California Preservation Awards Sponsorship

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The 2024 Design Awards Event

A large group of people in formal attire are seated at round tables, dining and talking, in an ornate banquet hall with chandeliers, arched doorways, and elaborate ceiling decorations.

We’re celebrating 15 award winning projects, as well as the Trustee’s Awards for Excellence and the President’s Awards at the historic Millennium Biltmore Hotel, Downtown Los Angeles, followed by a special social event with food and drinks in the stunning ballroom of the Biltmore Hotel. Tickets to the Awards Ceremony and the post-awards reception are $225 for members and $250 and available here (discounted to $175 if you’re attending our Annual Conference – combo packages available on our conference page)

Huntington Rose Garden Tea Room

Project Lead or Principal
John Bechtel – Architectural Resources Group (ARG)

Architect (Design)
Stephen Farneth – Architectural Resources Group (ARG)

Structural Engineer
Structural Focus

Client / Owner
Thomas Polansky – The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens

Historic Restoration Subcontractor
Reuben Lombardo – Spectra Company

Huntington Rose Garden Tea Room

Huntington Rose Garden Tea Room is one of fifteen winners honored with the 2024 Preservation Design Award. This project was a recipient in the Preservation or Restoration category. Award recipients are selected by a jury of top professionals in the fields of architecture, engineering, planning, and history, as well as renowned architecture critics and journalists. Tickets and sponsorship options are available at californiapreservation.org/programs/awards/.

Read more about the Preservation Design Awards
A black-and-white photo of a white, single-story building with columns, surrounded by trees and a garden of blooming flowers in the foreground. The sky is clear and the scene looks serene.
A white, rectangular building under renovation, with scaffolding and boarded-up windows. A worker is on the flat roof, and a fence with a green leafy covering surrounds the site under a clear blue sky.
A large white building with columns and a red-tiled roof stands behind neatly landscaped gardens and pathways, with a leafless tree in the foreground and an American flag flying on a pole. People are visible near the building.
A white, neoclassical building with columns sits in a green garden surrounded by rose bushes, with trees framing the scene and a partly cloudy sky overhead.
A single-story white house with classical columns, large windows, and a central front door, set amid landscaped gardens at dusk. Lights glow warmly inside and from a covered patio to the right.
A modern, sunlit dining room with green walls, black chairs, and square tables set for meals. Three people sit at one table, while another person sits alone. Large windows and floral centerpieces add to the airy atmosphere.
A bright hallway with wood flooring and ceiling, a chandelier, and a large glass door leading to a dining area. Two people sit and talk on the left, with natural light streaming in from a skylight above.
A hallway with geometric patterned floor tiles leads to a glass-walled dining area overlooking a garden. Several tables and chairs are seen through the large windows, with greenery visible outside. A chandelier hangs overhead.
A bright, elegant hotel reception area with a wooden floor, chandelier lighting, and a long reception desk. Two people are walking past the desk, and a bench sits against the wall with a framed picture above it.
An elegant outdoor dining area with white tables and chairs, wooden benches, and a wooden ceiling under a glass roof. The space overlooks lush green gardens and a distant water fountain. Tables are set with plates and glassware.

About Huntington Rose Garden Tea Room

When the Tea Room closed at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, leadership at the Huntington saw an opportunity to renovate the beloved restaurant while also assessing ways it could permanently respond to a new reality wherein outdoor dining is not just a desire, but a necessity. The 110-year-old billiard and bowling alley of Henry Huntington received a comprehensive rehabilitation, preserving and modernizing of the original structure, bringing the building up to structural, environmental, and health code requirements. The project also added two new outdoor dining spaces on a cross-axial arrangement to the original long, rectangular footprint of the building. The new dining spaces provide an opportunity to enjoy tea in an outdoor setting in one of the most beautiful gardens in the country and expand dining capacity without impact to the historic building.

About CPF and the Awards

Held in conjunction with CPF’s 2026 Annual Conference in Riverside, the 2026 Mission Inn Preservation Design Awards Ceremony and Reception will spotlight excellence in historic preservation in a setting that reflects the very spirit of the work being honored. This special evening brings together award recipients, conference participants, preservation leaders, and supporters from across California to celebrate outstanding preservation projects and leadership through the Preservation Design Awards and President’s Awards.

Founded in 1978, the California Preservation Foundation (CPF) is California’s statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection of historic places and cultural heritage. Through education, advocacy, and community-centered programs, CPF supports the people, projects, and policies that keep California’s historic resources vital and valued. We now support a national network of more than 36,000 members and supporters. Click here to learn how you can become a member.