A nationally recognized preservation architect will serve as the keynote speaker at the East Texas Preservation Weekend luncheon on Friday.

Norman Davenport Askins, of Atlanta, Georgia, is scheduled to speak at the luncheon, which runs from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Willow Brook Country Club in Tyler.

Askins is the winner of the inaugural A. Hays Town Award from Southern Living magazine in 2013. The award recognizes a Southern architect and is named after Town, who designed more than 500 iconic homes in Louisiana and other southern states, according to the magazine’s website.

Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, Askins has a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Georgia Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in architectural history from the University of Virginia.

His experience includes serving as architect and architectural historian at The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation where he worked on the redesign of the interior of the White House’s Executive Office Wing; working as director of restoration at John Milner Associates, the nation’s largest and foremost preservation and restoration firm; and establishing his own practice in Atlanta, Georgia, where he specializes in historic preservation, restoration and residential design, according to a news release.

His book, “Inspired by Tradition: The Architecture of Norman Davenport Askins,” was released in 2014.

Luncheon tickets cost $25 and must be reserved in advance by calling the Historic Tyler office at 903-595-1960.

Luncheon sponsors include Historic Tyler Inc., the Tyler Preservation Board, the Texas Historical Commission, the Tyler Junior Garden Club, the Rosebud Garden Club, the Marion Wilcox Junior Garden Club and the friends of the Criterion Club, the Gertrude Windsor Garden Club and the Four Seasons Garden Club.

Event coordinators are Lucinda Kittrell, Sue Deakins, Dot Thrower and Stephenie Roberts.

 

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