HISTORIC SANTA FE FOUNDATION’S 2026 ARCHITECTURAL STEWARDSHIP AWARDEE - NANCY MEEM WIRTH

Melanie McWhorter, HSFF Executive Director (award presenter) and Nancy Meem Wirth

On May 21, 2026, Historic Santa Fe Foundation, Old Santa Fe Today, and the City of Santa Fe hosted the annual Heritage Preservation Awards at San Miguel Chapel.

Historic Santa Fe Foundation presents the Architectural Stewardship Award to a person who has been a leader in the community to further preservation efforts, historical knowledge, and cultural practices in New Mexico, Nancy Meem Wirth.

While this is a shortened version, Nancy's desire to see her community thrive inspires her to serve today. When on the CPRC helped to protect Mount Taylor from uranium mining by getting it designated as a traditional cultural property. She is a founding member of Cornerstones Community Partnerships.

Her father John Meem designed all or part of twenty-two Pueblo mission churches churches including Acoma and Laguna. Cornerstones’ Jake Barrow said this was something her father really cared about and “she inherited that care… I don’t think we’d be here without her.”

Her mother was instrumental in supporting the New Mexico Community Foundation’s Churches Symbols of Community, the predecessor of Cornerstones Community Partnerships. Nancy was crucial to Cornerstones founding and growth through the acquisition of their current offices on Otero Street and her ongoing service on the board and as an advisor.

Nancy the churches “are crucibles that contain the history of families…. [And Cornerstones work] is as much cultural preservation as architectural preservation. The former staff Sam Baca noted that Pajarito was a perfect example of a church that needed immediate stabilization where they brought together the community from disparate locations to completely restore the church for two years.

At San Miguel Chapel, Cornerstones restored the front wall extensively, added solar and repaired the adjacent room that you see in these photos. Over 380 churches and cultural treasures have been renovated in partnerships with Cornerstones. This would not have happened without Nancy.

Nancy oversaw the city Heritage-designated renovation of the Everett Jones house designed by her father, the previously awardee. She played a role in preserving her parents’ home the Faith and John Gaw Meem House and placing it on the National Register.

Nancy worked to preserve and refurbish the home and studio of artist Gustave Baumann. Nancy worked with Historic Santa Fe Foundation and added preservation easement to protect elements like Baumann’s fireproof safe, his woodcut radiator covers, and even the nails where the work once hung in the home’s sala.

Mac Watson notes of Nancy, “She inherited from both parents a graciousness that reminds you of past eras, especially during the contentious times we’re living in. She sees things that ought to be done and devotes herself to doing them.”

The Meem/Wirth legacy endures in Santa Fe as Nancy has instilled many of her values in preservation, environmentalism, and community in her children and grandchildren including Senator Peter Wirth previous service and Nick Wirth’s current service on the HSFF board. For these and many other reasons HSFF is pleased to recognize Nancy Meem Wirth.

Images above courtesy, Cornerstones Community Partnerships

Kelley Avery, Mac Watson (award presenter), and Michael Avery

HISTORIC SANTA FE FOUNDATION’S 2026 ARCHITECTURAL STEWARDSHIP AWARDEE - MICHAEL AND KELLEY AVERY FOR THE BISHOP EVERETT JONES HOUSE

The awards are made in recognition of unusual care and commitment by owners of historic properties to care for them and to maintain the integrity of their historic character. The first of these is awarded to Kelley and Michael Avery who purchased the Bishop Everett Jones house in 2013. At that time the Jones house was listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties as well as being designated a Landmark property within the city of Santa Fe. In addition ---the 40 acre property on Brownell Howland Drive was protected by a conservation easement held by the Santa Fe Conservation Trust and the house was protected by a preservation easement held by HSFF. The Jones house is significant as one of the two final residential projects undertaken by John Gaw Meem well after he had ceased to actively take on design projects himself. It represents a return by Meem to the Spanish Pueblo style for which he and his firm he were known nationally and internationally. This late project represented his continuing efforts to balance the technological changes of the postwar era with the traditional regionalism that most clients wanted.

The Foundation presently holds 14 preservation easements. They consist of legal agreements with a property owner for the Foundation to monitor and enforce the protection of certain features designated by the property owner as character defining features that must be preserved on into the future. In contrast to the city’s code enforcing preservation standards on properties within the historic districts, the preservation easement can cover properties outside of the districts and can apply to interior features, such as the fireplace here, the windows, floors, ceilings and other interior details.

In their 13 years of ownership, the Averys have undertaken two renovation projects. This photo shows a part of a renovation to the kitchen and family room, designed by Ed Boniface, architect and executed by Eluid Herrera of Counter Intelligence. Throughout this project the Averys were conscientious to consult with the Foundation to make sure that it was done in accordance with the preservation easement. The work was monitored by Foundation staff and Foundation volunteer consultants and approved upon completion.

In 2020 a fire occurred in the attached guesthouse but fortunately did not spread to the rest of the structure. The Averys immediately contacted the Foundation to alert them to the damage, then engaged preservation architect James Horn to design re-construction work that was consistent with the preservation easement. The work was carried out by Boni Armijo and his son Eddie of Building Adventures Unlimited.

The Averys want to thank their friend and skilled interior designer Marty Frenkel for his leadership and creative work that can be seen in this and the other interior photos of the Bishop Everett Jones House.

Michael Avery has served as a leader in the Santa Fe community as an active director of the Santa Fe Conservation Trust, as a protector not just of the Bishop Jones property but of the many other properties for which the Conservation Trust holds easements. Kelley and Michael Avery represent the very ideal for which the Stewardship award was conceived. I feel proud to be able to present them with this award.