FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Connecticut Preservation Awards 2019
Presented at Hartford Town and County Club, 4 April 2019
HARLAN GRISWOLD AWARD: The Guilford Preservation Alliance
The Guilford Preservation Alliance is the recipient of Connecticut’s foremost preservation award, presented jointly by the State Historic Preservation Office and the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation. Since it was founded, in 1980, the all-volunteer Guilford Preservation Alliance has documented and advocated for historic buildings and neighborhoods, as well as moving beyond basic preservation activities to educate the public about Guilford’s history; initiate and support measures to protect stone walls, scenic roads, and street trees; and encourage heritage tourism.
 
JANET JAINSCHIGG AWARD FOR PRESERVATION PROFESSIONALS: Carol Leahy
For 22 years, Carol Leahy was the staff person responsible for the Town of Westport’s Historic District Commission. Often working in the background, she guided the town historic district commission in its deliberations; initiated local, state, and national historic designations; and worked with developers and owners of historic properties. Among her accomplishments are the restoration of Westport’s trademark Minuteman statue and establishment of a village district overlay zone for the town center.
 
MIMI FINDLAY AWARD FOR YOUNG PRESERVATIONISTS: Cameron Henry
Cameron Henry of Greenwich, a young architect and volunteer, has already demonstrated achievement and future promise in preserving historic places in Greenwich. In just a few years, he has successfully nominated multiple Greenwich projects for statewide preservation awards, helped create preservation plans for an 18 th -century grist mill and one of Greenwich’s oldest houses, and joined the board of the Greenwich Preservation Trust.
 
AWARDS OF MERIT
 
Fairfield: Greenfield Hill cemetery restoration
Since 2016 volunteers led by Jeffrey Taylor have been restoring the Greenfield Hill cemetery, the resting place of early settlers, Revolutionary War soldiers, and community leaders. Together they have cleaned, restored, and re-set 300 of the cemetery’s 900 gravestones, which can weigh between 160 and 1,000 pounds.
 
Project team : Jeff Taylor; Brian Hommel; Town of Fairfield; The Greenfield Hill Congregational Church; Greenfield Hill Conservancy; Eunice Dennie Burr Chapter - Daughters of the American Revolution; Grinning Graves.com; Community volunteers
 
Glastonbury: J. B. Williams Company office building
The J. B. Williams Company office building, built in 1909, has been renovated as offices for Interpreters and Translators, Incorporated. The project brought 25 new jobs to Glastonbury and illustrates a basic tenet for reusing historic buildings: choose a use that requires minimal change.
 
 
Greenwich: Greenwich Historical Society reimagined campus
The Greenwich Historical Society has expanded its campus by restoring “Toby’s Tavern”—immortalized by artist Childe Hassam—for use as a visitor center and by constructing a new archives and gallery complex, its design inspired by former outbuildings on the site. These structures further the society’s mission and revitalize a place that inspired Impressionist artists.
 
Project team : Greenwich Historical Society; David Scott Parker Architects; A. P. Construction; Peter Malkin
 
New Haven: Richard C. Lee Federal Courthouse exterior restoration
With its massive Corinthian portico, the Richard C. Lee federal courthouse, completed in 1919, is a monumental presence facing the New Haven green. Now that presence has been enhanced through exterior restoration of its stonework, bronze doors, and mahogany windows—all without interrupting legal proceedings within.
 
Project team : United States General Services Administration; Oak Point Associates; Building Conservation Associates; Kronenberger & Sons Restoration, Inc.; AAIS Corp.; Barrett, Inc.; Birdmaster, Inc.; Massey’s Plate Glass and Aluminum, Inc.; Safeway Services LLC; JE Shea Electrical, Inc.; Schall and Staub Enterprises/Christoph Henning
 
Norwich: Ponemah Mill Phase I rehabilitation
When it opened in 1871, Mill 1 at Ponemah Mills in Norwich was claimed to be the largest cotton mill in the United States. Vacant since 2007, the massive mill, five stories tall and 750 feet long, is being converted to modern apartments by developer Onekey LLC. Phase I, completed in 2018, created 116 mixed-income loft-style units and restored the mill’s exterior with its soaring towers
 
Project team : Onekey, LLC; National Development Council; Jose Carballo Architectural Group P.C.; Epsilon; City of Norwich
 
Washington/New Preston: Pavilion Hall
The most visible building in the village of New Preston, Pavilion Hall was built in 1897 to provide entertainment for townspeople and vacationers. In 2018 the town of Washington sold the beloved but seemingly unusable building to two local business owners. The restored building anchors the historic village and serves as a model for sensitive adaptive use.

Project team : Plain Goods; Ponders Hollow Custom Millwork; Stillwater Services; Stone Walls by George; Bendheim Architectural Glass; Cook's Antique Lumber; Jim D’Aprile Painting; South 7 Electric, LLC; Jared Stein, LLC; Hanlon’s Plumbing Company, LLC; Siddall Heating & Cooling, LLC; WestWay Construction, LLC; Tom Witt; Brent Brenner; Brian Rogers; Robert Butts; Town of Washington; Sarah Griswold

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Contact: Christopher Wigren, Deputy Director
E-Mail: Cwigren@cttrust.org
Phone: 203-562-6312
Thank you to our sponsors:
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