Roenigk accepts preservation award

Elise Roenigk accepted an award for Excellence in Preservation Through Restoration on behalf of The Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow on Friday, Jan. 11, at the Governor's Mansion in Little Rock. The award was from the Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas for the restoration of the new Writers' Colony facility, "505 at Dairy Hollow" in Eureka Springs, a Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired Usonian house restored to its 1950s heyday.

"The 'Excellence in Preservation Through Restoration' award recognizes projects in which a primary goal was returning a structure to a documented earlier appearance," said Vanessa McKuin, executive director, Historic Preservation Alliance. "The jury was impressed with the Writers' Colony efforts to retain the integrity of the structure and the process involved in achieving the end results."

Roenigk and her late husband, Martin, purchased and donated the house to the Writers' Colony in 2004. The home has historical significance to Eureka Springs, but it was falling down the hillside and on the verge of being condemned. The Writers' Colony secured grants from the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program and sold the Farm House property on Grand Avenue to help renovate and restore the property. With "505," the Colony now offers a total of eight writer/artist suites, two kitchens, two community rooms and conference rooms, and more outdoor writing areas expanding the Writers' Colony campus to two fully-operational facilities.

Additional project members honored were Sandy Martin, Chairman of the Board of the Writers' Colony, who worked side-by-side with master craftsman Sam Utter on the restoration.