The Hartford Preservation Alliance Awards ceremony will be held at 6 pm on Wednesday, May 10, in the atrium of the Municipal Building (City Hall), 550 Main Street. The awards honor exceptional contributions to architectural preservation in Hartford during the past year.
The ceremony will also include a reading of the Mayor’s Preservation Proclamation and updates on a variety of preservation-related issues. The event is one of several local observances of Preservation Month, initiated in 1971 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation to spotlight preservation initiatives around the country.
Preservation Award Winners for 2006 include:
Milano Corporation, Inc. for the rehabilitation of the administration building of the Capewell Horse Nail Company.
Asylum Hill Homes LLC for the rehabilitation of three buildings on Ashley and Garden Streets.
State of Connecticut Department of Public Works for the restoration of the Scottish Union and National Insurance Company building at 75 Elm Street.
1429 Park Street LLC for the renovation and adaptive reuse of the Hartford Rubber Works building.
Southside Institutions Neighborhood Alliance and the Broad-Park Development Corporation for the CityScape neighborhood rebuilding program.
John McGarvey for repainting and garage construction at 41 Kenyon Street.
The Ridgefield Street Block Association for the Ridgefield Street Local Historic District.
The West End Rising Star Committee for the West Boulevard National Register Historic District.
Neighborhoods of Hartford, Inc. for its support of historic architectural preservation in Rising Star districts and Pride Blocks.
The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts for the restoration of Mortensen Hall.
The Town and County Club for its stewardship of the Lyman House at 22 Woodland Street.
Scott Mawhinney for the historic repainting and restoration of the facades of 1 and 3-5 Whitman Court.
The Hartford Preservation Ordinance Task Force for drafting and successfully advocating for the adoption of the Hartford Preservation Ordinance.
The Hartford Preservation Alliance chose a venue to celebrate this event that is architecturally significant in its own right. The Municipal Building was begun in 1915 and was gradually enlarged when more funds were provided. Its greatest feature is the massive center atrium, 25 by 150 feet, rising a full three stories. Heavily decorated in the Beaux-Arts style, it is one of the few grand structures still standing as a reminder of Hartford’s gilded architectural past. A glass roof provides natural light upon the atrium and galleried second and third floor halls, which can be reached by a grand spiral staircase at the north entrance to the building. Allegorical panels on the east and west walls portray Hartford’s founding and early history, and its progress and achievements.
For more information about the Hartford Preservation Alliance Awards, contact Laura Knott Twine, Hartford Preservation Alliance, 570-0331, lktwine@hartfordpreservation.org or visit www.hartfordpreservation.org.
