Preservation Durham Awards

​Preservation Durham Awards are awarded to those who have engaged inremarkable acts of preservation and public history across Durham County. The awards recognize those who have taken significant care in preserving Durham’s built environment and those who have creatively and innovatively engaged with, transformed, and disseminated Durham’s rich history.


We seek a wide-ranging and diverse group of nominations; some examples of possible nominations include (1) an exemplary restoration of a historic building; (2) the publication of a new book on a Durham-related topic; (3) a legacy Durham business that contributes to a unique sense of place; (4) a community organizer involved with preservation advocacy; (5) a student or class that has completed a project focused on Durham; (6) a sensitive infill project in a historic district; (7) a program that exemplifies the preservation of history; and many more.


To see some examples of the nominations we are looking for, review the 2024 award winners listed below.


The ultimate goal is twofold: we want to bring these innovative and sometimes outside-the-box interpretations of historic preservation to the attention of Preservation Durham, and we want to celebrate those in the community for their work.The awards seek to broaden our preservation community by showing what preservation looks like across Durham County. 


Submit your Preservation Durham Award Nomination here!



The Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice for the rehabilitation of Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray’s Childhood Home.


Indigenous Memories for their preservation advocacy and educational programs to highlight the experiences of Indigenous peoples, Maroons, enslaved individuals, and free people of color who lived along the Historic Indian Trading Path.


Historic Durham Sun Building partners and tenants for the successful adaptive reuse into a vibrant community hub.


John Warasila and Alliance Architecture in recognition of more than 30 years of visionary leadership in historic preservation and adaptive reuse.


Carie Chesarino for her dedication to creating an archival record of Durham’s modernist architecture


John Hykes and Craven Miller for the successful adaptive reuse of the Fidelity Bank into their design studio, Design Bank.


Carl Webb and Peter Cvelich for Provident1898 as an exceptional example of an innovative use of a landmark historic building and creative way to share stories about Durham’s history. 



Preservation Durham Press Release for Award Winners




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.         Submissions are DUE by 5:00pm Thursday, July 31st.