2024 Year End Letter

Dear members, supporters, and fans,  

At the close of 2024, we are pleased to report that Preservation Detroit has concluded another successful year of advocacy, events and walking tours. None of our good works would be possible without generous donations to fund our mission and operations by supporters like you.

We are also overjoyed to report that our advocacy for the Belle Isle Boathouse, which started late last year, appears to finally be bearing dividends. A developer has now been identified, and the Michigan DNR supports their proposal for the structure's adaptive reuse.

A few of our other successes from the past year include:

  • To start the year, we hosted a months-long exhibition "The Concrete Canvas" on Public Art in Detroit at the Detroit Historical Museum.

  • We actively opposed demolition of the MBAD African Bead Museum in Detroit as well as the Roosevelt School in Keego Harbor.

  • We have provided steadfast support for proposed enhancements to the State Historic Preservation Tax Credit (HB 5430)

  • On February 21st, we testified to the benefits of Historic Districts to Dearborn City Council.

  • In April, we joined the Time Travelers Program, granting Preservation Detroit members benefits at over 400 sister-organizations in 46 states across the United States.

  • We supported efforts to renovate and restore Historic Sites in Detroit like Marygrove College, Vaughns Bookstore, the Alpha House in Brush Park, and the Vanity Ballroom, as well as the Farrand Park Apartments in Highland Park.

  • We helped Sevonty Restoration, a woman-owned small business, to secure training assistance in Stained Glass Window Repair through the American Glass Guild.

  • We supported preservation awards for the Historic Renovation of the Book Tower.

  • Starting in May, we hosted monthly "Preservation Happy Hours" at (5) Detroit venues.

  • On July 21st, we attended the Detroit Bookfest in Eastern Market, making interesting local connections and raising much needed money to support our organization.

  • On October 5th, we hosted a lecture on Architect Louis Kamper at his namesake Rooftop Bar atop the Book Tower.

In April, our Board gained a new member, Marcia Black of the Black Bottom Archives. In August we saw the departure of our Preservation Associate, Samantha Ellens, who we will sorely miss, but we were pleased to welcome a talented and able replacement in Sarah Pounders, Sam’s classmate in the Wayne State University Masters of Anthropology Program. And in November, Nate Lindsey of Kraemer Design Group left the board to pursue his other preservation passions.

Looking forward to 2025, we will celebrate our 50th anniversary. Stay tuned to our mailing lists and social media feeds for additional information, but we are already planning great things - including a dedicated reboot of our Endangered Buildings List and a monthly lecture series. We will continue to advocate on your behalf as Michigan pursues enhancements to the State Historic Tax Credit Program, the City rewrites its Zoning Ordinance, and Detroit becomes the first city in the state to craft a Citywide Historic Preservation Plan.

Once again, our Tours Program was a great success. Our volunteers directed 22 weekends of regular tours, conducting nearly 60 separate Saturday tours, and serving 250 guests. We also hosted 60 guests on 13 weekday tours and 80 more with 12 private tours. We reprised our Detroit Houses of Worship Tour on July 26th with 64 guests visiting (4) Historic Churches in and around Greektown. As well as our beloved Theater Tours on August 23rd, where we provided over 100 guests a behind-the-scenes look at (4) storied Detroit Theaters. We assisted the Frank Lloyd Wright Conference with tours of the Yamasaki Buildings on Wayne State’s Campus for 175 of their attendees. We also participated in DOCOMOMO National Tour Day with a Yamasaki in the Cultural Center tour on October 20. And we hosted 20 students and faculty from U of M Dearborn in a Service Learning Project. Our tours season concluded in October with 5 solid weekends of Cemetery Tours - selling out all 6 tours completely and engaging with over 180 guests. To round out the year, we were proud to fête our hard-working volunteers at Z's Villa on Monday November 11th to express our profoundest thanks for their exceptional efforts.

We're looking forward to more and better in 2025 and hope that you will join us in supporting that mission to preserve the fabric of Detroit that we all treasure and love. We truly value your partnership in this effort, and we couldn't accomplish half of what we do without your membership and yearly gifts. 

Preservation Detroit’s Board of Directors:  

Devan Anderson, Board President 

Maria Perez, Treasurer 

Alex Hill, Director

Chris Gongora, Director

Jeff Richards, Director

Mark Hall, Director 

Tanya Stephens, Director 

Sarah Pounders, Preservation Associate 




Jeff Richards