Over 100 members and guests were in attendance as the Cincinnati Preservation Association presented its 2008 Preservation Awards at its annual meeting on November 9.
Chuck Lohre and Janet Groeber of Clifton were honored with the CPA Education Award for sharing their Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Usonian home, the Boulter House, and for raising awareness of preserving Cincinnati's Modern architecture legacy.
Lohre is also a co-founder and co-chair of Cincinnati Form Follows Function (cf3), a non-profit Modern design forum.
Winners of the Rehabilitation Awards included:
- Bishop's Place, Clifton: A Chateauesque-style house completely restored. Ken Hughes of Decorative Restorations, Steve Lichtenberg of Lichtenberg Landscaping, Jason Reinhold of Land & Stone, and Kimball Derrick.
- Cincinnati Observatory Center, Mount Lookout: The completion of an eight-year restoration of the National Historic Landmark. Craig Niemi of the Cincinnati Observatory Center and Gus Thierry of ICS Construction.
- Dillon House, Madeira: A mid-century Modern house that was saved from the teardown trend and restored.
- Vernon's Corner, Over-the-Rhine: A five-year renovation project that has resulted in new apartments and an art gallery. Vernon Rader and Mark Bernhardt, Don Beck of Beck Architecture, and Mark Brunner.
- Verona Historic Residences, Walnut Hills: Renovation of historic apartment house into 76 luxury condominiums. Ed Horgan of Campus Management and Denis L. Back of Denis L. Back & Associaties.
At the conclusion of the awards ceremony, a special Design Excellence Award was presented to architect Natalie de Blois.
As the lead designer of the Terrace Plaza Hotel, widely considered Cincinnati's greatest mid-century Modern building, de Blois was recognized for her significant contribution to design during a time of blatant discrimination against women architects.
De Blois was involved in approximately 48 projects at the firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, designing such notable structures as New York City's Union Carbide and Pepsi Cola buildings, the Connecticut General Life Insurance Building in Bloomfield Hills, CT, and a Hilton Hotel in Istanbul, Turkey.
Writer: Kevin LeMaster
Source: Margo Warminski, preservation director, Cincinnati Preservation Association
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