The Charlotte Gem Preservation Awards

Celebrate the Power of Preservation at the Charlotte Gem Preservation Awards, the premiere fundraising event for the Charlotte Museum of History. These awards celebrate restoration and building projects in the greater Charlotte region that exemplify the best of historic preservation. By shining a light on successful preservation projects that enrich our communities culturally and economically, the awards encourage everyone who calls Charlotte 'home' to save our historic built environment.

Become a Sponsor

As the premiere fundraising event for the Charlotte Museum of History, sponsorship is critical to funding our mission of advocating for the preservation of our built environment and providing a space to tell the full history of our city. Sponsors receive recognition throughout the event, with additional opportunities to showcase your brand on our website, social media platforms, and in print. 

Learn more about sponsorship opportunities and ways to ensure your organization is recognized as a champion of saving and sharing our region's history by clicking the link below.

The below represents information about the May 2024 Charlotte Gem Preservation Awards. Please stay tuned for additional information about the 2025 Awards happening Thursday, May 8, 2025.

2024 Event Activities

Activities Include:

• Silent Auction
• Cocktail Reception
• Award Ceremony
• and other exciting delights to be announced shortly!

2024 Schedule of Events

6:00pm - The Event Begins with a Cocktail Reception and Silent Auction

7:00pm - The Awards Ceremony Begins 

The Charlotte Gem Award

This year during the awards ceremony we will also be honoring an individual - a "Charlotte Gem" - someone who actively works to make Charlotte and the Piedmont Region a better place to live through advocacy, volunteerism, and general support for our community. This special award is selected by the Charlotte Museum of History Board of Trustees. 

Charlotte Preservation Awards Categories

Nominations are now open for the 2025 Charlotte Gem Preservation Awards. 

Eligibility:

• Nominated projects must have been completed within the last six (6) years and must exemplify aspects of effective preservation, historic renovation, adaptive reuse and/or new construction or neighborhood planning within a historic context. 
• Only completed projects will be considered.
• Historic structures must have been built prior to 1975.
• Nominated individuals or groups are accepted for their work to preserve physical structures, cemeteries, or other aspects of our shared past including object documentation and oral histories.
  
• Projects outside of Mecklenburg County will be considered as long as the project is located within a surrounding county.
  

The Charlotte Preservation Awards honor restoration and building projects in the greater Charlotte region that exemplify the best of historic preservation.

• Historic Building - Residential (i.e. a restoration, new addition, or preservation project at an existing historic building)
  
• Historic Building - Non-residential (i.e. public space or business)
• Historic Infill - Residential (i.e. a new building that was designed to compliment a historic environment)
• Historic Infill - Non-residential (i.e. a new building that was designed to compliment a historic environment)
• Individual or Group (an individual, community organization, or group of people who work to preserve the built environment or other pieces of our shared history)

Meet the past year's winners. Learn more about each project by clicking the links below.