2017 Missouri Preservation Honor Awards
On Thursday, April 27, 2017 the Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation (Missouri Preservation) presented its 37th annual Statewide Preservation Honor Awards. The Awards ceremony took place at 11:00 a.m. in the Capitol Rotunda in Jefferson City. This year twelve recipients received awards representing individual historic building projects, people and/or projects that have created or inspired synergy in historic preservation, published works promoting Missouri’s architectural history, and lifetime achievements in the field of historic preservation. This year’s award recipients are:
The Rozier Award
Named in honor of Elizabeth McReynolds Rozier, one of the founding members of Missouri Preservation and a noted Jefferson City Preservationist, the Rozier Award was established to recognize individuals who have made significant achievements in the field of historic preservation in Missouri. This is Missouri Preservation’s most prestigious annual award.
Judith Deel
Jefferson City, Cole County
Judith Deel has been expertly serving the citizens of Missouri for thirty-seven years in the State’s Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). During this time she has been dedicated to the promotion of historic preservation practice and the protection of Missouri’s wide range of cultural resources. She helped draft crucial legislation establishing the Certified Local Government Program, which enables local communities to establish historic preservation ordinances. For over thirty-one years in the Office, Judith has been involved with the Section 106 Review and Compliance Program, having reviewed tens of thousands of projects. She has been a mentor to diverse groups from governmental agencies to school children, as well as to fellow SHPO staff, encouraging them to understand agencies, their staff and their mandates, while constantly working to promote the integration of a preservation ethic into each agency’s program. Judith Deel has been a dedicated and experienced public servant, a committed, considerate and generous co-worker, and a treasured asset in the State Historic Preservation Office.
Osmund Overby Award
The Overby Award was established to recognize published works that contribute to the documentation and interpretation of Missouri’s architectural history. It honors Dr. Osmund Overby, Art History Professor Emeritus and former head of the historic preservation program at the University of Missouri, Columbia. Dr. Overby was a founding member of Missouri Preservation, lifetime board and advisory board member and a nationally recognized leader in historic preservation.
St. Louis Modern Catalog, St. Louis Art Museum
David Conradsen, Genevieve Cortinovis & Mary Reid Brunstrom
City of St. Louis
This year’s Overby Award goes to a museum exhibit catalog, St. Louis Modern. Curated by David Conradsen and Genevieve Cortinovis of the St. Louis Art Museum, the St. Louis exhibit ran the gamut of material culture of the “modern” period, covering c.1935 to c.1965. The exhibit featured many examples of the built environment from St. Louis’s rich architectural history. A key part of its interpretation was an eloquent and compelling essay on local mid-century architecture from Washington University’s Mary Reid Brunstrom. Represented in the essay and exhibit are designers and architects from local to international reputation, including St. Louis’s Frank Lloyd Wright protégée William Adair Bernoudy, nationally known designers such as locally born Charles Eames and his wife, Ray Kaiser Eames, as well as internationally-known Isamu Noguchi and of course, Eero Saarinen, who designed the iconic Gateway Arch.
McReynolds Awards
The McReynolds Awards, named in honor of Elizabeth McReynolds Rozier, are given annually to individuals or groups who have made significant achievements in the field or are in the midst of a long-term preservation project, creating synergy in the field of historic preservation. The McReynolds awards are among the most important awards given out each year by the organization.
St. Louis Union Station
City of St. Louis
Nearly twenty-five years after its initial transformation from historic train station to festival shopping mall, St. Louis Station, under the ownership of Robert and Stephen O’Laughlin’s Lodging Hospitality Management (LHM) has begun a new campaign of phased renovations to this 1897 St. Louis landmark. Phase 1 has resulted in dramatic improvements to the Grand Hall, including removal of 1980s additions, upgrading lighting, adding a new wood paneled bar, and restoring historic terrazzo floors . Lowered ceilings
have been removed in the original Ladies Waiting Room, and removal of partition walls have revealed many historic features, including plasterwork, moldings and a fireplace. Retail and restaurant spaces have been renovated, and renovations to the historic Midway, which once again looks like it did when thousands of rail passengers congregated at the turn of the twentieth century to board trains and retrieve their baggage. The historic staircase which wraps around the elevator at the old Terminal Hotel entrance has been restored and returned to operation.
The Hicklin Family
Lexington, Lafayette County
In 1989, John R. Hicklin, Jr. and his wife, Alma Lowe, retired and moved from Atlanta, Georgia back to John’s family home in Lexington, Missouri which had recently been passed to him upon the death of his mother. From 1989 to 2015, the Hicklin family periodically worked to restore the ancestral home. Renovations to Hearthstone included a new roof, stabiliz
ation of the brick, new columns on the front portico and upgraded building systems. Much of the work was done by John and Alma themselves. The family tradition of restoring homes carried on to their daughter Marcia, who with the help of her parents, restored the Hicklin School and the Greek Revival style Ryland House. Hicklin School was a historic tax credit project. The Ryland House is currently undergoing further renovations. Both spaces serve as Bed and Breakfasts. Although John and Alma have both passed, their legacy lives on through the history they have preserved in Lexington and the continued efforts of their daughter, Marcia.
Preserve Missouri Awards
The Preserve Missouri awards recognize outstanding efforts and projects around the state. Suggested categories include, but are not limited to: Commercial Revitalization, Institutional/Civic Building Restoration, Neighborhood Revitalization, Residential Rehabilitation, Historic Landscape Preservation, Rural Preservation, and Preservationist-in-Action.
Boonville Visitors Center
Boonville, Cooper County
Housed in the former “Gingrich Warehouse”, the Boonville River, Rails & Trails Visitor Center is situated at the Boonville Katy Trailhead. The building originally served as a grocery warehouse on the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad line. In 2009, as tourism in Boonville was experiencing tremendous growth, the City looked into purchasing the warehouse to use as a visitor center. It took several years to fund this “pay as you go” project. Using multiple grants and over the course of six years, the City of Boonville made renovations to the building. A new roof was added, the basement was waterproofed and the building was tuckpointed. One half of the interior was converted to a visitors center and administrative offices and the other half now serves as local history museum focusing on the transportation history of Boonville.
Arnold Hall – 3rd Street Social
Lee’s Summit, Jackson County
Arnold Hall was built in 1946 for the Sherwood Manufacturing Company, a pipe nipple manufacturer. Mr. Joseph Arnold purchased the building and donated it to the City of Lee’s Summit in 1950, hoping it would be used as a community center. Instead, a wide variety of tenants moved through the building until 2005. In 2015, local restaurateurs Andy Lock and Domhnall Molloy set their eyes on the building as a space for a new restaurant. The renovation project included removal of stucco from the exterior walls and installation of period-appropriate doors and windows. The interior was remodeled into a restaurant, complete with private dining spaces, a bar and a modern kitchen. Arnold Hall, now known as Third Street Social, used both state and federal historic tax credits.
300 South Main Street
St. Charles, St. Charles County
Formerly known as the City Club Building, 300 South Main Street has stood in St. Charles since 1850. Renovations to the building were extensive and used both state and federal historic tax credits. Project owner Rod Thomas worked alongside Bill Elliot of Kenrick De
sign/Construction to turn the old City Club Building into a candy and ice cream store with two apartments on the upper levels and an office space downstairs. They replaced the existing storefront with something more historically accurate, including wooden bulkheads beneath the display windows. Windows were replaced with wood clad windows. The entire building—walls, floors, rafters and joists— was stabilized. Exterior trim was repaired and painted and the stone was tuckpointed.
Sedalia Trust Company Building
Sedalia, Pettis County
One of the most recognizable and iconic buildings in downtown Sedalia, the Sedalia Trust Company Building was constructed in 1886. In late 1997, the bui
lding suffered two successive fires that severely damaged the structure. For sixteen years the building stood with a gutted interior in addition to the fire and water damage. In 2014, local citizens started voicing concerns about the stability of the structure when bricks started falling from the top of the north wall. Later that year, the Friends of the Sedalia Trust was incorporated to save the significant local landmark. This organization spearheaded a stabilization project that included a four sttory interior support wall, roof repairs, and the addition of gutters and downspouts. An old metal canopy, dating back to 1970, was removed from the building’s façade. Now that the building is no longer at risk, the Friends of the Sedalia Trust are seeking a qualified preservation developer to fully restore the historic local landmark.
Hotel Ste. Genevieve Building
Ste. Genevieve, Ste. Genevieve County
The Hotel Ste. Genevieve, constructed circa 1900, was the second modern hotel constructed in Ste. Genevieve during the economic boom caused by the lime quarries and incoming railroad. In 1956, it suffered a devastating fire which gutted the building. The owners rebuilt, updating the façade and over the years the building had been remodeled at least one more time. In 2012, owner Herb Fallert realized the hotel desperately needed a renovation. He, along with several local investors, joined together to rehabilitate the historic structure utilizing both state and federal historic tax credits. Serious structural repairs were made on the second floor and the roof was replaced. Historic photos were used to guide design decisions, including the replacement of windows and a reconstruction of the colonnaded Neoclassical east entry. Initial plans were to enhance only the exterior of the structure but the owners decided that they would also make improvements to the first floor interior. Acoustical ceiling tiles were taken down and the 1960’s wood paneling was removed. A second phase is planned in the future to complete the second floor interior.
Old Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis
City of St. Louis
Commonly known as the “Old Cathedral”, the Basilica of Saint Louis has been a long-time St. Louis landmark. It survived the fire of 1834, the expansion of the city, and the construction of the Arch. Under the direction of Mackey Mitchell Architects and Musick Construction Company as well as several other specialists. The Old Cathedral underwent a major interior and exterior restoration. The work included stone restoration and window replacement as well as the restoration of wood floors and repair of the mosaic tile aroun
d the altar. During the renovations they discovered that the church had undergone 8 or 9 different color schemes. After intense analysis, the “Victorian” palette dating back to the 1890’s was chosen as the new color scheme. Much of the plasterwork had deteriorated and to fit both schedule and budget, the trompe l’oeil molding was digitally recreated in a studio, hand-finished, then installed in the cathedral.
The E.F. Swinney School Building
Kansas City, Jackson County
The E.F. Swinney School was constructed in 1914 for the Kansas City Missouri School District and was expanded in 1927and in 1987. The school closed in 1997 and the building stood vacant for many years. Before it could be listed on the National Register, the State Historic Preservation Office required that the 1987 three-story, ADA addition be removed from the front of the building. Swinney Development Partners discovered that most of the original exterior features remained intact. Following the removal of the addition, E.F. Swinney School was placed on the National Register. With the support of the city and neighborhood, 
the Swinney Development Partners transformed the school into thirty-eight apartments with shared amenity spaces. An additional wing, of compatible materials, massing and design was added to the northwest corner. Now known as West Hill, the E.F. Swinney school has been repurposed in a way that preserved its character-defining features. The wide corridors and auditorium have remained mostly intact, while the open air classroom from 1927, now enclosed, still retains the historic paired columns and fenestration.
The Waldo Water Tower
Kansas City, Jackson County
From 1920 to 1957, the Waldo Water Tower supplied the surrounding neighborhood with one million gallons of water. Up until 2010 it stood empty and deteriorating. A grassroots effort began to preserve the structure which resulted in the creation of the Waldo Tower Historic Society. With allies in the city council, they were able to secure funds for the tower’s restoration. Work on the tower was done in two phases, completed in 2014 and 2016 respectively. Repairs to the landmark included concrete patching, a new roof, fresh paint and the restoration of existing ladders, as well as new doors and ladders for maintenance. Bird netting was 
installed and the landscaping around the tower, including new sidewalks and steps, was done to be historically compatible with the structure.
