We are pleased to announce Erica Avrami as this year’s recipient of PA’s Leadership Award. This award highlights the achievements of distinguished alumni who have become leaders in the preservation profession. Erica’s work epitomizes the sentiments behind the award: She works tirelessly to keep preservation relevant and connected to key issues of our time. She has inspired countless students and other professionals through her extensive body of professional publications, the courses she teaches, and her boundless enthusiasm.

SAVE THE DATE:
House of the Redeemer, 7 East 95th Street
Tuesday May 17th at 6:00pm

Preservation Alumni is thrilled to announce our first members only tour since 2019! This tour will take place at House of the Redeemer in the Upper East Side. This mansion, described as a “hidden gem in New York City,” was built between 1914 and 1916 to serve as the town residence of Edith Shepard Fabbri, a great granddaughter of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, and her husband, Ernesto Fabbri, an associate of J. Pierpont Morgan. Deeded to the Episcopal Church and run by nuns between 1949 and 1980, the house now serves as a retreat space and a unique setting for reflection, study, fellowship, and prayer.

Please also mark your calendars for this in-person tour, which is reserved for members and limited to about 15 people. Look for an email soon with more details and registration information.

Since 1980, Main Street America programs have created economic impact and improved quality of life through the preservation and revitalization of historic downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts across the country. The 2022 Main Street Now Conference in Richmond, Virginia, held May 16 – 18 will celebrate the community resilience and reinvestment championed by Main Street programs through the COVID-19 pandemic and begin envisioning strategic opportunities to strengthen and expand commercial districts as we emerge into a new economic future. Educational sessions will focus on three main areas – Main Streets for the New Economy, Community Preservation and Expression, and Housing and Small-Scale Development – as well as perennial downtown and commercial district management topics guided by the Main Street Approach.

Register here!

The Pocantico Center Preservation Fellowship is a two-week residential fellowship in historic preservation that provides the opportunity to reside and work in the historic Marcel Breuer House located at The Pocantico Center of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund in Tarrytown, NY from Tuesday, June 21 through Sunday, July 3, 2022.

Apply today. Applications due April 19, 2022.

Promoting Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion:
Recommendations from PA’s Anti-Racism/Equity Initiative
 

The Anti-Racism/Equity Initiative is committed to engaging with DEI issues through discussions, events, and the sharing of information. As a part of this effort and in response to members’ requests that we provide relevant educational resources, check this section each month for recommendations on how to actively engage with current DEI conversations in preservation.

Preservation Alumni is partnering with the HP Program to start a new Alumni Speaker Series devoted to conversations about preservation projects that are related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The series will provide opportunities for alumni to engage with current students in a relaxed, informal setting. It’s a great opportunity to share your invaluable experience and knowledge with the students!

If you are interested in participating, please send an email to info@preservationalumni.org with a brief description of relevant work that you do. You are also welcome to email any questions you might have.

Segregation by Design is a project of Adam Paul Susaneck, a NYC-based architect. According to the website, “Using historic aerial photography, this ongoing project aims to document the destruction of communities of color due to red-lining, ‘urban renewal,’ and freeway construction. Through a series of stark aerial before-and-after comparisons, figure-ground diagrams, and demographic data, this project will reveal the extent to which the American city was methodically hollowed out based on race. The project will cover the roughly 180 municipalities which received federal funding from the 1956 Federal Highway Act, which created the interstate highway system.

• Celebrating Female Legislative Champions for Preservation Priorities: An article by Hanna Stark of the National Trust for Historic Preservation