Nantucket Preservation Trust Announces 2025 Award Winners

The Nantucket Preservation Trust last Thursday announced the winners of its annual Preservation Awards for 2025.

The awards recognize individuals and/or organizations that advance the cause of historic preservation on Nantucket, emphasizing proper preservation, showcasing the island’s craftspeople, and revealing the foresight of owners who care about Nantucket's historic structures and landscape. The program is designed "to show that a building or landscape can be sensitively updated while maintaining and preserving its historic integrity."

The John A. and Katherine Lodge Stewardship Award went to owners of four quintessential Nantucket beach cottages, all with multiple generations of familial ownership that display a commitment to retaining these endangered structures:

“The Shack”
14 Waquoit Road
The Rowland and Haffenreffer Families

"Built in the 1920s by Frederick G. Platt, to enter this Madequecham beach cottage is to step back in time and get away from it all. Still shared among Platt’s descendants, this deceptively simple structure is all about living with less stuff and experiencing time together. The cottage has one large open room with a brick fireplace, a kitchen ell, and a windowed porch with expansive ocean views. While the family reluctantly hooked up to the electrical grid in the last year to keep the water pump and fridge humming, there is only one outlet for non-essential use (read: cell phone charging). Otherwise, propane provides the fuel for cooking, and hurricane lamps offer a soft glow once the sun dips below the horizon. A deck connects the main house to a series of changing rooms which serve as closets and storage for visiting family and guests. The outside courtyard is home to the outdoor shower and enclosed bathroom facilities. (Some modern inventions, like running water and semi-indoor plumbing, are hard to live without.)

"The cottage has been moved back from the bank three times, once in 1945, again in 1978, and most recently in 2024 by Warren Ard and his crew. Longtime caretaker Brandon Beal built new storms, this close to the sea wind and salt spray are a constant. The Shack sits light on the land and can be easily moved, as it one day will again."

“Sandune”
29 Pocomo Road
The Brock Family

"Nestled steps from Nantucket Harbor, “Sandune” has been beloved by members of the Brock family since it was purchased by William C. Brock in the 1940s. William gifted the cottage to his son, Albert G. Brock, and it remains in the Brock family today. Its open-stud construction and rambling footprint maintain a tranquil rusticity, more than 100 years after it was first constructed in the 1920s. Originally built as a “day cottage” for trips to the shore from Nantucket town, with no running water or electricity, it has been updated for 21^st century living and overnight stays while preserving its pleasant plainness. The open main living space and small kitchen connect to simple bedrooms, with extra sleeping quarters added on overtime to accommodate new generations. Recent preservation work restored historic windows and shored up the exterior building envelope to prevent moisture intrusion and deterioration of building materials."

The Cottage at 8 Village Way
The Schmidt Family

"Homeowners Charlie Schmidt and Nanci Lee are proud stewards of their c. 1945 beach cottage in Pocomo. While they have been approached many times to sell to real estate developers, continuing the family tradition of Nantucket summers in their rustic beach cottage is more important. Charlie’s parents rented on the island and purchased the property in 1976. A small addition in 1989 was the only major change to the house since its initial construction. When an additional bedroom was needed, the front porch was enclosed and cedar shingle sidewall painted white. Throughout the home, original details are retained, like an old woodstove in the living room. Charlie, an architect, and Nanci follow the old Nantucket tradition of salvaging building materials whenever possible. When new flooring was needed, the couple sourced materials from a house that was being demolished. The family enjoys outdoor living on a mahogany deck that was salvaged from the demolition of a nearby cottage. A cozy and inviting summer cottage, Nanci and Charlie’s house is proof that bigger is not always better."

“The Shack” at Smooth Hummocks
The Everett Family

"Built as a garage and moved from ’Sconset to the South Shore in the 1920s, the Everett family’s Shack at Smooth Hummocks is a remnant of a different style of living. It was used as a day cottage to sit and relax, and not a place for sleeping. The cottage was renovated in the 1980s, with additional length added, as well as ground-level decks and small ramps to allow for wheelchair accessibility. Richard Mather Everett first purchased the property and moved the shack in the early 20^th century, and it is now owned by his grandchildren, Cordilia “Dee” Coffin Everett and Richard M. Everett III. In 1999, Dee and Richard sold over 22 acres of land to the Nantucket Islands Land Bank, preserving the wide-open sandplain grassland vistas that surround their cottage for all to enjoy. They retain a life estate on their cottage and surrounding land."

The Historical Renovation Award - Greg and Amy Rowland

"3 Pawguvet Lane, built in the 1920s by Frederick G. Platt, has stayed in the same family for more than a century. In 2017, Greg and Amy Rowland became the new stewards of the property and assembled a team to stabilize and insulate the structure while maintaining the open-stud, summer cottage look and feel. Benjamin Normand of Normand Residential was the designer and Erik Johnson of Lindsay Custom Builders general contracted the project. The historic core of the main cottage was mostly unchanged, except for a wall moved slightly in the living room. All original window sash were restored, counterweights and pulleys repaired to allow the old windows to glide with ease. Original floors and staircase were retained and restored. A new HVAC system was carefully integrated into the design of the house by Malcom Condon of EMC Heating & Cooling. A rabbit’s warren of rooms was reconfigured into a new rear kitchen addition, unseen from the street.

"The back cottage has served many purposes over the years, but the original living room remains. (An earlier bedroom ell and kitchen ell were both moved off the property and found new homes elsewhere on the island.) Interior design by Annsley Macaleer and Meredith Taylor of Annsley Interiors and landscaping and garden design by Julie Jordin adds to the unfussy, summer home feel. The character-defining enclosed porch remains the dominant feature of the property from Pawguvet Lane."

The Caroline A. Ellis Landscape & Garden Award - Nantucket Land Bank

"In October 2020, the Nantucket Land Bank acquired the 0.2 acre property at the corner of Easton Street and North Beach Street, a pocket of green space at a heavily trafficked intersection that frequently floods and sends road runoff through storm drains that feed directly into Nantucket Harbor. Working with the Horsley Witten Group, the Land Bank sought to design a replacement for the simple grass, bench, and shade trees at the park that would better absorb and filter stormwater runoff to help improve harbor health and resiliency of this busy corner. Construction of the rain garden began in the winter of 2024. It features a wetland planted with native perennial plants including swamp rose mallow, new England aster, cardinal flower, white snakeroot, and feverwort whose deep root systems can absorb large quantities of water and filter pollutants. The native plants provide pockets of habitat for wildlife, and the park also features an ADA-accessible walkway, and picnic tables. The permeable surfaces not only help to filter stormwater before it reaches our harbor, but it also helps to prevent stormwater from reaching historic buildings during flood events. Like the resilient, native-plant based landscape at the Land Bank’s Easy Street Park, the Easton Street Rain Garden demonstrates how green solutions can help enhance the resiliency of Nantucket’s downtown."

Traditional Building Methods Award - Adam Zanelli, Nantucket Heritage Painting 

"Adam Zanelli founded Nantucket Heritage Painting in 1997. Since then, the firm has provided stripping, staining, and interior and exterior painting for many historic buildings such as the First Congregational Church and 55 Union Street, both protected by Nantucket Preservation Trust easements, 84 Main Street, winner of the 2021 NPT Architectural Preservation Award. In fact, Adam has touched nearly every project that has won an NPT award in the last decade. Adam and his crew at Nantucket Heritage Painting have put the finishing touches on many of the island’s iconic structures including the historic Coffin school and Victorian gems including 21 Broad Street and most recently, St. Mary’s Rectory at 6 Orange Street. Adam recently lent his talents to a long-awaited conservation project at the Maria Mitchell Association’s 1908 Vestal Street Observatory and 1922 Astronomical Study where he revived original shellacked woodwork, like the stairs to the telescope seen here, as well as the original floors and telescope dome. According to designer and past award winner Nick Gault, “in the world of oil and Satin Impervo, there’s nobody close to doing what he’s doing on the island. He’s one of the silent warriors in preserving historic properties.”