cracked. Although a structural engineer thought the building was in eminent danger of collapse, Joel sought a second opinion and found that it could be saved. Supports were placed strategically to keep the building from falling while the facade was partially deconstructed and then rebuilt from the ground up. Joel saved as much of the old facade as possible, matching new brick to the remaining historic materials, reusing the decorative stone window hoods, and repairing the metal cornice. New transom and storefront windows were installed. Inside, Joel saved the light fixtures and wood panels from the second floor office space and installed new sheetrock, flooring, and windows.
Mixed Use
Crescent Community Health Center, Project Concern, and Washington Court Apartments, Dubuque, Dubuque County
Crescent Community Health Center, Project Concern, and Washington Court ApartmentsThe Dubuque Casket Company was the most successful of three casket manufacturers in Dubuque, operating from 1877 to 1987. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. Gronen Restoration Inc. and Community Housing Initiatives partnered to convert 65,000 square feet of abandoned space into a facility that would benefit the neighborhood and community. With little demolition needed to convert the open warehouse into usable space, all historic features were preserved on the inside of the building and incorporated into the new design. Beams and columns exposed, masonry was cleaned and re-pointed, new windows were installed, and the historic loading dock doors were replicated. Because the building houses non-profit agencies and low income tenants, special attention was paid to keeping operating cost low for the tenants. In addition, one-quarter of the housing units are handicapped accessible. In addition to numerous local, state, and federal financial incentives the generosity and hard work of many people and organizations made the rehabilitation and operation of this facility possible.
Public Facility
Charles Theatre, Charles City, Floyd County
Charles TheatreA showpiece in downtown Charles City, the Charles Theatre received the Public Facility Preservation at its Best Award. Built during the 1930s, the Charles Theatre is an outstanding example of Art Deco design. The Charles City Arts Council own the building, which is also home to the Stony Point Players, a volunteer community theatre group. Volunteers also show first-run movies for a discounted price. As part of rehabilitation work, a new marquee was installed, the flooring was refinished, new seats were installed, a handicapped seating area was created, aisle lighting was installed, and the box office window was replaced.
Residential - Single-family
Lee Vogel - Julie Schmidt House, Spencer, Clay County
Lee Vogel - Julie Schmidt HouseJulie Schmidt and Lee Vogel received the Single-family Residential Preservation at its Best Award for bringing this wonderful bungalow back from serious neglect. Built in 1918, the bungalow was home to the Bernhagen family until 1943, when it was purchased by the Lawson family. By the time Julie and Lee purchased it, the house hadn't been painted in 28 years, ivy had taken over the exterior, and wood trim was rotten. The property as a whole had been overrun by vegetation, including several trees that were dead or dying. With a lot of hard work, Julie and Lee restored it to livable condition, including installing a high-efficiency hot water boiler, updating the electrical and plumbing systems, and insulting the attic. On the exterior, stucco was cleaned, scraped, and primed; wood trim was repaired, scraped, and primed; and 73 windows were restored.