River Cities Awards to feature 18 preservation winners

In celebration of National Preservation Month, three of Kentucky's river cities will come together to celebrate their accomplishments in historic preservation and adaptive re-use.

The River Cities Historic Preservation Awards, to be held Wednesday at 6:30 PM at the Carnegie Events Center in Newport, will feature 18 award winners from the cities of Covington, Newport and Bellevue in categories such as façade restoration, residential rehabilitation, and stewardship.

Each winning project will be featured in a presentation of the buildings' histories and the processes that people have gone through to rehabilitate and preserve them.

"You'll be able to see different ways people have done stuff, the financial packages that are available," says Beth Johnson, historic preservation officer for the City of Covington.  "Hopefully people will see the buildings and get inspired."

Johnson says that Covington, Newport and Bellevue are in the same boat when it comes to preserving their historic character, so it's natural that they would band together.

"It's one of the most important things in all of the river cities," she says.  "It's what makes our cities unique.  Whereas downtown [Cincinnati] has a lot of more modern buildings, ours are mostly older two to three story buildings.  Our downtowns are smaller, and more quaint."

This is the 37th National Preservation Month, which was created by the National Trust for Historic Preservation to spotlight grassroots preservation efforts taking place throughout the United States.

The awards presentation is open to the public.

Writer: Kevin LeMaster
Source: Beth Johnson, historic preservation officer, City of Covington
Photography by Scott Beseler