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The PIPs are back!
Salute the 2016 winners at the 34th annual awards

SOHO will present 13 People In Preservation Awards in the Marston House formal gardens on May 19, with a catered champagne reception starting at 5:30pm. The 34th annual PIPs, as they are known, honor San Diego County residents who have excelled in preservation projects, from homes in a variety of styles to a beloved fire station and a rare railway car being restored by a teenager.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is being shared by Charles Kaminski and Jeffrey Shorn, leaders and activists in San Diego historic preservation since 1975. These architects are often united, as in working to save El Pueblo Ribera and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Shorn has been an architecture professor and dean of the NewSchool of Architecture, where he taught San Diego's first courses in historic preservation. Kaminski is at the forefront of preserving local LGBTQ historic sites, cultural artifacts and archives. In 2004, this married couple was featured in the groundbreaking book A Passion to Preserve: Gay Men as Keepers of Culture.

"Jeffrey and Charles have honored the city through their long-standing efforts and perseverance toward preserving some of San Diego's most treasured resources," the PIP jury said.

Two awards applaud projects that are bringing back innovative modes of transportation. Madison Kirkman, a 17-year-old high school junior from Ramona, raised funds to have the 55-foot, 12,000-pound remains of a rare McKeen Motor Car from 1908 moved from Anchorage, Alaska to his back yard. The aerodynamic passenger car originally rode the San Diego, Cuyamaca & Eastern Railway.

None of the motorized, wicker Osborn Electriquettes that ferried 1915 Panama-California Exposition visitors through Balboa Park survived, so Sandor Shapery had them reproduced. He was the first to drive the prototype in the park. Now, 25 Electriquettes are available for rent for cruising Balboa Park once again.

Architect Trip Bennett restored the exterior and adapted the interior of La Jolla's 1937 Fire Station Engine Company 13 for the Shepherd YMCA Fire House. Perks for members include a repurposed vintage jail cell and new access for the disabled.

The devoted and meticulous owners of five homes built between 1916 and 1961 in several San Diego neighborhoods will receive awards for their blood, sweat and tears. Anna Wilcoxson restored her 1912 Prairie style home in the Mission Hills Historic District, while Kevin and Laurie Kravets of Inspiration Heights turned time back to 1917 on the "remuddled" exterior of his home, designed by master builder Martin V. Melhorn. Gen Léger and Chris Woods restored a 1961 Midcentury Modern home that is the rare product of the brief partnership of architects Lloyd Ruocco and Homer Delawie.

In Kensington, Kyle and Tim Malone "unwrapped" the aluminum siding from their 1925 Mission Revival bungalow and discovered arches, a parapet and stucco, all of which have been restored. Nearby, Devin and DeLayne Harmon paid attention to every detail as they restored a grand Spanish Revival-style home inside and out.

Also being lauded are the people who restored two distinctive buildings for socializing. The Streamline Moderne Silverado Ballroom in City Heights, owned by David Chau and restored by Architects Bundy & Thompson, is once again a gleaming attraction. The building is a rare remaining example of Art Deco architecture in San Diego.

At Camp Pendleton, the San Onofre Beach Club has regained its original Spanish Colonial Revival character for use by Marines and their families. It was designed in 1946 by Myron Hunt, also the architect of the Rose Bowl and the Huntington Library. Brigadier General Edward D. Banta of MCIWEST MCB Camp Pendleton, working with Heritage Architecture & Planning, managed to meet both the Secretary of the Interior's restoration standards and Anti-Terrorism and Force Protection building requirements.

The City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture is being honored for the conservation and restoration of the 1920s-'30s murals and painted artifacts from the demolished Aztec Brewing Company in Barrio Logan. They are now on display at the Logan Heights Library. The commission is also being honored for restoring historic artworks in Balboa Park.

Architect Kevin Krumdieck and Cisterra Development's Paul Thometz are winners for preserving elements of two buildings in downtown San Diego's historic Warehouse District: the Western Drug Company Building (1927), which is now part of Sempra Energy's high-rise headquarters, and the Bledsoe Company Furniture Building (1925). Preservation was required, thanks to SOHO's1999 settlement agreement for a nine-block warehouse area.

We're grateful to this year's three PIP jury members for contributing their time and varied expertise. Allen Hazard chairs SOHO's home tours and is a prominent Mission Hills preservationist. He co-authored the book "Images of America: Mission Hills" (Arcadia Publishing) with Janet O'Dea. Diane Kane, a vice president of the California Preservation Foundation, has worked on preservation projects for the City of San Diego and Caltrans in Los Angeles and taught architecture and planning at several Southern California colleges and universities. David Swarens is a past SOHO president who served for two terms twice and a former board member. He sits on SOHO's Preservation Action Committee and on citizen planning boards for Golden Hill and Old Town.

We applaud this year's generous PIP sponsors

The PIP reception runs from 5:30 to 6:30pm, followed by the awards ceremony. Tickets are $45 for SOHO members; $60 for others. For tickets, click HERE

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