Chattel had a busy and enjoyable time at the 2023 California Preservation Conference, the first in-person conference held by the California Preservation Foundation since 2019. Hundreds of attendees from all over California came to San Francisco between April 19-21 for several days of receptions, workshops, and networking events.
The conference kicked off with an opening reception at the Maritime Museum located in the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. Constructed in 1939 as a bathhouse under the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the museum is notable for its colorful murals by artist Hilaire Hiler. Conference sessions began the following day at the Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture, starting with a plenary presentation by former Assistant Director-General for Culture of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Francesco Bandarin.
Chattel not only attended conference sessions, but jointly facilitated a conversation on the future of the Mills Act program with planning staff from the Cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco. The Mills Act roundtable was highly popular with conference participants who filled the space to standing room only.
The California Preservation Awards were held during the conference, beginning with a reception that honored past winners from recent years including the Picture Bridge at the Langham Huntington Hotel, a previous Chattel project awarded in 2021. Selected past winners were paired with an assortment of wines, with a sparkling wine chosen to represent the Picture Bridge.
Chattel received a preservation design award in the category of rehabilitation for the Hart Park Adobe House in Bakersfield. The project, completed for the County of Kern, rehabilitated a 1939 WPA-era adobe house in Hart Memorial Park for use as a visitor center operated by non-profit Kern River Parkway Foundation. Representatives from the County and the Foundation joined Chattel for the awards festivities.
All in all, it was an eventful week and a great way to celebrate the California preservation community in person again.