Hinsdale Historic Preservation Commission Announces 2013 Awards

The Hinsdale Historic Preservation Commission has announced the three winners of the 2013 Hinsdale Preservation Awards, who were presented with their plaques at the May 7 board of trustees meeting. 

For the Good Neighbor award, an at least five-year-old home “whose architectural style is compatible with the existing historic architectural styles present in the surrounding neighborhood,” the winners were Bill and Gina Lowery and their home at 349 N. Oak Street.

The Compatible Addition award, for a home older than 50 years “that has undergone a renovation or had an addition completed within the last two years,” went to Jack and Monika Krasuski of 225 N. Park Ave.

Finally, in an award that Historical Preservation Commissioner John Bohnen deemed “of particular significance,” the Preservation award went to Larry and Rose Staat of 417 E. 3rd St. for excellence in a home “whose architecture has not been significantly altered by remodeling or additions, and whose appearance has been maintained to conform to and be consistent with the time period in which the structure was originally built.”

Maintenance on the Staats’ home has included a 22-year-long renovation project and a frontal redesign by noted Hinsdale architect Harold Zook after a fire, Bohnen said. 

“We still have a lot of large, big steps to take, but I think this is it, because obviously Hinsdale is quite known for destroying historically significant homes, but with doing this I think we’re providing an awareness of value,” preservation architect Frank Gonzalez said in a speech at the presentation, which can be watched in full on Vimeo.