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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 24, 2009
Contact: Molly Dannenmaier, 409-765-7834
Director of Marketing and Public Relations
molly.dannenmaier@galvestonhistory.org
Galveston Historical Foundation Announces 2009 Sally B. Wallace Preservation Awards
Galveston Historical Foundation announces the winners of its 2009 Historic Preservation Awards, an annual recognition of the projects, craftspeople, and individuals that help improve the historic architectural stock of Galveston Island.
At its April meeting, the board of directors of Galveston Historical Foundation voted to permanently name the organization’s annual preservation awards in memory of Sally B. Wallace, a pivotal Galveston historic preservation pioneer who died in November, 2008. Wallace played a crucial role in the revitalization of historic Galveston through decades of activism, community involvement and partnership with Galveston Historical Foundation.
GHF accepted preservation award nominations during March and April, 2009. Entries were judged by a panel of independent preservation professionals from outside the Galveston Community. The award recipients were honored at a reception held Friday evening, May 8, at Ashton Villa.
Click here for a gallery of award recipients at GHF’s Annual Meeting
Restoration Awards
The Rosenberg Library, Rosenberg Library Board of Directors
The library received a restoration award for its multi-million-dollar, two-phase exterior restoration project, which addressed, in a historically sensitive manner, moisture infiltration problems that threatened interior spaces and priceless collections.
1428 Sealy Cupola, Charles and Deborah Morris
The Morris’s research of their property’s history unearthed several historic photographs that showed a cupola once completed the design of their house. They worked with an architect and the City of Galveston’s Landmark Commission to ensure that the completed cupola was appropriate to the design guidelines enforced for Galveston’s local historic districts.
Rehabilitation Awards
2318 Avenue M, Kevin and Lauren Scott
The Scotts worked with historic photographs and remnants of original materials to return this Gulf Coast cottage in the Silk Stocking Historic District to a state respectful of its original Greek revival vernacular style. They rehabilitated the front columns, porch, doors, trim, and pressed metal roof and they commissioned the fabrication of exterior shutters to match the original.
1201 15th Street, Lee Doherty
After a lengthy search for a historic property to rehabilitate, Doherty found this long-vacant 1860s-era house in the San Jacinto neighborhood and transformed it into a comfortable and usable cottage. With the help of friends and family, she recreated the house’s original working-class character using both salvaged and historically sensitive materials.
2007 Avenue M, Bruce and Gail Frasier
The Frasiers purchased this late 1880s house in the Lost Bayou Historic District in 2007 and immediately began rehabilitation of the house and garage. Bruce, an architect, replaced numerous inappropriate windows and other historically inaccurate additions. The couple found many of their restoration materials at GHF’s Architectural Salvage Warehouse.
Galveston Green
McGuire-Dent Recreation Center, City of Galveston
The recreation center is the first LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) new construction project on Galveston Island. The structure incorporates 12-inch-thick concrete walls, highly efficient reflective windows, low-energy and -water consumption technologies, and the use of all-organic products in cleaning and landscaping. The sensitive incorporation of the historic 1958 Menard Park band shell into the new design was especially noted by the Preservation Award judges.
2009 Avenue N, Wayne and Alice O’Quin, Historic Construction
The O’Quins have made numerous environmentally friendly improvements to their 1915 house, including the installation of energy efficient insulation and roofing materials. Prior to Hurricane Ike, the O’Quins also installed 12 solar panels on the south-facing portion of their roof. These panels are tied into the home and back into the power grid. When the panels’ production is greater than the need of the house, the power meter actually runs backwards.
Post-Ike Recovery Award
KWAL Paint
KWAL paint, a longtime business partner of GHF, approached the foundation shortly after staff returned to the Island after Hurricane Ike. They were eager to help GHF help the community. KWAL and its parent company, Comex, donated two semi-truckloads of drywall and more than 2,000 gallons of paint for GHF to distribute to low-income families to help them rebuild. Hundreds of Galveston citizens were helped by these programs.
The Grand 1894 Opera House,
Holliday Builders, Inc.
Hurricane Ike made landfall on what was to be the opening day of The Grand Opera House’s 2008-09 performing arts season. More than eight feet of water flooded the entrance lobby. After the hurricane, the Grand determined it would re-open by January 3, 2009, its 114th birthday. Holliday Builders Incorporated worked with special attention to the structure’s historic and artistic character to get the restored building back open less than four months after the hurricane.
Darragh Park Landscape, East End Historical District Association
Darragh Park occupies the site of the former 1889 John Darragh house, destroyed by an arsonist in 1990. The park opened in 1998 with funding from Dr. Burke Evans. Last summer, just before Hurricane Ike, the park was re-dedicated, with new formal landscaping and a new pavilion designed and built by Doug McLean (also funded by Dr. Evans). After many of the park’s plantings were killed by the salt water storm surge from Hurricane Ike, neighbors banded together to clear the space and replant the gardens. The project offered community members a diversion from personal disaster recovery and gave them an opportunity to participate in the revitalization of an important neighborhood green space.
1515 Postoffice Street, Chris Smith and John Schaumberg
As soon as the flood waters receded from their house following Hurricane Ike, Smith and Schaumberg began cleanup efforts. They took the opportunity to remove additions and return the first floor plan to its original state. During the rehabilitation they revealed a segment of original crown molding previously hidden by alterations to the house and recreated them throughout the first floor.
Mosquito Café, Steve and Patricia Rennick
After their restaurant suffered severe flood damage, the Rennicks determined that because it was important to return a sense of normality to the community, they would concentrate their first efforts and finances to the re-opening their popular restaurant. Their quick work in rebuilding this familiar spot gave members of the neighborhood access to a favorite gathering place within just a few months after the hurricane.
1903 Avenue L, Dawn Wilson
Rehabilitation of this 1886 house started in February 2007 and was completed in April 2008, just five months before Hurricane Ike hit, bringing 16 inches of floodwater into the home.
The owner quickly removed drywall, let original floors dry out and retained as much original material as possible. The post-Ike renovation was completed by December, 2008, three months after the storm hit.
5920 Avenue Q, Susie Martin
Upon buying the property, the current owner removed vinyl siding, refinished original wood floors, and re-installed windows on a porch that was enclosed in the 1970s. Staying in the house during Hurricane Ike, she watched storm waters rise up through the floor and come within several feet of the second floor of the house. After the storm, she was quick to begin the process of cleaning and rebuilding the damaged portions of a house located in a particularly hard-hit area of the island.
Craftsmanship Award
1724 Ball Porch, Arcadio and Susan Davila, Jr.
When the Davilas researched the history of their house, they uncovered clues to the original construction of the front façade, but no clear photos could be located. After several Landmark Commission hearings with no evidence of what the original porch looked like, the owner was denied permission to reconstruct the upper rail and porch roof. They went back to the drawing board. Contact with the previous owner uncovered the original builder’s drawing from the 1880s on the back of a painting. Because of this new evidence, Landmark granted reconstruction permission. The Davilas did the woodturning and construction of the new porch themselves.
Samuel May Williams, ASID Designer Showhouse
From the 1950s though 2006, GHF operated this property as a house museum, but attendance was minimal in later years, in part because the property is in a residential area, off the beaten path of tourists. GHF deemed it would be best to return the house to its original use as a residence. As its 2008 Community Service Spring project, the American Society of Interior Designers updated and renovated the 1839 Samuel May Williams House, opening it to the public during the month of May as a designer showhouse.
Creative Combinations, Alex Gonzalez
As general contractor for the rehabilitation of the Williams House, Gonzalez and his team offered incredible insight and guidance to ensure the restoration was respectful of the house’s original construction. The team went above and beyond the call of duty to ensure the project was ready for the scheduled opening of the designer showhouse, completing the work on a very short time schedule.
Schenck Custom Floors
One of the highlights of the Samuel May Williams house rehabilitation was Schenck Custom Floors’ cleaning, repair and refinishing of this historic landmark’s original wood floors. The Schenk team of specialized craftsmen took great care in refinishing the home’s wide-plank, long-leaf yellow pine floors, putting in over 80 hours of work. Their efforts revived the wood floors of Galveston’s second oldest home, bringing them back to their original brilliance.
Community Service Award
Tom Schwenk
During his year as vice-president of GHF, Tom Schwenk used his creativity and professional connections to take the Samuel May Williams designer showhouse idea from concept to completion. When the house was opened to the public in May, 2008, after it had been rehabilitated by the local chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), hundreds of visitors were able to see a top-notch example of contemporary interior design combined seamlessly with historic vernacular architecture. Afterward, as he traveled professionally in the U.S. and abroad, Schwenk spread the news about Galveston Historical Foundation’s pioneering approach to rehabilitating a house museum in partnership with the professional design community—offering a benchmark case study to house museum stewards across the country.
Incorporated in 1954, Galveston Historical Foundation is one of the nation's largest local preservation organizations. Over the last 50 years, the foundation has expanded its mission to encompass community redevelopment, public education, historic preservation advocacy, maritime preservation and stewardship of historic properties. Today, GHF has over 2,000 memberships representing individuals, families, and businesses across Texas, the U.S. and abroad and exerts a profound impact on the culture and economy of the Island. For more information, or to become a member online, go to www.galvestonhistory.org.
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