Missoula preservation awards highlight buildings at risk; local group forms to inventory schools

City Club Missoula and the Missoula Historic Preservation Commission presented nine historic preservation awards during a public event in Missoula that combined an "architectural treasure hunt" with presentations about at-risk buildings and a newly formed nonprofit aimed at proactive preservation.

Dean McGovern, president of the board of trustees for City Club Missoula, opened the evening by saying the nonprofit and the commission "were very pleased with last year's collaboration" and that "we hope to make it an annual event." The program included a slide show and a table exercise to identify 11 local architectural details and sites, many of them noted as lacking legal protection.

The discussion emphasized why the matters raised at the event matter beyond aesthetics. Cynthia Manning, chair of the Missoula Historic Preservation Commission, said the commission’s purpose is "to promote the preservation of historic and prehistoric sites, structures, objects, buildings, landscapes" and described multiple resources in town that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places but still lack…