Join us for our free Preservation Celebration 2026 at the Baltimore Streetcar Museum! On October 8, we’ll honor our 2026 Preservation Award winners and, with your help, give out five micro-grants (from $500 to $1500) to people working on the front lines in our historic neighborhoods. We’ll say thank you to our volunteers and honor all of their hard work this year. And, we’ll be celebrating local Baltimore businesses by giving away door prize gift certificates to local restaurants, theatres and more! With dinner and drinks from locally-owned Baltimore vendors, we hope you will join us for what promises to be a wonderful evening. The event is free with a suggested donation of $25.

Event Schedule: 

5:30 pm – Doors Open with Food and Drink

6:00 pm – Welcome

6:05 pm – Presentation of 2026 Awards

6:30 pm – Microgrant Presentations and Selection

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About Our 2026 Historic Preservation Awards

At our October 8 celebration, we will honor people in Baltimore who over the last year have made an impact in helping save our historic places and improve our historic neighborhoods.

Our awards recognize work of all kinds: people who have done an excellent rehab job on their house or building; people who have volunteered at a historic site; people who have stepped up to improve their historic community with a new program or partnership. Individuals are eligible, as are organizations, corporations, and government agencies or programs. Self nominations are encouraged! Please email nominations to Johns Hopkins (hopkins@baltimoreheritage.org) by July 31.

 

About Our 2026 Microgrants

We’re in our 11th year of giving away microgrants to help fund preservation work in the city.

We’ll pick the most promising ideas and give them a chance for one $1500 grant, one $1000 grant and three $500 grants. Supporters of each idea will get three minutes to pitch them and at the end, all of us present will cast ballots to decide which ideas receive which micro grants.

The types of eligible projects are endless, and as long as they relate to Baltimore’s history, heritage, historic buildings or historic neighborhoods we will consider them. Past award winners include: restoring leaking masonry at a historic church, launching an after school arts-based safe space program in a historic neighborhood, supporting archaeological efforts at a historic furnace, and providing supplies for a community trying to provide access to a neighboring park. The sky’s the limit!

The award amounts may not be enough to complete an entire project. That’s OK. The goal is to help spark new and support existing neighborhood-level preservation work. You don’t need to be a nonprofit organization or even a formalized group to be eligible. Individuals and small groups are welcome! Complete rules can be found on the application. Please apply by September 11, 2026.

We are thrilled that this year’s Baltimore Heritage Preservation Celebration will be at the Baltimore Streetcar Museum! On October 8, we’ll honor our 2026 Preservation Award winners and, with your help, give out five micro-grants (from $500 to $1500) to people working on the front lines in our historic neighborhoods. We’ll say thank you to our volunteers and honor all of their hard work this year. And, we’ll be celebrating local Baltimore businesses by giving away door prize gift certificates to local restaurants, theatres and more! With dinner and drinks from locally-owned Baltimore vendors, we hope you will join us for what promises to be a wonderful evening. The event is free with a suggested donation of $25.

In addition to joining us on October 8, please take a minute to send us your suggestions for our annual preservation awards (email hopkins@baltimoreheritage.org with award nominations). And if you are helping improve a historic neighborhood or place in the city, please consider applying for one of our microgrants. See below for more information.

–Johns Hopkins, Executive Director

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About Our 2026 Historic Preservation Awards

At our October 8 celebration, we will honor people in Baltimore who over the last year have made an impact in helping save our historic places and improve our historic neighborhoods.

Our awards recognize work of all kinds: people who have done an excellent rehab job on their house or building; people who have volunteered at a historic site; people who have stepped up to improve their historic community with a new program or partnership. Individuals are eligible, as are organizations, corporations, and government agencies or programs. Self nominations are encouraged! Please email nominations to Johns Hopkins (hopkins@baltimoreheritage.org) by July 31.

 

About Our 2026 Microgrants

We’re in our 11th year of giving away microgrants to help fund preservation work in the city.

We’ll pick the most promising ideas and give them a chance for one $1500 grant, one $1000 grant and three $500 grants. Supporters of each idea will get three minutes to pitch them and at the end, all of us present will cast ballots to decide which ideas receive which micro grants.

The types of eligible projects are endless, and as long as they relate to Baltimore’s history, heritage, historic buildings or historic neighborhoods we will consider them. Past award winners include: restoring leaking masonry at a historic church, launching an after school arts-based safe space program in a historic neighborhood, supporting archaeological efforts at a historic furnace, and providing supplies for a community trying to provide access to a neighboring park. The sky’s the limit!

The award amounts may not be enough to complete an entire project. That’s OK. The goal is to help spark new and support existing neighborhood-level preservation work. You don’t need to be a nonprofit organization or even a formalized group to be eligible. Individuals and small groups are welcome! Complete rules can be found on the application. Please apply by September 11, 2026.

Last Thursday night, October 9, Baltimore Heritage had its annual Preservation Celebration at One Charles Center! We handed out 13 awards to groups and individuals doing fabulous work celebrating and preserving our city’s history and buildings. We gave out 7 micro-grants to 7 very worthy community projects. We conducted our organization’s annual meeting, approved our revised by-laws and welcomed a few new board members. And we said a big thank you to our wonderful volunteers. They make historic preservation possible in Baltimore. We also gave out out some cool door prizes–gift certificates to the Made in Baltimore store, two tickets to the Everyman Theatre, and a two-night stay at the Lord Baltimore Hotel! All the while, we ate delicious food from Pitamore and the Peanut Shoppe of Baltimore and drank wine from Spirits of Mt. Vernon. Thank you to everyone attended.

 

Award Winners:

Volunteers of the Year: Rebecca Cohen & Derek Van De Walle

Dedication to sharing Baltimore’s rich history

 

Graham Projects, DDB Workshop, Neighborhood Impact Invest Fund,

Central Baltimore Partnership, Zeskinds Hardware, National Lumber & Stephanie Baker

The renovation of the Trenton Art Garage at 101 East Trenton Street

 

Friends of Patterson Park

Renovation of the White House and creation of the Cedar House

 

Janet Allen & Perkins Square Association

Restoration of the Perkins Square Gazebo

 

Upton Planning Committee, Neighborhood Design Center,

Quinn Evans Architects & Kelly Little

Restoration of the Parren Mitchell House on Lafayette Square

 

Southwest Partnership, Poppleton Now Community Association,

Twopoint Studio & Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks

Restoration of the Poppleton Recreation Center

 

Lewis Contractors & Society of St. Sulpice

Restoration of McGivney House of Formation

 

Baltimore Public Markets Corporation & Twopoint Studio

Restoration of Hollins Market

 

Baltimore City Historical Society, Deborah Weiner, Aiden Faust & Michael Franch

Making history relevant through the Baltimore History Evenings series

 

Jon Goldman, B&O Railroad Museum, Anna Kresmer, Evelyn Chatmon, Bria Chavis, Teisha Dupree-Wilson, Christopher Haley & Paula Phillips

The Underground Railroad: Freedom Seekers on the B&O Railroad

 

Joe Gans 150 & Corner Team Boxing

Living History Day at Mount Auburn Cemetery 2025

 

SM+P Architects, B&B Urban Baltimore, Civic Group, Atelier Giguere, J. Cole Builders, SRBR, Skarda and Associates, KCW Engineering Technologies & Jenkins Environmental

Restoration of the Crook Horner Lofts building

 

Douglas Gordon Award: Walter Schamu

A lifetime of commitment to advancing Baltimore’s architecture and history

 

Pitch Party Winners: 

Parity Homes – $2000

For historic signage in Elder Park

 

Arena Players Inc. – $1500

For an Arena Players documentary 

 

Present Company – $1000

For the renovation of Gertrude’s nightclub in Station North

 

Beloved Community Services Corporation – $500

For a mural at the Thurgood Marshall Amenity Center (PS 103)

 

Market Center Community Development Corporation – $500

For murals in historic Chinatown

 

Baltimore Streetcar Museum – $500

For a new exhibit at the museum

 

Victorine Q. Adams Gardens, Inc. – $500

For upgrades to the Druid Hill Park Grove of Remembrance

 

Thank you for support from the Lord Baltimore Hotel and Everyman Theatre.

Join us for our free Preservation Celebration 2025 in the Modernist Mies van der Rohe building, One Charles Center (100 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201)! On October 9, we’ll honor our 2025 Preservation Award winners and, with your help, give out six micro-grants (from $500 to $2000) to people working on the front lines in our historic neighborhoods. We’ll say thank you to our volunteers and honor all of their hard work this year. And, we’ll be celebrating downtown Baltimore by giving away door prizes that include a two-night stay at the Lord Baltimore Hotel, two tickets to a show at Everyman Theatre, and gift certificates to local restaurants! With dinner and drinks from locally-owned Baltimore vendors, we hope you will join us for what promises to be a wonderful evening. The event is free with a suggested donation of $25.

Event Schedule: 

6:00 pm – Doors Open with Food and Drink

6:30 pm – Welcome and General Business (Including proposed amendments to our bylaws)

6:40 pm – Presentation of 2025 Awards

7:00 pm – Microgrant Presentations and Selection

 

Thank you for support from Trademark Properties, the Lord Baltimore Hotel and Everyman Theatre.