21c Museum Hotel founders Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson are co-recipients of a top Kentucky award for “outstanding dedication to the cause of historic preservation.” The award was presented at the 38th Annual Ida Lee Willis Memorial Foundation Historic Preservation Awards, Kentucky’s most distinguished awards honoring excellence for the preservation and rehabilitation of historic buildings, in Frankfort, Kentucky.
The couple is recognized for establishing 21c Museum Hotels in rehabilitated, historic commercial buildings in Louisville, Lexington and elsewhere and garnering “national and international attention for their innovation and hospitality,” according to Diane Comer, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Heritage Council. The awards recognize investment, advocacy, volunteerism, building partnerships, public involvement, lifelong commitment and significant achievement, and are sponsored jointly by the Ida Lee Willis Memorial Foundation and the Kentucky Heritage Council/State Historic Preservation Office.
