Preservation Durham Awards

Thank you to our incredible award winners, sponsors, members, board, and attendees for making our 2025 Awards and Preservation Party such a success! We were delighted to award 10 incredible community members, projects, and organizations for their incredible preservation and historic education work in the Durham community. Learn more about our award winners below, and congratulations to all of them!

Robyn Wiegman for 117 W. Seeman

Andre' Vann

Hill House Trust Committee and Junior League of Durham and Orange Counties for the Restoration of Hill House

Philip Hansell for the Little Five Points Restoration

The St. Joseph's Historic Foundation, Inc., for 50 Years of Stewardship of the Hayti Heritage Center

The Chicken Hut

DTW Architects and Planners

Friends of Geer Cemetery and the Museum of Durham History for Unearthing Stories from Geer Cemetery

Central Park School for Children for the North Durham Graded School

John Schelp

Know of a project, person, or organization that you would like to nominate for our 2026 awards? Check the criteria below and watch out as we announce when 2026 nominations open!



What are we looking for?


Nominations will be evaluated by committee on how well they address these five categories:

  • Community Support : Is there documented support for the nominee/project? Specifically reflected through letters of support, events, documented community input, etc.
  • Preservation Best Practices: Does the nominee/project illustrate best practices in preservation? Strict adherence to Secretary of the Interior's Standards is not required, but nominations should be distinguished as a preservation project vs renovation project; nominee should have a consistent preservation track record and demonstration of understanding and support for the mission of Preservation Durham.
  • If not a rehabilitation project, what was the intentionality behind the nominee in relation to preservation? How do they exemplify some form of preservation, whether through education,
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Does the nomination reflect inclusivity? Does the nominee/project reflect the history, successes or stories of more than one group of Durham citizens?
  • Creativity and Innovation: Does the nominee/project illustrate a creative approach or new method of historic preservation?
  • Impact: This is the WOW factor. Does the nominee illustrate a remarkable transformation, long advocacy effort, or career? Does the nominee or project create a new standard for preservation in the future? Was the project groundbreaking? How does it change our understanding of preservation?

    We want the awards process to be as easy and accessible as possible, so the nomination process is just a short form below. Please share as much as you want/can. We will follow up with you directly after your submission with specific questions or requests for more information, if necessary.     Nominations for 2025 awards are now closed.