Palmetto Trust Announces Winners of State Preservation Awards

The Palmetto Trust in partnership with the S.C. Department of Archives and History, and the Office of the Governor announced this week winners of the 15th Annual 2009 Historic Preservation Awards. Honorees represent some of the most significant preservation, rehabilitation, interpretation and restoration of architectural and cultural heritage that have taken place over the past year around the state. Award recipients will be honored at the Annual Landmark and Preservation Conference at the Marriott in Columbia, South Carolina on March 26 and 27.

The Landmark and Preservation Conference is a two-day statewide event, intended to bring together preservationists and historians interested in local history, downtown revitalization and historic preservation. Awards will be presented at the Conference’s luncheon where Tom Savory partner at Watson, Tate and Savory will provide a keynote address on preservation of Columbia’s modern architecture. Workshops and lectures during the conference focus on preservation, urban planning and design topics.

“Historic preservation is an important issue that brings tremendous cultural, economic, environmental and educational benefits to South Carolina,” said Palmetto Trust for Historic Preservation, Executive Director, Michael Bedenbaugh. “These awards reflect the tremendous commitments of preservationists to preserve the Palmetto State’s proud legacy and assure that the full potential of our state’s historic resources are realized.”

Awards recipients were selected by a panel of preservation professionals with the intent of recognizing outstanding examples of stewardship of the state’s historic resources and the significant contribution that historic preservation makes to the landscape and culture of the state. Criteria include: degree of difficulty of the project, obstacles that were overcome, impact in the community or state and best practices in the implementation of preservation techniques. Recipients represent initiatives from all regions of the state.

Governor’s Award: Chairman, Landmark Group, DeWayne H. Anderson
A trained architect and urban planner, Anderson has worked to revitalize downtowns, create affordable housing and expand economic opportunities in rural and metropolitan communities throughout the Palmetto State. He has spearheaded the development, construction and management of more than 40 real-estate developments and the rehabilitation of numerous National Register properties in South Carolina. His adaptive reuse practices have saved more than 100 historically significant buildings from demolition across the southeast.

Elected Official Honor Award: City Council Member, Dr. Belinda Gergel, Columbia
As an engaged citizen, Dr. Gergel has been a tireless advocate for the preservation of historic buildings, properties, gardens, homes and monuments. Her lifetime of preservation leadership and service include titles of historian, neighborhood leader, educator, author, preservationist gardener and city council member. Among her more notable accomplishments are the advocacy for preservation and appropriate restoration of the Inn at USC; presentations and scholarship on South Carolina, Jewish and women’s history; and providing visionary leadership for protecting local neighborhoods.

Heritage Tourism Award: The Voices of Drayton Hall: An Interactive Landscape Tour, Charleston
Drayton Hall is one of the oldest unrestored plantations in America that remains open to the public. In March 2008, the DVD “The Voices of Drayton Hall: An Interactive Landscape Tour” was produced to share with plantation visitors the property’s remarkable landscape at different points through-out its history. This DVD has been shown in several venues and can be rented on a handheld portable player from the Plantation’s Museum Gift Shop.

Corporate Stewardship Award: Tree House Site Excavation, Lexington SCE&G - Josh and Sarah Craig
This 8.8 acre archeological excavation site roughly one mile down from the Lake Murray Dam has unearthed significant history of South Carolina. From February 4 through October 29, 2008, approximately 20,000 prehistoric artifacts dating back over 13,500 years were recovered. This site has helped to chronicle human behavior and the environmental changes that have occurred throughout South Carolina’s history.

Archaeological Stewardship Award: Robertson Farm Project, Greenville & Pickens Counties
This archaeological research project was conducted at two different sites in Greenville and Pickens County between 2004 and 2008. Dedicated to the long-term archeological study of the history and artifacts of South Carolina’s Native Americans, the project has encouraged collaborations between professional archeologists, volunteers, students and private land owners. Archaeologists associated with the project have presented several programs and papers on their historical findings, each revealing significant achievements and a greater understanding of the last 13,000 years of human occupation in the Palmetto State.

Honor Award Recipients
From Slavery to Freedom: Magnolia Plantation African-American Cabin Project, Charleston
Involved the restoration and preservation of five historic “slave cabins” at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. Utilized from the time of antebellum slavery through emancipation and into the 20th century by both enslaved and free African-Americans, the structures were in danger of collapsing due to rot and decay. In December 2008, after two years of research and a year of restoration, these five buildings were completely restored to accurately reflect the experience of African Americans on the plantation from slavery to the civil rights era.

Springfield High School Restoration, Springfield
The town of Springfield, SC championed the effort to save this school which was built in 1929 and remained open until 1996. In 2000, the school was saved from demolition. A focused collaborative fundraising effort raised one million dollars to help restore the high school. It has now been revitalized and reopened as a multi-purpose community building with a branch of the Orangeburg County Library that opened in late 2008.

Darlington Downtown Revitalization, Darlington
The revitalization of downtown Darlington provides a lesson in the potential success of public-private partnerships to invigorate an economy and save the architectural heritage of a community. This four year, $4.5 million project led to the restoration of five historic buildings creating lofts, apartments, retail and office space – and perhaps more importantly contributing tremendously to invigorating this historic town square.

Carlisle Street Revitalization Project, Spartanburg
Over the past 8 years, Preservation Trust Spartanburg has purchased, restored and sold over 35 homes in the Hampton Heights Historic District of downtown Spartanburg. Their Carlisle Street Revitalization Project has improved the city’s quality of life by restoring its properties and landscape while increasing homeownership to an end goal of 85%. The revitalization project also installed new sidewalk lighting. The efforts were commemorated in a community celebration on September 23, 2007.

701 Whaley, Columbia
In January 2006 when 701 Whaley Street was purchased by developers, the roof had collapsed and the City of Columbia had it slated for demolition. Members of this historic textile community feared that their community landmark would be lost. However, in the two years that followed, 701 Whaley went through a $6.5 million renovation process to restore it as a centerpiece of the community. Since its 2008 grand re-opening, the 35,000 square foot building has become a home to offices, retail units, living spaces and the 701 Center for Contemporary Arts.