Category: Leisa Collins Historic Preservation Award

Historic Native American Adobe Village -- the Oldest Inhabited Community in North America! As we entered the state of  New Mexico this sign welcomed us, and "Land of Enchantment" describes it perfectly! Before I tell you about the fascinating place that is the subject of my award painting,  here are some views of the New Mexico landscape. One tends to associate historic preservation with old historic buildings in architectural styles such as Federal, Colonial, Victorian, Craftsman etc, but long, long before any of these buildings broke ground, the Acoma Pueblo tribe of New Mexico, lived a-top a 365-foot mesa plateau in a tribal settlement in hand-crafted adobe dwellings that utilized the natural resources they had available. Located about 60 miles west of Albuquerque, the isolation and location of the Pueblo…

Old Craftsman Home Restored in Independence, Missouri Retiring from a career in management with a large regional insurance company, my next awardee Diane Rueter took on a full time project when she purchased a dilapidated Craftsman home on Delaware Avenue in Independence, Missouri. Here is the “BEFORE” photo. This is what is looked like when Diane purchased it.  It was a far cry from when it was originally built in 1915 for the Houchen's family by a well known local architect, Clifton B. Sloan. It was featured in this 1917 issue of American Builder, which describes the building as “well balanced and attractive”. Decades later however it fell into disrepair and was most recently a boarding house. Diane bought the home in April 2012 and through working with the Kansas…