“Walnut 32,” the parking garage on Penn’s campus at 3201 Walnut, is one of the winners of this year’s Preservation Achievement Awards. Others include the Penn Museum (below) and the Hamilton Mansion at The Woodlands (far below). Photos provided by the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia.

Three West Philly buildings, including the Penn Museum, the Hamilton Mansion at The Woodlands and a parking garage, are among the winners of this year’s Preservation Achievement Awards.

Built in 1770 (and rebuilt since), the Hamilton Mansion is the centerpiece of The Woodlands’ grounds. The preservation award is for the restoration of the cryptoporticus, an underground passageway on the front of the building, and north terrace. Penn Museum’s award is for the renovation of the building’s west wing, which began in 2010.

Perhaps most intriguing is the award to the parking garage called “Walnut 32.” It’s safe to say that parking garages typically draw few fans of architecture. But there is something about Walnut 32 that is appealing. At least the architects tried in 1963 to make interesting what is a necessary evil and typically a blotch on the architectural landscape. Even the folks at Hidden City Philadelphia really like it, writing that “it may not be a beautiful building, but it does reveal its structure in a striking and elegant way.” 

The Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia will give out the awards at a big shindig on June 8.