Quincy Preservation Commission annual dinner to celebrate Historic Preservation Month on May 17

QUINCY – Betsy Sweeny, director of heritage programming at the Wheeling (W.Va.) National Heritage Area and preservation influencer, will be the featured speaker for the Quincy Preservation Commission’s 34th annual preservation dinner on Friday, May 17, at One Event Venue, 600 Hampshire.

The evening will begin with a social hour (cash bar) at 6:30 p.m. followed by a buffet-style dinner catered by JJ’s Catering at 7 p.m. The ticket price is $50 and can be reserved by calling the Quincy Department of Planning and Development at 217-228-4515 by Friday, May 10.

Sweeny’s presentation will begin after dinner. She will discuss keeping historic downtowns authentic, vibrant, relevant and the center of a healthy community.

Sweeny purchased a “cheap old house” in Wheeling in 2020 for $18,500. Her documentation of the ongoing renovation of the McLain house on Instagram has garnered more than 73,000 followers, who have launched her new role as a “preservation influencer.”

Good Morning America, Today, Daily Mail, New York Post, Architectural Digest, Southern Living, the Magnolia Network and others have featured Sweeny’s preservation work.

Quincy Preserves will welcome Sweeny from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 18, at the Lorenzo Bull House to discuss residential preservation efforts. Sweeny will highlight her experience renovating the McLain house. The event is free and open to the public.

The City of Quincy has received support from Quincy Preserves, Quincy Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, AmericInn by Wyndham Quincy and The District to provide programming for the preservation dinner.

The Quincy Preservation Commission was created on May 3, 1984, to promote preservation efforts within the City of Quincy through the study, survey/research, identification and designation of places, buildings, structures works of art and other similar objects within the jurisdiction of the city, undertake educational programs and activities highlighting and encouraging historic preservation and to consult and cooperate with other city departments and commissions on matter affecting landmarks and historic districts among other tasks to support and encourage historic preservation within the City of Quincy.