Architect and historic preservationist Bert Bender to receive 2023 Scotti Merrill Preservation Award at Key West Art & Historical Society “Back In Time” Fundraiser

Architect and historic preservationist Bert Bender to receive 2023 Scotti Merrill Preservation Award at Key West Art & Historical Society “Back In Time” Fundraiser

February 13, 2023 – (Key West, FL).  Bert Bender is an advocate for the past, the metaphorical brick and mortar for historic preservation, especially in Key West. This year he will be celebrated  as the Scotti Merrill Preservation Award recipient by the Key West Art & Historical Society at their annual “Back In Time” Prohibition Dinner Party on Friday, February 17 from 6:00pm – 10:00pm. The festive costumed event will transform Fort East Martello into the “A1A Speakeasy,” complete with open bar, hand rolled cigars, delicious rums, surf & turf dinner, and swing jazz— all to support ongoing preservation needs for the Custom House Museum, the island’s architectural crown jewel that Bender is more than familiar with.

The building was his second project with The Society after his 1988 work with the Key West Lighthouse. The massive and complex restoration took 9 years to “finish” before opening the Richardsonian Romanesque building to the public as a museum in 1999. Today, the brick-red building with robust columns and large, graceful arches is an iconic national landmark, the official headquarters of the Key West Art & Historical Society, and an award-winning museum with two floors of exhibitions representing two centuries of history art, people, and events.

“The Key West Custom House will always stand out as our favorite project,” says Bender.

That’s saying a lot for a man whose historic preservation projects span the state of  Florida, Washington, D.C. South Carolina, and Montana, and in Key West— Old City Hall, the Elizabeth Bishop house, the Monroe County Detention Center, and Key West Lighthouse and Fort East Martello, the latter two which The Society stewards. But then again, Bender takes a challenge head-on and doesn’t stop until it’s “done”— a word he knows is a restoration irony. Bender’s father came to the States from Russia an orphan at 14, his parents lost to the hands of a German solider when he was 7. He was a plumber who taught his son how to use his hands for good. Bender went to school— the first in his family to do so— but in junior college he was told to give it up, that he’d never make it as an architect.

“Nobody tells me what to do,” he says. “So I started my practice.”

He graduated from the University of Illinois in architecture in 1971, interned until he launched his Flagstaff-based business in 1975, then moved to Key West with his wife, Nancy, in 1985. It didn’t take long for him to get noticed.  His “dedication, commitment, and matter of fact approach” sets him apart, says Society Executive Director Michael Gieda.

“Bert doesn’t mince words and is direct ,” says Gieda. “From our first interaction, I knew he could be trusted and that he cared most about preservation, especially with regards to the Custom House.”

Bender remains the lead architect for the building’s capital projects and his firm serves as architects for Fort East Martello and the Lighthouse. The 132-year-old building is on track for the completion of mechanical system upgrades  (12 internal air handler units, 2 external chiller units, the control system) and forthcoming archives storage improvements. In 2013, Bender & Associates completed a building assessment that outlined deficiencies, required improvements, and unfinished restoration work from the 1990s.  All of the work detailed in assessment has been completed over the past 10 years.

“He has always gone above and beyond with our needs for the building. If something is needed, he is there ASAP. He is truly dedicated to the cause,” says Gieda.

The Scotti Merrill Preservation Award honors those who dedicate themselves to preserving the cultural heritage of the Florida Keys, with special emphasis on the Custom House, a 9 million-dollar renovation spearheaded by the late philanthropist and founder of the Dogwood Foundation.

”This award is very meaningful to me,” says Bender. “Key West Art & Historical Society is the reason that I became what I am today.”

The evening, partially funded by the Dogwood Foundation, will feature free flowing cocktails to toast Mr. Bender during his award presentation and throughout the night, surf n’ turf by Catered Affairs, hand rolled cigars from Rodriguez Cigars, delicious rums from Papa’s Pilar Hemingway Rum Company, and swinging music from Skipper’s Key West Jazz Band. For more information, visit KWAHS.ORG or call  305.295.6616. Your Museums.  Your Community.  It takes an Island.

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