Now in its eleventh year,
the Evans Historic Preservation Grant seeks to be a catalyst for the
continued use of Michigan’s historic building stock. The program has
been instrumental in providing a small grant to start or complete an
organizations preservation goal.
The tenth anniversary award of $10,000, the largest award the
Foundation has been able to grant, was to the Friends of the William E.
Scripps Estate/Guest House, Inc. toward the preservation of the Bryant
Fleming designed landscaping at this remarkable historic industrial
business founder’s home, located in Rochester. The funds were used to
repair and re-point the stonework surrounding a fountain and terrace
wall of an outdoor room. The completed work was celebrated in the fall
of 2008.
The ninth award, the third for the Upper Peninsula, replaced the roof
on the new home of the Chippewa County Historical Society in Sault Ste
Marie. The News Building constructed in 1889 originally housed Chase S.
Osborn's Sault Ste. Marie News. The jury supports its adaptive
reuse and felt that the restoration of the building would be a welcomed
addition to the city’s ongoing "Cool Cities" initiatives, which includes
the restoration of the 1930s Soo Theatre.
The Perkins-Copland Log Cabin, originally located in Haslett but now
in Okemos at the Meridian Historical Village, was the eighth historic
structure to benefit from the grant. The Friends of Historic Meridian
acquired the building in 2005 and moved it to Okemos and use it to
demonstrate local history. Although the MAF/Clannad Foundation does not
usually support the relocation of historic structures, vandalism,
because of its original remote location, threatened the survival of one
of the few pieces of primitive architecture left in Michigan and an
exception was made.
Number seven went to the Phoenix of the Detroit Fire Department to
assist in the restoration of Engine 11, an 1883 Firehouse on Gratiot in
Detroit. The firehouse was in service until 1989. The planned renovation
includes an overhaul of the building's mechanical systems and
improvements to the aesthetic properties of the exterior.
In the sixth year, the award went to the Pettibone Creek
Hydroelectric Station in Milford to replace the quarry tile floor in an
Art Deco structure that was designed by Albert Kahn as a power plant for
Henry Ford in 1939.
For the fifth year, the grant went to the Upper Peninsula in Newberry
to help to restore the Turret of the 1894 Queen Ann Style Sheriff’s
Residence for the Luce County Historical Society.
Down state for number four, the Corktown Tenement House is one of the
few surviving examples of an Irish workers cottage left in Detroit. The
long term goal is to restore the house for use as a Tenement Museum. For
now, the Evans Grant provided funds to repair the roof.
Number three provided funds for the exterior restoration of the
Pewabic House in Houghton. The house is the family home of Mary Chase
Stratton, the founder of Pewabic Pottery. The Pewabic Pottery was a
leader in the art pottery movement in the early part of the Twentieth
Century and is still in business in Detroit.
The second award went to the Coopersville Area Historical Society for
the restoration of Interurban Car #8. Coopersville was commended for
saving a unique example from America’s recent past.
The first award was to the Shielding Tree Nature Center to restore
the Lawr Farm, in Port Oneida, for adaptive reuse. This farm is one of
several that are within the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Park.
BACKGROUND
David Evans, FAIA was a leading advocate for innovative historic
preservation. Evans, who died in 1998, believed that the architectural
treasures of the past must be valued and preserved for the generations
to come.
The Michigan Architectural Foundation promotes educational,
scientific and charitable activities that advance the quality of
architecture and allied arts.
The Michigan Architectural Foundation Mission is "Increasing Public
Appreciation of How Architecture Enriches Life" and sponsors programs
that: 1) Stimulate public awareness of the value of architecture, 2)
Advance architecture through research and education, 3) Enhance the
quality of life through an improved natural and built environment.
The Clannad Foundation was founded in 1995 by Jeanne and Ralph Graham
of Bloomfield Hills. The aim of the Foundation is to support nonprofit
organizations in the fields of social action, hunger, environmental
acquisition and advocacy, cultural education, emergency housing and
education.
