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Friday, March 29, 2024

Beach cottages preserved, celebrated 

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Two historic preservation projects at Wrightsville Beach were recognized during the Historic Wilmington Foundation Preservation Awards on May 22.

Executive director George Edwards explained how restoration and rehabilitation projects play a vital role in achieving the organization’s mission.

“The foundation is an active organization… [but] we don’t actually put our hands on a lot of building rehabilitation. That’s what you folks are doing. You are making preservation real and alive on the streets. That’s what we’re here to celebrate,” Edwards said.

The N.C. Coastal Federation received an award for the adaptive reuse of the Palmgren-O’Quinn Cottage as its new Southeast Office and Coastal Education Center.

Tracy Skrabal, coastal scientist and office manager, said the team never expected recognition for the project.

“We’ve been so focused on No. 1, what we do, and No. 2, getting this project completed that it actually never occurred to us there might be an award for such a thing,” Skrabal said.

The conservation-minded group preserved as much of the original structure as possible, including light fixtures and wood floors hiding beneath carpet. Although the ground floor of the cottage had to be torn out due to zoning and flood plain issues, as much of the original top two floors of the house as possible were optioned for reuse.

“We preserved all the railing from the stairs to the ground floor. There were cabinets and doors… [and] a lot of old wood we reused, old heart pine that we repurposed,” Skrabal said.

Old wood found a new home in uses as creative as desks and as functional as doorsills. Skrabal said the federation was excited for the opportunity to link conservation and preservation.

“We feel like it was the ultimate recycling project for us,” Skrabal said.

Samuel and Laurie Sugg were also recognized for restoring the James D. and Frances Sprunt Cottage on North Lumina Avenue after securing a listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.

The Sprunt Cottage is the first  Wrightsville Beach National Register listing. Edwards said the listing is an important statement about the importance of retaining built history on the beach.

“That’s so unusual at the beaches. It caught my eye immediately … and then to come back and rehabilitate it is like icing on the cake,” Edwards said.

The Suggs completed rehabilitation of the cottage in September 2013. They were unable to attend the event, but contractor Tom Hannah accepted the award on their behalf.

The awards ceremony was part of the organization’s celebration of May 2014 as National Historic Preservation Month.

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