Each year the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia presents the Preservation Achievement Awards to a select group of individuals, organizations, and businesses for projects from throughout the region which exemplify outstanding achievement in the field of historic preservation.
The awards honor projects involving the preservation or protection of historic resources including the restoration, rehabilitation, and/or adaptive reuse of historic properties; sympathetic new additions to historic buildings; or education, documentation, and advocacy work on behalf of preservation of our heritage.
What are the awards?
Grand Jury Awards celebrate the highest level of achievement in historic preservation for:
- Preserving/protecting historic resources in the built environment
- Historic building restoration, rehabilitation, or adaptive re-use
- Sympathetic new construction or additions associated with historic properties
- Documentation of significant historic resources in the built environment
Winners are selected by a jury of preservation professionals.
Special Recognition Awards are presented to individuals and organizations whose extraordinary accomplishments in preservation contribute to the region’s unique character and sense of place. The Preservation Alliance Board of Directors determines the winners. The Awards are:
- James Biddle Award for Lifetime Achievement
- Public Service Award for Preservation in the Public Interest
- Board of Directors Award for Contribution to Historic Preservation
- Rhoda and Permar Richards Award for Service to the Preservation Alliance
- John Andrew Gallery Community Action Award for Achievement by Community Organizations
- Preservation Education Awards
- Special Anniversary Awards
- Young Friends of the Preservation Alliance Award
Application Fee
There is no application fee for Special Recognition Award nominations.
There is a $60 application fee for Grand Jury Award nominations. Please note: there is an additional $2.10 fee charged by Stripe, the program used to collect the online payment.
Eligibility Requirements
A complete nomination form must be submitted using the online system.
Projects and activities must have been completed within the past three years of submission deadline.
Nominations that were submitted previously, but not selected to receive an award may be updated and resubmitted as long as they had been completed within the three-year requirement.
Projects are to be located within the following counties:
PA: Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia
NJ: Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, and Mercer
DE: New Castle
Nominations are evaluated based on the following criteria:
- The quality and degree of difficulty of the work or the outcome(s) of the activity.
- The need and/or goals that were met or exceeded.
- How the undertaking increased awareness of historic preservation.
- Impact on neighborhood revitalization, including economic impact.
- Benefit realized by the community and visitors, including children and adults as well.
Nomination Procedures & Key Dates
Please read all guidelines and eligibility information before starting your application.
Nominations must be submitted through the online system by Friday, February 2, 2024 at midnight.
Award recipients will be notified no later than March 22, 2024. The Grand Jury and Special Recognition Awards will be presented at the annual Preservation Achievement Awards on Wednesday, June 5, 2024.
Learn more about past Preservation Achievement Award winners here.
Recommended! Download the Nomination Guide for an overview of the nomination form’s contents.
Grand Jury Award Nomination Guide
Special Recognition Award Nomination Guide
Questions?
Contact us at 215-546-1146 x 8 or info@preservationalliance.com
