This month communities across the U.S. are celebrating our nation’s diverse and irreplaceable heritage as part of Historic Preservation Month. Through the month of May, Benton County and the Historic Resources Commissions of Benton County and Corvallis, along with nonprofit PreservationWORKS, are providing educational events to promote our shared local heritage.
This year’s theme “More Than Ever, This Place Matters” encourages everyone who lives in, works in, or visits Benton County to commemorate the importance of these resources to the community. As part of the celebration, the organizations will present awards to historic resource advocates as well as homeowners and businesses who have redeveloped, renovated, and constructed structures in harmony with history at an awards ceremony, which is open to the public, May 26 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at the Corvallis Museum.
Benton County’s Historic Resources Commission chair Nancy Taniguchi said, “We are thrilled to be able to recognize community members who help connect the past, present and future – people who remind us every day that this place matters. More than ever!”
The City of Corvallis is honoring the following recipients:
- Casey family home – 3256 NW Van Buren Avenue; owner – Patrick Casey Family; category – New Construction in a National Historic District.
- Corvallis Soda Works – 648 SW 2nd Street; owner – Ken Pastega; category – Commercial Redevelopment.
- Emily Pernot House – 222 NW 7th Street; owner – Debra Mark; category – Historic Renovation – Residential.
- Fairbanks House – 316 NW 32nd Street; owner – Eldon and Meda Younger (TR); category – Historic Preservation – Residential.
- H.E. Selby Rental House – 235 NW 31st Street; owner – Robert Meinke & Kelly Amsberry; category – Façade Improvements and Maintenance.
- George Rohrmann – Individual Award for Historic Preservation and Education.
PreservationWORKS is honoring Dave Eckert for his inspiring work on Cultural Landscape Preservation in Corvallis and Benton County.
Benton County is honoring the following recipients:
- Larry Landis for 20 years as a volunteer member of the Historic Resources Commission and for his past and future endeavors in historic preservation and education.
- Jay Sexton and Toni Hoyman for reinvigorating the Willamette Grange and their exhaustive efforts to raise funds for and organize the restoration of the grange building.
- Adrienne Fritze and Mark van der Pol for creating the unique, fantastic, historically accurate with a twist of fiction, Spectres of Benton County.
- Rosalind (Roz) Keeney for her unflagging efforts to preserve the Van Buren Bridge.
The City and the County will jointly honor the Benton County Historical Society for promoting historic preservation and community education with the construction of the Corvallis Museum.
For additional information, please contact Inga Williams with Community Development at 541-766-6027 or inga.williams@co.benton.or.us.
Original source can be found here.
