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ATHENS, Ga.,– Historic Athens is proud to announce the winners of the 56th Annual Preservation Awards, which will be presented as part of the 2025 Historic Athens Spring Showcase during National Historic Preservation Month on May 17, 2025. This milestone event honors the efforts of community members whose projects have given new meaning to our city through the preservation and sustainability of its architectural and cultural heritage. The Preservation Awards and Spring Showcase is Historic Athens’ longest-running program, a cornerstone of the local preservation calendar. For nearly 60 years, the Preservation Awards have recognized excellence not only in the protection and revitalization of Athens' historic built environment, but also in cultural preservation and storytelling. Jennifer Lewis, longtime chair of the Preservation Awards Committee and a member since earning her Master of Historic Preservation from UGA, reflected on this year’s honorees: “This year's awards celebrate the preservation of our collective cultural heritage and the built environment by owners, architects, contractors, and craftsmen, as well as historians, filmmakers, faculty, and students.” The 56th Annual Preservation Awards will commence at the Historic Athens Spring Showcase, presented by Preservan. The celebration begins with the award ceremony at the historic 1915 Athens First Christian Church, followed by a self-guided tour of historic church architecture across Athens-Clarke County, and concludes with a VIP reception at Little Kings Shuffle Club in Downtown Athens. For National Historic Preservation Month, Historic Athens is hosting a variety of events throughout May to celebrate the people, organizations, leaders, and storytellers that honor Athens’ history. May began with the Preservation Month Online Auction which closes May 12th at bit.ly/preservationauction, featuring private tours, behind-the-scenes history, and special getaways that highlight the places and stories Historic Athens works to protect. Other programming includes various Heritage Walks, and a new free hands-on workshop, Preservation in Action, where attendees will learn the fundamentals of wood window restoration led by Stephen Eppling and the Preservan team, with public registration at bit.ly/preservationwindow. In the week leading up to the Showcase, Historic Athens will feature each award recipient in a live interview series hosted by Historic Athens’ Spring Showcase Event co-chair Caitlin Short, presented by the Gable Foundation. These interviews will explore the stories and significance behind each project. Lewis added, “Their passion for bringing pieces of the past into the future ensures that these places and stories are not lost, enriching our community immeasurably. We thoroughly enjoyed touring and researching these projects and are thrilled to showcase them to the rest of the community.” Tune in nightly from May 13–16 at 5:30 p.m. on the Historic Athens Facebook page: facebook.com/historicathens. Please join Historic Athens in congratulating the 56th Preservation Award Winners:
Publications and Programs
Athens Film Project – Films | The Athens Film Project: The Athens Film Project creates short films on Athens' history for use in area schools. A wholly local effort, participants include local teachers, student consultants, graduate students in history, and local filmmakers, all with funds generously donated by local supporters. The Athens Film Project has completed four films: The Knox Institute, Emancipation in Athens Industrial Athens (Part 1), The Founding of Athens, and The Struggle for the Oconee River, with more in development. The Confederate Grave that Wasn't: Mythmaking and Memory in Winterville, Georgia – Presentation | Jonathan Scott: Local legend long told that John Schroeder, a wounded Confederate soldier, died in Winterville after being evacuated from Atlanta in 1864. A headstone marking the grave of Schroeder, 1st Louisiana Militia, had stood in Winterville since 1929. However, through more than a year of research, Winterville historian Johnathan Scott was able to determine that the entire tale was fabricated, putting Winterville's century of false Confederate memory to a close. Complex Cloth – Website, social media | Jane McPherson, et al: Complex Cloth is a project by faculty and students in the UGA School of Social Work that explores the history of the Athens Factory—built on Indigenous land and likely by enslaved labor—with the development of social work, prompting reflection on past practices like slavery and child labor to inform more ethical approaches today. It also examines Athens’ early social work initiatives for white mill workers alongside the Black community’s self-organized efforts through mutual aid, land clubs, and advocacy.
Outstanding Restoration
Holmes-Hunter Academic Building – UGA North Campus | UGA (Scott Messer): Named for the first African American students to enroll at UGA, the Holmes-Hunter Academic Building recently underwent a $30 million renovation to improve accessibility and functionality for the UGA community. Blending historical elements and modern materials, the project restored several original features of the building, including an open central courtyard between the two wings.
Outstanding Rehabilitation
Rivet House – Southern Mill, 355 Oneta Street | James & Jessica Whitley: The latest and largest piece in the transformation of the Southern Manufacturing Company complex, the Rivet House is a 50-room hotel, restaurant, and spa that embraces the industrial character of the three-story textile mill along the railroad tracks to provide an upscale lodging, dining and relaxation experience. Athenian Inn – 347 W Hancock Avenue | Lauren & Chad Brown, Reign & Monica Streiter: The Stevens Thomas House, a Greek Revival home built around 1848, has served many purposes over the years—from a tuberculosis hospital to a YWCA boarding home, law offices, and most recently, a fraternity house—before being purchased in January 2022 for conversion into a boutique inn. The team preserved the home's historic character while adding a 3,000-square-foot, two-story addition to create the luxury Athenian Inn, now featuring 11 unique guest suites, blending modern amenities with original charm. The Bell Hotel – 183 W Clayton Street | Brad, Marie & Nick Foster: Originally built in 1916 as the Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph Building, this neoclassical structure was thoughtfully rehabilitated into a grand boutique hotel. Despite the loss of historic interiors during a previous 1980s remodel, the Fosters, in collaboration with Arcollab and DSI Construction, preserved key elements wherever possible, blending historic character with modern design to revitalize an incredible landmark in the Downtown Historic District.
Outstanding Achievement
Phi Kappa Tau Lodge – 149 Wilkerson Street | Georgia of Phi Kappa Tau, Inc.: In late 2023, the Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity purchased five lots in Pottery Town, a historically significant neighborhood just east of Downtown Athens that had been increasingly threatened by encroaching high-rise developments and parking structures. By acquiring six of the area’s eight remaining habitable homes, the fraternity helped preserve a rare and tangible link to the neighborhood’s residential past.
Innovative Solutions
253 Georgia Avenue – 253 Georgia Avenue | Zack and Sarah Brendel: Although its reorientation and the new wrap-around porch on this historic gabled-ell cottage in Normaltown keep it from being immediately recognizable, many elements of this dilapidated structure were thoughtfully and patiently restored, replaced, and reused. This effort to save and honor the home whilst subdividing the property into two usable lots resulted in many innovative solutions. Classic Center Fire Hall #1 Doors – 300 N Thomas Street | The Classic Center, Kurt Koslozke: The six original fire hall doors suffered from extensive wood rot. Cuyler Collins of the Preservan team worked for a week to remove the rotted wood, treat the remaining wood, and reconstruct the damaged areas using epoxy. This allowed for in-place restoration of the original wood doors, with the epoxy being indistinguishable from the original wood slabs and panels once painted.
Outstanding New Construction in a Historic Area
230 Nacoochee Addition – 230 Nacoochee Avenue | J.D. and Amy Gutermuth: This contemporary addition to a historic gabled-ell cottage in Boulevard stands out while also disappearing. With massing that is subordinate to the original and through use of similar materials, it replaces an earlier addition and better accommodates the household's desire for more living space. 180 Indale Ave – 180 Indale Avenue | Franklin Frost: Originally built in the 1920s and used as a student and musician rental for over 40 years, this dilapidated mill house was carefully deconstructed and rebuilt over two and a half years by Franklin, an architect with the award-winning local firm Arcollab. Once a modest one-bedroom home with an outhouse, the structure has been transformed into a contemporary duplex with spacious interiors, 10-foot ceilings, and expansive glazing, all while maintaining a respectful scale and presence on the street.
Outstanding Revitalization
Wesley Foundation Student Center – 1196 S Lumpkin Street | Wesley Foundation, Bob Beckwith: The Wesley Foundation, a faith-based organization serving students at the University of Georgia, hired Arcollab and Cloverleaf Construction to update the interior layout and finishes of its facility while preserving its Mid-Century character. Arcollab reconfigured the office and assembly spaces to improve functionality and refreshed the interiors with new finishes and furnishings, carefully balancing acoustic separation with openness to highlight the historic vaulted ceilings and clerestory windows.
– About Historic Athens:
Founded in 1967 as the Athens Clarke Heritage Foundation, Historic Athens is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that focuses on the celebration and preservation of history in Athens, GA. Through its various initiatives like Hands On Historic Athens and Equitable Home Preservation, Historic Athens strives to improve historic preservation and strengthen connections to community heritage as a way to enrich the lives of Athens residents. Events like the Spring Showcase help Historic Athens to accomplish this. Ticket options include the All-Inclusive VIP ($80), Awards + Excursion ($65), and Awards Only ($35). Purchase tickets at bit.ly/springshowcase25. For media inquiries, event details, sponsorships, or additional information, please contact: Caitlin Short
Historic Athens Welcome Center Visitor Experience Specialist
706-389-0194
caitlin@athenswelcomecenter.com Sarah Frazer
Historic Athens Communications Specialist
706-389-0173
sarah@historicathens.com
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