Alliance honors state’s top rehabilitation projects

Seven rehabilitation projects were singled out last month as winners of the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance annual historical preservation achievement awards.

Restoration and rehabilitation awards went to:

• Soldiers and Sailors Monument, Portsmouth, a statue honoring Civil War veterans that was restored by the city of Portsmouth. The project was singled out for its thoughtful planning, community involvement, sound conservation treatment, a maintenance plan for the future and a fortunate surprise mid-restoration. Partner: Daedalus Inc.

• Emily Cross House, Rochester, a Second Empire residence that in 1997 was slated for demolition and was restored by local businessmen Don A. Carignan and Brian P. Lortie, who were singled out for a “magnificent adaptive reuse” of the house for their professional offices. Partners: City of Rochester; Joseph F. Britton Jr.; Dr. Alexander Smith; Beloin Construction Inc.; Preservation Company; M & D Electric; Garrett Mechanical Contracting Company; MJ Murphy & Sons Inc.; and N.H. Division of Historical Resources.

• Alumni Hall Cultural and Visitor Center, Haverhill, restored by Haverhill Heritage Inc., which was cited for a “true community effort” that revived an 1845 Greek and Gothic Revival building that first served as the Grafton County Courthouse and later as the gymnasium and auditorium for the local high school. Partners: Finegold Alexander & Associates; Recreate Inc.

• America’s Credit Union Museum, Manchester, restored by the New England Credit Union Heritage Foundation, which turned the site of the nation’s first credit union – a living room in the West Side house – into a “first-class museum and community resource used by the neighborhood for meetings and other functions.” Partners: Jewett Construction; Willey Brothers Inc.; Bailey Donovan

• University of New Hampshire’s Murkland Hall, Durham, centerpiece of the College of Liberal Arts built in 1929 and rehabilitated by UNH, which “shouldered its stewardship responsibility” and “took a respectful approach to maintaining the building’s original fabric with high-quality restoration work.” Partners: Lavallee/Brensinger Architects; Martini Northern Construction

• Franklin Antiques Market, created from the historic Shephard Block – home to an 1890 department store — in downtown Franklin, which was restored by Bennet Phillips Design Resources. The work has “revived this signature commercial building, contributing to the revitalization of Franklin’s downtown.”

• The Stanley Tavern, Hopkinton, restored by Robert and Jill Wilson and Benjamin H. Wilson, who were cited for turning a derelict three-unit apartment house, with the help of architect Max Ferro, back to its original stature as the tavern run by Theophilus Stanley for seven decades beginning in 1791.

Also honored were:

• The town of Franconia, for its care of the Abbie Greenleaf Library

• The town of Hudson, for its planning and stewardship of the former Benson’s Animal Farm site.

• The teachers and students of a 5th-grade class at Antrim’s Great Brook School for their “Hancock: Then and Now” publication.

• Harry S. Kinter, a career employee of the Federal Highway Administration, for his leadership in public policy.

“The winners reflect the positive and tenacious quality of preservation efforts today,” said architect Christopher P. Williams, a board member of the Preservation Alliance and chair of its awards committee, who noted that the state Land and Community Heritage Investment Program provided key funding for two of the projects. nhbr