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Hotel Covington, George W. Robson Jr. House, recognized with State Historic Preservation Awards


Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Bill Cunningham of Kuttawa was honored with the top prize at the 39th Annual Ida Lee Willis Memorial Foundation Historic Preservation Awards at the Kentucky Governor’s Mansion, presented by the foundation in partnership with the Kentucky Heritage Council/State Historic Preservation Office (KHC).

Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Bill Cunningham of Kuttawa received the 39th Annual Ida Lee Willis Memorial Foundation Historic Preservation Awards (provided photo).

Hotel Covington and the Salyers Group and Bellevue’s  George W. Robson Jr. House were recognized with Preservation Project Awards.

The Ida Lee Willis Memorial Award is presented to the individual who has demonstrated outstanding dedication to the cause of historic preservation in the Commonwealth. Cunningham is a historian who has authored several books including “Castle: Story of a Kentucky Prison” and “On Bended Knees: The True Story of the Night Rider Tobacco War in Kentucky and Tennessee.”

Cunningham has been actively involved in the preservation of the Caldwell, Livingston and Trigg county courthouses, and instrumental in raising funds and helping to preserve and restore the Davis Amos House in Caldwell County, and the 1820 Rose Hill mansion next to Eddyville Penitentiary, now a museum and home of Lyon County Historical Society. He is also a trustee for the historic old Eddyville section of Riverview Cemetery, where he established a certificate program for Kentucky State Penitentiary inmates working to care for and preserve it.

Preservation Project Awards recognize outstanding efforts in historic building rehabilitation or preservation, or other types of projects that have had a significant positive impact on Kentucky’s built environment or in the preservation of historic or prehistoric places. Recipients were:

A photo of the renovated Hotel Covington at left alongside an historic photo of Coppins Department Store (file photo).

—  Fayette County Courthouse and Historic Courthouse LLLP, a public/private partnership that required innovative financing and creative vision to transform the 1898 Richardsonian Romanesque-style building into a modern, mixed-use office and event space; for repair of insensitive alterations and painstaking restoration of wood floors, ornamental plaster, copperwork and other historic features; and for reintroducing the dramatic central dome and pin lights back to one of the city’s first fully electrified buildings.

—  Hotel Covington and the Salyers Group, in recognition of the partnership and vision that went into rehabilitation of the former Coppin’s Department Store, the state’s first modern skyscraper when it was introduced in 1910; for significant investment and use of rehabilitation tax credits and other incentives utilized to restore and return this historic building to one of Covington’s most stylish destinations; and for the hotel’s role in fueling a downtown resurgence that continues to flourish.

—  George W. Robson Jr. House, Bellevue, to owners Taylor and Sasha Voss for their personal commitment to rehabilitate historic exterior elements of their circa 1889 Queen Anne-Romanesque Revival home; for investing in repair of an original slate roof, rebuilding a side porch, and recreating a copper box gutter across the front; and for reversing previous insensitive alterations and restoring the house to the original design intended by renowned Cincinnati architect Samuel E. des Jardins.

The George W. Robson Jr. House in Bellevue (provided photo).

Service to Preservation Awards honor those who have demonstrated a strong commitment to historic preservation, had a positive impact on preserving historic or prehistoric resources through advocacy or education, or developed innovative or model preservation programs:

—  Wayna Adams, Heritage Program Manager for Daniel Boone National Forest, for exemplary stewardship of natural, geological and archaeological sites and her role in seeking innovative ways to implement heritage preservation policy; for helping manage and preserve vast areas of prehistoric and historic resources spread across a rural, multi-county National Register district, including industrial sites such as Fitchburg Iron Furnace; and for her dedication to professional and public outreach to educate about why ongoing research and preservation are so important.

—  Mark Gumbert of Paint Lick, for his extensive personal investment in the community through the improvement, preservation and rehabilitation of nine properties including the Denny House, a Greek Revival home dating to the mid-1840s now operating as a bed & breakfast, and three buildings located in the downtown National Register historic district, where he founded his business, Copperhead Environmental Consulting; also for the burgeoning community revitalization resulting from the businesses choosing to locate in these buildings.

—  Patrick Kennedy of Owenton, freelance consultant, for his leadership establishing the Pine Mountain School for Practical Historic Preservation, which for more than a decade has trained individuals in traditional preservation trades including window repair and timber framing; for the ripple effect these and other hands-on courses he has led throughout the state have had to create new jobs and businesses; for being an educator and mentor; and for helping implement an innovative design-build process for the ongoing rehabilitation of Kentucky’s covered bridges.

Grassroots Preservation Awards honor those who have committed their personal time and resources to take on a challenge that addresses preservation of historic resources at the local level:

—  Caneyville Purple Flash Community Center, with credit going to Commissioner Mike Geary for his vision to preserve and restore the historic 1928 Caneyville High School, vacant for two decades when the city purchased it in 2012; for the citizens, alumni, businesses, inmates, city & county governments, and others who donated goods, time and money toward rehabilitation; for removing a historically insensitive addition; and for returning the school to its rightful place as a centerpiece of community life.

—  New Castle Grand United Order of Odd Fellows Washington Lodge No. 1513 Preservation Consortium, recognizing efforts by a diverse group of citizens to raise funds for a new roof urgently needed to save the historic New Castle Odd Fellows Lodge; in recognition of this order, founded in 1872 and one of the oldest African American fraternal organizations in Kentucky, who have made this Main Street building their home since 1886; and for embarking on the next phase to preserve this community landmark.

Ida Lee Willis was the first state historic preservation officer and executive director of the Kentucky Heritage Commission (now Heritage Council), widow of former Gov. Simeon Willis at the time of her appointment in 1966. The foundation was chartered in her memory in 1979 to create an annual awards program and honor her legacy. The awards are presented each May during National Historic Preservation Month.

Kentucky Heritage Council


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