Initiated in 2009, the Beautiful House Award recognizes homeowners who have made improvements to their homes in a historically compatible manner.

The work can be either from the recent past or simply a recognition of good maintenance practices over a long period of time.

The intent is to recognize families who have increased their home’s attractiveness and its contribution to the overall desirability of the neighborhood.

Today’s young families can rarely afford a new $150,000 “starter house” in one of the outlying neighborhoods. They need encouragement and examples of successful rehabilitations in older neighborhoods. This will contribute to a realization of the city’s infill goals, and it is more environmentally sustainable.

The result is more stable neighborhoods and increasing the ratio of homeowners to rental property in our historic neighborhoods.