Young Savannahians’ favorite new play-place is plenty old, and the Coastal Heritage Society was recognized Thursday for creating the Exploration Station.
The outdoor exhibit area, opened last year in the ruins of a Central of Georgia Railway building on downtown’s western edge, was one of 10 recently completed construction projects presented Preservation Awards Thursday by the Historic Savannah Foundation.
The annual awards recognize excellence in historic preservation. Evaluation criteria include quality of work, degree of difficulty and a project’s positive community impact.
Click here to view a SLIDESHOW of photos from the Historic Savannah Foundation Preservation Awards
The 2013 winners “share a common commitment to the spirit of revitalization and demonstrate a deep respect for Savannah’s historic character,” said Daniel Carey, Historic Savannah Foundation president and CEO.
The Coastal Heritage Society received the president’s award for its “clever adaptive use” in creating the Exploration Station. The attraction is the first phase of the Savannah Children’s Museum and is located adjacent to the railroad roundhouse on Louisville Road.
“They could have been tempted to do more with the site but didn’t,” Carey said. “And that was the right thing.”
The Exploration Station space was originally the roundhouse’s carpentry shop. Dating to 1853, the building shell features more than 50 arches and reminded Coastal Heritage’s Stewart Dohrman, the group’s curator of buildings, of “Roman ruins or catacombs.”
“We’re nuts for arches and thought initially we would do tours in the space,” Dohrman said. “Then we got to thinking about it and realized the arches provide a lot of great places for kids to hide and get away from their parents without really getting away. We added the slides and other pieces from there.”
Other preservation projects recognized by the Historic Savannah Foundation included three formerly blighted properties.
Mike Powers of Powers Property Investments was honored for restoring the Heyward Apartments, two turn-of-the-20th-century tenement houses located on Habersham Street near the downtown Kroger supermarket.
J. Bradford Baugh’s renovation of a burned-out building across from the Bull Street Library also earned praise while James and Karen Pannell were recognized for improvements to a residential property on Ferguson Avenue.
“These were all vacant, white elephants,” Carey said. “Now they are all beautiful structures.”
One of the more surprising projects to receive an award, at least from a preservation standpoint, was the Cay Building on Ellis Square. The office tower is new construction, built on what was long a parking lot between Ellis Square and Whitaker St.
“We put that on the list of winners because it is a landmark to be preserved in the future,” Carey said. “It’s not historical yet, but it is a landmark.”
The Historic Savannah Foundation also honored a volunteer, Katherine Albert, and preservation advocate, the Downtown Neighborhood Association, of the year during Thursday’s awards luncheon.
2013 Historic Savannah Foundation Preservation Award winners
20 W. Harris Street
Owner: Ted Keisner
Project contributors: Hansen Architects, Savannah Kitchen & Bath
The Pannell Residence (Ferguson Avenue)
Owner: James and Karen Pannell
Project contributors: The Spriggs Group, J.T. Turner Construction, Yancey Seibert Shearouse, John F. McEllen
Public Kitchen & Bar (Liberty and Bull streets)
Owner: Jamie Durrence
Project contributors: Dawson Architects, Carroll Construction, Daniel Reed Hospitality
Leopold’s Ice Cream sign restoration (Broughton St.)
Owners: Stratton Leopold
Project contributors: Lott + Barber, Doug Bean Signs, Savanna Technical College
Cay Building (Ellis Square)
Owner: John Cay III
Project contributors: Sottile & Sottile, New South Construction, Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart and Associates
2005 Bull Street
Owner: J. Bradford Baugh
Project contributors: Carroll Construction, Preservation Associates
401 E. Waldburg Street
Owner: Robyn and Sam Carroll
Project contributors: Carroll Construction, Quatrefoil Historic Preservation Consulting
Heyward Apartments (Habersham and Bolton streets)
Owner: Powers Property Investments
Project contributors: Martin + Zittrouer Construction, Quatrefoil Historic Preservation Consulting, Linn Gresham Haute Décor
Levy Jewelers (Broughton and Bull streets)
Owner: Levy Jewelers
Project contributors: Hansen Architects, J.T. Turner Construction
Savannah Children’s Museum, Exploration Station (Louisville Road)
Owner: Coastal Heritage Society
Project contributors: City of Savannah, CHS Design Group, Cogdell Mendrala Architects, L. Scott Barnard and Associates, CHS Construction and Preservation, Hunter Saussy III, RWP Engineering, Rosser International
Nichola Parker Coe Volunteer of the Year Award: Katherine Albert
Lee & Emma Adler Award for Preservation Advocacy: Downtown Neighborhood Association
Source: Historic Savannah FoundationHistoric Savannah Foundation distributes awards for 10 recently completed construction projects