Preservation Maryland

Recent & Past Awardees

2022 Award Winners

Preservation Maryland is honored to shine a spotlight on the ceaseless work of our Best of Maryland Award winners – volunteers, stewards, artisans, and elected officials doing the essential work of protecting the places that make Maryland such a special place to live, work, explore – and celebrate.

PRESERVATION CHAMPION

SENATOR CORY MCCRAY, SENATOR SARAH ELFRETH, DELEGATE STEPHANIE SMITH, AND FORMER DELEGATE ERIC LUEDTKE

As the statewide historic preservation organization, Preservation Maryland recognizes exemplary people and projects in the field of preservation. Our Preservation Champion award honors elected officials who support historic preservation policy, programs, and funding – and recognize the importance of preserving Maryland heritage.

SENATOR CORY MCCRAY

As the 45^th District’s Senator, Cory is continuing his mission to bring greater levels of resources and equity to the City of Baltimore. McCray sponsored the 2022 legislation the Historic Revitalization Tax Credit – Funding and Extension (SB289/HB27), which was signed into law last year by Governor Hogan, Senate President Ferguson, and Speaker of the House Adrienne Jones. The legislation secured an additional $10M in the FY23 Budget, bringing the total amount of tax credits for FY23 to $22M, a drastic increase for a once chronically under-funded program. McCray also sponsored HB1048/SB953, establishing the Commission on African American History and Culture, to ensure historical institutions receive adequate funding.

SENATOR SARAH ELFRETH

Elected in 2018 to represent Annapolis and southern Anne Arundel County, Senator Sarah Elfreth is the youngest woman ever elected to the Maryland Senate. She is passionately committed to serving her constituents both in the State House and in the community. Senator Elfreth sponsored The Great Maryland Outdoors Act, which included $70 million for critical maintenance, $80 million for capital improvements and acquisitions, and $12 million for 100 new park staff in the bill – and headed the commission that produced the legislation. Representing Annapolis, Elfreth understands that saving communities and historic places from an increasingly unstable climate takes real action – and well-crafted policy. Preservation Maryland has worked closely with Senator Elfreth as we partner with the City of Annapolis and NPS Chesapeake to save the Burtis House, Annapolis’ last standing waterman’s cottage, imminently threatened by rising sea levels. Senator Elfreth work has been recognized nationally for climate resiliency.

DELEGATE STEPHANIE SMITH

Delegate Stephanie Smith represents the 45th District (Northeast/East Baltimore) in the Maryland House of Delegates and is Chair of the Baltimore City House Delegation. Smith also sponsored the 2022 legislation the Historic Revitalization Tax Credit – Funding and Extension (SB289/HB27), signed into law last year, that secured an additional funding for the vital tax credit program. A longtime champion for historic preservation and a voice for revitalization for Baltimore City. During the 2020 legislative session, Smith sponsored and helped to successfully pass the Historic Revitalization Tax Credit Improvement Act of 2020. A provision of the legislation allows for large commercial tax credits to be transferred, permitting funds to go toward the projects themselves and not to transactional costs.

FORMER STATE DELEGATE ERIC LUEDTKE

Now Chief Legislative Officer to Governor Wes Moore, Luedtke represented District 14 in Montgomery County and served as the House Majority Leader from 2019 and 2023. He provided key legislative support in the effort to secure an additional $10M in the FY23 Budget with the Historic Revitalization Tax Credit – Funding and Extension (SB289/HB27), passed in 2022. Along with Senator Elfreth, Luedtke also sponsored The Great Maryland Outdoors Act and led the commission that produced the legislation.

PRESERVATION ARTISAN AWARD

MARK WIEST OF DEADRISE MARITIME FOR WORK ON ANNAPOLIS MARITIME MUSEUM’S SKIPJACK WILMA LEE

Presented to an individual or group of individuals who have demonstrated excellence in the art and artistry of a craft or trade that is used in the preservation, restoration, or rehabilitation of historic buildings, neighborhoods, landscapes, or archaeological sites in Maryland. Nominations will be evaluated based on the person’s demonstrated excellence in the practice of their craft as well as their ability to inspire and willingness to teach others the skills needed to perform their trade.

Skipjack Wilma Lee was purchased in 2018 by  the Annapolis Maritime Museum and successfully restored to its former glory, largely by Shipwright Mark Wiest of Deadrise Maritime. It is part of the Chesapeake Bay Fleet, 35 of which remain. Wilma Lee is currently used to help educate visitors about commercial sailing, oyster dredging, and the Chesapeake Bay.

Annapolis Maritime Museum.

Skipjack Wilma Lee is of special interest as being one of only two surviving skipjacks to have been built between the two World Wars. Listed on the Maryland Inventory of Historic Places the Wilma Lee was built in Wingate, Maryland in 1940 by Bronza Parks – the famed boat builder of the skipjacks Rosie Parks, the Martha Lewis, and the Lady Katie. Though Parks had built many other vessels by 1940, Wilma Lee was his first skipjack.

Between 2018 and 2020, the Annapolis Maritime Museum invested over $120,000 in the repair and restoration of the wooden vessel for Coast Guard certification and public programming. Restoration work was led by Wiest

Restoration efforts focused on all areas from the mast to the keel. Major preservation work included replacing the 65-foot mast and rigging, mast step/strongback, bowsprit, boom lift. Repairing 1,700 square feet of sails, bilge and freshwater systems, electrical system, through-hull fittings, block and tackle, keel, centerboard trunk, and refinishing the deck and deck benches, cabins, doors, trim, the boom, railings, props and shafts, vessel nameplate.

THE PHOENIX AWARD

GUILFORD HALL BREWERY

Presented to individuals or organizations to recognize projects demonstrating excellence in the revitalization of threatened or abandoned historic resources.

Guilford Hall Brewery is a rehabilitation of the famous Crown Cork and Seal Company’s industrial complex located at 1611 Guilford Avenue in Station North, a developing arts district in the heart of Baltimore. This area has been home to artists, musicians, and performers in the adjacent former industrial buildings for the past twenty years. The brewery structure was originally constructed in 1897 for the expanding factories to accommodate the boom of growth after their founder, William Painter, patented his new bottle stopper invention, the crown cork. The building was listed on the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties (MIHP) in 1980 and is a contributing structure to the North Central Historic District listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NHRP). The roughly 20,000 sf. development revitalizes the abandoned portions of the complex, turning vacant and deteriorating spaces into a brewery, tasting room, restaurant, and event space.

PRESIDENT’S LEADERSHIP AWARD

SENATOR RON YOUNG

Presented to individuals or organizations to recognize exceptional leadership and commitment to preserving Maryland’s rich and diverse heritage. Nominations will be evaluated based on the length and nature of service or project, record of achievement, and the nominee’s overall impact on the statewide preservation movement.

Senator Ron Young served as Frederick’s mayor for more than 15 years, leading during much of the revitalization the city’s historic downtown area, often said to be one of the state’s most precious historic districts. Young, set to retire from politics when his state Senate term ends in January 2023, consistently supported preservation initiatives throughout his political career and served on the Assembly’s Joint Committee on Program Open Space and Agricultural Preservation. Preservation Maryland is pleased to present Sen. Young with the President’s Leadership Award for his commitment to preserving Maryland’s heritage.