ABOUT OUR ANNUAL AWARDS
For over 50 years, Historic Denver has brought together our city’s civic and business leaders, design professionals, respected craftspeople, and local advocates to celebrate our city’s heritage and built environment. Historic Denver’s Annual Awards Program honors the people and projects that highlight Denver’s cultural history and anchor the future.
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Presented to projects, institutions, or community efforts that have made an exceptional contribution to the preservation of Denver’s heritage. These projects exemplify high quality restoration or rehabilitation, the careful consideration of the city’s historic fabric, and a commitment to community.
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Presented to projects that have creatively combined the old and new. These projects should involve an older structure with new additions or alternations that contribute to the building’s story or the community’s appreciation of the structure.
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Presented to newly built projects situated within historic districts, whether commercial or residential. These developments stand out for their sensitivity to scale and street-wall aesthetics while also showcasing ingenuity in their composition. They skillfully blend modern design elements within a historic context.
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Historic Denver presents three individual awards each year:
- Ann Love Award – Presented to someone who does not consider themselves a traditional preservationists but has shown initiative, creativity, and commitment in preserving the history, culture and architecture of Denver.
- Margaret Brown Award – Presented to someone who lives in Margaret “Molly” Brown’s spirit today by devoting many years to civic life in all its forms, actively engaging in politics, philanthropy, arts and culture, and historic preservation.
- Keystone Award – Presented to someone who has made a significant contribution to historic preservation over a career or lifetime. In some instances, this individual award may be given to a couple, a partnership, or a specific group of people.
HONOREES ARE SELECTED FROM THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:
SELECTION PROCESS & CRITERIA
A jury comprised of current/former Historic Denver Board Members, past award winners, and friends of the organization reviews each nomination and recommends a slate of award winners to be approved by the full board of trustees. Historic Denver takes into account each nomination, as well as the collection of honorees in making final decisions, seeking to ensure that a range of project types and efforts are included, and that our organization is upholding its diversity, equity, inclusion and access values. Nominations are also considered based on the following criteria:
- Impact: The effect that a project or person has had on the Denver community, including the benefits brought to the city.
- Exemplar: The extent to which the project sets a high standard for historic preservation, serving as a model for others to emulate.
- DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Access): The level of support provided by the project or person towards fostering diversity, equity, inclusion, and access within the community.
- Sustainability: The degree to which a project or person contributes to environmental sustainability, encompassing factors such as construction methods, embodied energy, energy usage, etc.
- Innovation: The creativity and originality demonstrated in preservation efforts, including unique partnerships, community engagement strategies, adaptive reuse approaches, sustainable practices, technological advancements, and innovative financing methods.
Once we have our final list of honorees, we begin contacting them individually in June to confirm acceptance of the award before publicly announcing them by the end of August / early September. Honorees will be presented in-person at our annual gala, held each year at the Brown Palace Hotel.
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Do you know a person or project that deserves recognition for preserving Denver’s unique character and cultural heritage? We want to hear from you!
Each year during National Preservation Month, Historic Denver opens a public call for nominations for our Annual Awards Program. Nominations are accepted from May 1 through May 31.
To submit a nomination, return to this page beginning May 1, when a submission button will appear directing you to our online nomination form. The form will guide you through the process and ask for key details, including:
- Name of the person or project being nominated
- Award category (Community Preservation, Remix, Infill, or one of our Individual Awards)
- Address (if applicable)
- Contact information for the nominee (if known)
- Links to relevant information about the person or project
- Photos that help illustrate the nomination
- Explanation of why this person or project deserves recognition
We encourage nominations from across the community, including those that highlight underrepresented stories, innovative approaches, and outstanding impacts on Denver’s built environment and cultural history.
Be sure to check back on May 1 to submit your nomination—and help us shine a spotlight on the people and projects shaping Denver’s future through its past.
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