Houston’s historical past buffs turned out in refined fashion for the 2025 Cornerstone Dinner, Preservation Houston’s annual tribute to the visionaries safeguarding the town’s architectural soul. Held on February 28 on the River Oaks Nation Membership, the night honored this yr’s Good Brick Award recipients — guardians of restoration and champions of adaptive reuse — whereas elevating $245,000 to additional the group’s mission.
Chaired by Nancy and Walter Bratic, the gathering of 350 preservationistas have been delightfully entertained by the emcee duo of Deborah Duncan and Invoice Stubbs — buoyant with banter, wit, and a reverent nod to custom. Naturally, that included a loving ode to the pecan ball. That will be the notorious ice cream-meets-chocolate-and-nut finale that has turn out to be a hallowed dessert ritual. As one visitor quipped between bites, “Come for the preservation, keep for the pecan ball.”
But it surely wasn’t nearly candy treats and historic treats.
The night’s highlights was the presentation of the 2025 President’s Award to developer and preservationist Jon Deal, founding father of The Deal Firm. Recognized for reworking forgotten buildings into cultural and inventive havens, Deal was lauded for his initiatives such because the reimagining of the Riviana Rice silos, the Jennings Cleansing and Dyeing Constructing (now 13 Celsius), and the dynamic Sawyer Yards arts campus. His newest endeavor, respiration new life into the Moncrief-Lenoir advanced, guarantees yet one more chapter in Houston’s evolving heritage.
The Good Brick Awards, now of their forty fifth yr, spotlighted a cross-section of initiatives exemplifying innovation and integrity. Honorees included the Buffalo Troopers Nationwide Museum for restoring the century-old Houston Mild Guard Armory, Annise Parker and Kathy Hubbard for sensitively updating their 1904 Crawford Home, Diane and Ray Krueger for reworking a modernist MacKie and Kamrath-designed workplace right into a modern residence, and Julia Lengthy, who elevated her 1965 Warshaw Home to resist floods with out sacrificing its mid-century allure — a first-of-its-kind win.
For these within the room, the night time reaffirmed what Preservation Houston has lengthy championed: that honoring the previous fuels the town’s future. And if that message comes dipped in chocolate and rolled in pecans — all the higher.
Nancy Ames and Danny Ward, Sarah Balinskas and Jeff DeBevec, Twila Carter, Lynn and Ty Kelly, Mary Lambrakos, Nationwide Belief for Historic Preservation president and CEO Carol Quillen, Susan and Alan Rafte, Milton Townsend, Phoebe and Bobby Tudor, Carey Kirkpatrick, Lil and Matt Kades, Minette Boesel, Nicole and Joey Romano, and Ed Schneider and Toni Oplt.
