2019 SHPO Award Winners Announced!
Dr. Allyson Brooks, Washington State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) has announced the 2019 award recipients for the Outstanding Achievement in Historic Preservation. Each year, the Washington SHPO recognizes persons, organizations, and projects that achieved distinction in the field of historic preservation in the following categories: Heritage Barn Rehabilitation, Historic Preservation Education, Preservation Hero Award, Historic Preservation Planning, Special Achievement, and the Valerie Sivinski Award for Outstanding Achievement in Historic Rehabilitation.
The 2019 contingent of winners come from Columbia, Chelan, Pierce, Island, Cowlitz, and King Counties. Awards in each category are:
Heritage Barn Rehabilitation
Bar Z Barn Rehab, Columbia County
The 2019 Award in the Heritage Barn Rehabilitation category recognizes the extraordinary lengths that the Dickinson family of Dayton and their contractors went to rescue the Paquet Place Barn. Now called the Bar Z Ranch Barn, the 108 year old structure was listed by the Dickinsons in Washington’s Heritage Barn Register in 2009.
When they purchased the farm from the Paquet family, the Dickinsons knew they had bought a special piece of local history. Hoping to extend the life of the barn, they applied for funding through the State Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation Heritage Barn Grant program in 2015. After successfully receiving a grant award, they quickly went to work. Priority tasks at that time involved replacing important support posts, then leaving the barn in a structurally vulnerable state.
Unfortunately at that point, a windstorm swept through the region and destructive winds crumpled the barn in on itself.
Stricken but undeterred, the Dickinsons kept faith that the barn could be re-built. Fortunately, they found a new contractor, the Pillars of Society Woodworks LLC, who shared their belief in the resilience of hundred-year-old buildings. The contractors meticulously salvaged what they could, marking where specific structural elements needed to be placed as part of the reconstruction. Where replacement material was needed, the contractors utilized material salvaged from other area barns that could not be saved. Slowly but surely, the Bar Z Ranch Barn regained the form and shape it has held for the past 109 years.
Historic Preservation Education
Conrad Rose Mansion, Wenatchee
This Award in the Historic Preservation Education category recognizes the work that students at the Wenatchee Valley Technical (WVT) Construction Trades program have done to bring new life back to the historic Rose Mansion. Built in 1906 by Wenatchee fruit baron Conrad Rose, this grand Neo-Classical style mansion was sold in 1924 and greatly expanded in 1930 for the Jones & Jones Funeral Home. Vacant since 2007, two local hi-tech companies recognized the potential of transforming the expansive building from funeral home to offices and apartments with a 21st century vibe on the inside. The rehabilitation contractors worked with the WVT students to faithfully reconstruct historic exterior architectural elements that matched the original construction. They also carefully dismantled and preserved some of the old-growth pine beams used in the interior. As a result of the owners’ commitment to rehabbing the Rose Mansion and repairing historic features, the WVT students received invaluable preservation education experience for their future careers and that also helps sustain historic preservation trades for future generations to pursue.
Historic Preservation Education
City of Tacoma Historic Preservation Program, Tacoma
Tacoma’s Historic Preservation Program reflects the city’s commitment to historic preservation for economic development and fostering quality of life. To achieve this, preservation staff including Historic Preservation Officer Reuben McKnight and Preservation Coordinator Lauren Hoogkamer, pursued an aggressive agenda of linking-up historic preservation with new audiences to get them excited about the city’s historic places and heritage. To do this, they forged new partnerships to organize a wide range of innovative and fun events that included scavenger hunts, bicycle rides, themed dance parties, and pub crawls. An intriguing example of their success is research that Lauren undertook to find an original reel of the silent-era film “Eyes of the Totem,” filmed and produced in Tacoma in 1927. Huge audiences enjoyed recent screenings of the restored film. Another example is work the City achieved to interpret the historic Prairie Line Railroad grade through downtown. Working closely with the Puyallup Tribe, historians, and planners, the railroad grade has been transformed into a landscaped trail featuring art, green-scaping, and an interactive on-line walking tour.
Historic Preservation Planning
Cowlitz County Heritage Plan
In the Historic Preservation Planning category, the Cowlitz County Historic Preservation Commission is awarded for undertaking development of the Cowlitz County Heritage Plan. The Plan was developed out of an identified need to expand the Commission’s outreach to communities and organizations that have typically not been engaged with local historic preservation efforts. To develop the Heritage Plan, Commission members worked closely with County staff and a Portland State University student team to develop and implement an extensive public participation process. The process included identifying and documenting historic places and sites that had previously been unrecorded. The result of this effort was an action-based work plan that empowers the community to achieve an ambitious historic preservation agenda, and first and foremost, articulated a commitment to recognizing and honoring the diverse heritages of people.
Preservation Hero
Kendall Campbell
Kendall Campbell, is honored with a Preservation Hero Award for her 10 years of service to the U.S. Navy as the Cultural Resources Manager for Whidbey Island Naval Air Station (WINAS) near Oak Harbor. In her position at WINAS, Kendall was responsible for managing the installation’s mandate to identify and protect significant archaeological, cultural, and historic properties. This role requires interpreting and implementing complicated regulations and procedures; working closely with the public, Tribal governments, and the State Historic Preservation Officer; all while balancing a mandate to protect cultural resources with the Navy and WINAS defense mission. This responsibility occasionally landed Kendall in the middle of difficult debates and contentious issues. Regardless of these challenges, Kendall always approached her tasks and stakeholders with professionalism, respect, and sense of humor.
Special Achievement
Washington Maritime National Heritage Area Steering Committee & Stephanie Toothman
On March 12, 2019, President Trump signed into law a sweeping public lands act that included designation of the National Washington Maritime Heritage Area (NWMHA). This notable achievement marked the designation of the nation’s first National Heritage Area (NHA) focused primarily on maritime historic resources and one of only a handful of NHAs west of the Mississippi River. It also culminated over 10 years of work by the Steering Committee established by the State to explore the feasibility of creating a national maritime heritage area. The ten members of the committee represent a cross section of local, state, federal, and Tribal government leaders plus historic preservation and maritime heritage advocates. Former National Park Service Assistant Director Stephanie Toothman, Ph.D. is also honored with this award in recognition of her role in seeing the NWMHA from vision to reality. The Feasibility Study can be linked here: https://dahp.wa.gov/sites/default/files/NationalMaritimeHeritageAreaStudy_2.pdf
Outstanding Rehabilitation – Valerie Sivinski Award
Pantages Theater, Tacoma
For its centennial year in 2018, the historic Pantages Theater in Tacoma saw completion of a major restoration and rehabilitation which returned the theater to its former glory. A designated Tacoma Landmark and listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the Pantages is owned by the City of Tacoma and managed by Tacoma Arts Live, a non‐profit organization dedicated to energizing the community through live performances. Saved from the wrecking ball in 1979, the Pantages Theater is a testament to the power of public‐private partnerships that came together to grow the local economy through the performing arts and preservation of the Pantages and nearby Rialto Theater. Benefitted by the generosity of an impressive list of private and public funders, the primary goal for the rehabilitation work was to restore the theater’s interior aesthetics as close to its original design as possible while integrating modern safety features and amenities that improved functionality. Nationally recognized preservation experts were engaged to clean, repair, and in some cases, restore lavish plaster-work, art, and paint. This commitment to a meticulous restoration of the building, inside and out, has brought the Pantages back to being the city’s premiere arts and entertainment venue.
Outstanding Rehabilitation – Valerie Sivinski Award
The Sanctuary – Former First United Methodist Church, Seattle
Built in 1907, the Beaux Arts Style church was built to house the city’s oldest congregation. It served this function for over 100 years; but declining attendance and maintenance costs led church leadership to try to sell the building and move elsewhere. The turning point came in 2007 when a partnership comprised of Daniels Real Estate (DRE), King County, and the City of Seattle purchased the property. Challenges to a full rehabilitation included seismically retrofitting the structurally vulnerable dome. To help finance the work, DRE constructed a modern 48-story office/hotel tower that soars in contrast to the Sanctuary’s solid, classical presence. The highly-technical restoration and retrofit of the church auditorium and auxiliary spaces have been transformed into a spectacular events center for the adjacent new hotel.
Please join us at the Awards Ceremony on Thursday, May 30, 2019 at 2 pm in the State Reception Room in the Legislative Building (416 Sid Snyder Avenue SW Capitol Campus)
