The Des Moines Heritage Trust last week recognized those who have been involved in preserving pieces of the community’s history during its inaugural historic preservation awards dinner.

The awards, which were announced in April, were presented during the May 15 ceremony attended by about 200 people at the Des Moines Heritage Center in the East Village.

Award winners included a developer who focuses on the redevelopment of historic buildings, an architect who was at the forefront of historic preservation, and projects, both commercial and residential, that exemplify the history and futures of those buildings. An iconic piece of playground equipment also received a nod during the ceremony.

Awards presented were:

• Historic Preservation Champion: Tim Rypma, Rypma Properties
• Historic Preservation Hall of Fame: William Wagner
• Historic Preservation Project of the Year, commercial over 5,000 square feet: Val Air Ballroom – Sam Summers.
• Historic Preservation Project of the Year, commercial under 5,000 square feet: French Way Cleaners – Connor Delaney.
• Historic Preservation Project of the Year, residential: 1074 31st St., Des Moines – Invest DSM
• Historic Preservation Project of the Year, public: Iowa State Fair Sheep Barn Renovation
• Historic Preservation Project of the Year, adaptive reuse: Winterset High School Apartments, HKG Development
• Historic Preservation Project of the Year, special project: Union Park rocket slide, city of Des Moines

The Business Record caught up with Rypma and Tim Waddell, president of the Des Moines Heritage Trust following the ceremony. Here is some of what they had to say.

Rypma on the honor of being recognized:

Rypma on the importance of engaging in historic preservation:

Waddell on the importance of recognizing historic preservation work in the metro:

Waddell speaks about why historic preservation is important to the city: