Massachusetts Preservation Awards
Due to the COVID19 pandemic, the Massachusetts Historical Commission has postponed the annual Preservation Awards program indefinitely. Please check MHC's website for further updates in the future.
The Preservation Awards Program
Massachusetts enjoys a cultural heritage rich in historic resources. The preservation of these resources has revitalized neighborhoods, added to the revenues of cities and towns, and preserved community character. Preservationists, working to protect our historic assets, have maintained the sense of time and place that forms the essence of our Commonwealth. To honor these outstanding citizens, the Secretary of the Commonwealth hosts the Massachusetts Historical Commission's Annual Preservation Awards Program.
Projects and individuals may be nominated in the following categories:
- Archaeology
- Adaptive Reuse
- Education & Outreach
- Landscape Preservation
- Rehabilitation & Restoration
- Local Preservationist
- Individual Lifetime Achievement
- Stewardship
Local historical commissions, preservation advocates and professionals, and the general public are encouraged to nominate deserving projects.
For more information on the Annual Preservation Awards Program email the Massachusetts Historical Commission at sec-dl-mhcweb@sec.state.ma.us or call 617-727-8470.
2019 Preservation Award Recipients
Community |
Recipient |
|---|---|
| Boston (Beacon Hill) | State House Senate Chamber Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Boston (Downtown) | The Union at 48 Boylston (Young Men's Christian Union) Adaptive Reuse |
| Boston (Mattapan) | Fowler-Clark-Epstein Farm Adaptive Reuse and Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Boston and Cambridge | Longfellow Bridge Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Dalton | Fitch-Hoose House Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Harwich | South Harwich Meetinghouse Adaptive Reuse and Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Plymouth | Joseph Simes House Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Plymouth | Plymouth Post Office Adaptive Reuse and Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Springfield | Maple Commons Apartments Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Topsfield | Topsfield Town Hall Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Wellesley | Rosemary Brook Siphon Gatehouse Buildings Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Lifetime Achievement: James Alexander |
|
2018 Preservation Award Recipients
Community |
Recipient |
|---|---|
| Boston | The Boston Chinatown Atlas Education & Outreach |
| Boston | Paul Revere House Education & Visitor Center Adaptive Reuse, Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Essex | Essex Town Hall & T.O.H.P Burnham Library Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Fitchburg | Fitchburg Yarn Works Adaptive Reuse, Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Milton | Eustis Estate And Museum Education & Outreach Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| North Adams | MASS MoCA Building 6: The Robert W. Wilson Building Adaptive Reuse |
| Plymouth | Joseph Simes House Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Reading | Virginia Adams Local Preservationist |
| Worcester | Fire Alarm & Telegraph Building Adaptive Reuse, Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Lifetime Achievement: Minxie And James Fannin |
|
2017 Preservation Award Recipients
Community |
Recipient |
|---|---|
| Amesbury | Union Congregational Church Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Amherst | Old Chapel, University of Massachusetts Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Barnstable | U.S. Customs House Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Brookline | Fisher Hill Reservoir Park Gatehouse Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Cambridge | The Harvard Lampoon Building Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Dedham | Norfolk House Adaptive Reuse, Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Haverhill | Apartments at 165 Winter Street / Winter Street School Adaptive Reuse, Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Hingham | Ames Chapel Adaptive Reuse, Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Pittsfield | The Howard & Onota 74 Adaptive Reuse, Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Springfield | Merrick-Phelps House Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Swampscott | Andrews Chapel Rehabilitation & Restoration |
2016 Preservation Award Recipients
Community |
Recipient |
|---|---|
| Boston (Allston/Brighton) | Boston University School of Law Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Boston (Dorchester) | All Saints Church Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Boston (Downtown) | Granary Burying Ground Entrance Gate and Fence Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Boxford | Towne Farm Landscape Preservation, Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Cambridge | Radcliffe Institute-Agassiz House Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Gloucester | Gloucester City Hall Rehablitation & Restoration |
| North Adams | Drury Academy / Colegrove Park Elementary School Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Pittsfield | Burns Block & Second Burns Block Adaptive Reuse, Rehabilitiation & Restoration |
| Pittsfield | Old Berkshire Athenaeum Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Springfield | Robert McCarroll Local Preservationist |
| Weymouth | Fogg Library Rehabilitation & Restoration |
| Individual Lifetime Achievement: Andrea Gilmore | |
2015 Preservation Award Recipients
Community |
Recipient |
|---|---|
Amherst |
Lord Jeffery Inn |
Boston (Dorchester) |
Clapp Family Barn |
Boston (North End) |
Boston Police Station Number One and Boston Printing Department Buildings / North Bennet Street School |
Boston (Roxbury) |
Alvah Kittredge House |
Brockton |
Lilly, Brackett & Co. Shoe Factory / Station Lofts |
Easton |
Ames Shovel Works |
Hingham |
Old Ship Meeting House |
Leverett |
Elizabeth “Betsy” Douglas |
Northampton |
Academy of Music Theatre |
Springfield |
Coomes Block, Morse Block, and Smith Carriage Company Building / Caring Health Center |
| Individual Lifetime Achievement: Dr. Adelaide Cromwell | |
2014 Preservation Award Recipients
Community |
Recipient |
|---|---|
Boston (Back Bay) |
Frederick Ayer Mansion |
Boston (Dorchester) |
First Parish Church in Dorchester |
Boston (Downtown) |
Hayden Building |
Brookfield |
Brookfield Cemetery Arch & Gate |
Cambridge |
Dexter Pratt House / Cambridge Center for Adult Education |
Georgetown & |
Edward Des Jardins |
Lancaster |
First Church of Christ — Fifth Meeting House |
Northbridge |
Northbridge Town Hall |
Westfield |
Elm Street Revitalization Project: Lamberton-Loomis, Kimball-Marcoullier, and YMCA-Rinnova Buildings |
Individual Lifetime Achievement: Wesley Ward |
|
2013 Preservation Award Recipients
Community |
Recipient |
|---|---|
Boston (Downtown) |
Second Brazer Building |
Boston (South End) |
Calvin Swallow House |
Chelmsford |
North Chelmsford Town Hall |
Kingston |
Frederic C. Adams Public Library / Adams Heritage Center |
Kingston |
Walter Wales Hoeg |
Lowell |
Appleton Mills |
Needham |
Needham Town Hall |
North Adams |
Clark Biscuit Apartments |
Northbridge |
Linwood Mill Apartments |
Waltham |
Lyman Estate / “The Vale” Weatherization Project |
Westport |
Stephen Willcock House / Westport Town Farm |
Wilmington |
Carolyn R. S. Harris |
2012 Preservation Award Recipients
Community |
Recipient |
|---|---|
Boston (Beacon Hill) |
African Meeting House |
Boston (Roxbury) |
Eustis Street Fire House |
Concord |
Wheeler-Minot House / Thoreau Farm |
Easton |
Unity Church of North Easton |
Gloucester |
Beauport, Sleeper-McCann House |
Greenfield |
Five Downtown Greenfield Projects: |
Lee |
Baird and Benton Block / College Internship Program at the Berkshire Center |
Provincetown |
Center Methodist Church / Provincetown Public Library |
Sharon |
Wilber School |
| Statewide | Department of Conservation and Recreation's Terra Firma Technical Bulletin Series |
| Worcester | Washburn Shops at Worcester Polytechnic Institute |
| Individual Lifetime Achievement: Annie C. Harris | |
2011 Preservation Award Recipients
Community |
Recipient |
|---|---|
Cambridge |
Philip Munroe House |
Chelsea |
Russell Box Factory / Atlas Lofts |
New Bedford |
Coggeshall Counting House / Buzzards Bay Center |
Provincetown |
Provincetown Town Hall |
Rockport |
Rockport Community House |
Salem |
Salem Jail Complex |
Sandwich |
Sandwich Town Hall |
Templeton |
Alan Mayo |
Wellesley |
Wellesley College Alumnae Hall |
2010 Preservation Award Recipients
Community |
Recipient |
|---|---|
Boston |
Park Street Church |
Cambridge |
Cambridge Public Library |
Falmouth |
Highfield Hall |
Haverhill |
Hamel Mill Lofts |
Holyoke |
Wistariahurst Carriage House |
Millville |
Margaret Carroll |
New Bedford |
Corson Building |
Pittsfield |
Kinnell-Kresge Building / Beacon Cinema |
Randolph |
Stetson Hall |
Worcester |
Hammond Organ Reed Factory / 9 May Street |
Recipient |
Award |
|---|---|
Historic New England |
In celebration of its 100th Anniversary and in recognition of its commitments to historic preservation and public education. |
Individual Lifetime Achievement: Anne Grady |
|
2009 Preservation Award Recipients
Community |
Recipient |
|---|---|
Boston (Beacon Hill) |
Church of the Advent |
Concord |
West Concord Depot |
Duxbury |
Wright Building |
Lexington |
Hancock-Clarke House |
Northampton |
First Churches Meetinghouse |
Northbridge |
Whitin Mill Complex |
Plymouth |
Plymouth Rock Portico |
Ware |
Ware High School / Church Street Senior Housing |
Weymouth |
Weymouth Historic Homes DVD |
Worcester |
Poli’s Palace / Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts |
2008 Preservation Award Recipients
Community |
Recipient |
|---|---|
Boston |
Charles Street Jail/The Liberty Hotel |
Boston |
Trinity Church |
Boston |
The Elder James Blake House |
Boston |
Egleston Power Station |
Boston |
Roxbury Presbyterian Church |
Harvard |
Harvard Public Library/Bromfield School |
Lowell |
The Apartments at Boott Mills |
Newburyport |
Newburyport City Hall |
Peabody |
William R. Power |
Watertown |
The Edmund Fowle House |
Individual Lifetime Achievement: Gretchen Schuler |
|
2007 Preservation Award Recipients
Community |
Recipient |
|---|---|
Acton |
Pine Hawk Site Public Archaeology Program |
Boston |
Park Street School |
Boston |
Gate of Heaven Church |
Cambridge |
11 Kennedy Road |
Charlemont |
Taylor's Fort Archaeological Project |
Medford |
Unitarian Universalist Church of Medford |
North Reading |
The L.D. Batchelder School |
Salem |
18 Crombie Street |
Weston |
Pamela W. Fox |
Westport |
Cory House Restoration |
Yarmouth |
Cultural Center of Cape Cod |
2006 Preservation Award Recipients
Community |
Recipient |
|---|---|
Bedford |
Old Town Hall |
Brockton |
The Brockton Times Building Condominiums |
Brookline |
1754 Beacon Street |
Brookline |
From Carriage House to Auto House |
Chelsea |
The Governor Bellingham-Cary House Museum |
Framingham |
The Fitts Buildings |
Grafton |
Hassanamesitt Woods |
Holyoke |
The Holyoke Health Center |
Merrimac |
Merrimac Town Hall |
Sandisfield |
Sandisfield Arts Center |
Taunton |
Robertson on the River (formerly Cohannet Mill No. 3) |
Watertown & Cambridge |
Mount Auburn Cemetery |
Worcester |
TiNovo Inspired Cuisine |
2005 Preservation Award Recipients
Community |
Recipient |
|---|---|
Boston |
Roxbury Center for the Arts at Hibernia Hall |
Cambridge |
City Hall Annex |
Holyoke |
Latino Professional Building |
Lowell |
Pawtucket Congregational Church |
Natick |
The Center for the Arts in Natick |
Newburyport |
Gardens of the New Republic: Fashioning the |
Stockbridge |
Naumkeag Evergreen Garden Restoration |
Turner's Falls |
Colle Opera House |
Individual Lifetime Achievement: Richard Candee |
|
2004 Preservation Award Recipients
Community |
Recipient |
|---|---|
Boston |
Arlington Street Church |
The Foley formerly Boston Consumptives Hospital/Boston Sanatorium |
|
The Lenox Hotel |
|
Paige Academy |
|
Dedham |
Old Norfolk County Jail/Stoneleigh Condominiums |
Dunstable |
Dunstable Town Hall |
Edgartown |
The Sunken Garden |
Salem |
Historic Salem, Inc. |
Somerville |
Nathan Tufts Park |
Springfield |
Barney Family Mausoleum |
Topsfield |
Topsfield Town Hall |
Individual Regional Preservationist: Bonnie Parsons |
|
Individual Local Preservationist: Lydia Phippen Ogilby |
|
2003 Preservation Award Recipients
Community |
Recipient |
|---|---|
Ayer |
Ayer Town Hall |
Boston |
Cutler Majestic Theatre |
Grand Lodge of Free Masons |
|
Boston (Dorchester) |
Walter Baker Lofts |
Boston |
Massachusetts State House |
Ritz Carlton Hotel |
|
Cambridge |
8 Bigelow Street |
Easton |
School House Apartments (formerly Oliver Ames High School/Lincoln Street Intermediate School) |
Gloucester |
Joan of Arc Statue and Girl Scout Troop #137 |
Nahant |
Nahant Community Center at the Valley Road School |
New Bedford |
Whaler's Cove formerly Mill No.1 Whitman Mills |
Westborough |
Westborough Railroad Depot |
Whitman |
Whitman Park Restoration Project |
2002 Preservation Awards
Community |
Recipient |
|---|---|
Boston |
Susan Park |
New Bedford |
Waterfront Historic Area League (WHALE) |
Boston |
Building 114/Charlestown Navy Yard |
Upham’s Corner Marketplace |
|
Landmark Center |
|
Brookfield |
Brookfield Congregational Church |
Chelsea |
Chelsea Police Headquarters |
Lawrence |
Orange Wheeler House |
Lenox |
Lenox Town Hall |
Montague |
Crocker & Cutlery Blocks |
Quincy |
Thomas Crane Public Library |
Wareham |
Tobey Homestead |