LAURA HERSHNER joined Benjamin Historic Certifications (BHC) in 2024, after graduating from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a Master of Science degree in Historic Preservation. She also works at Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates as an Accounting Associate. Prior to entering the preservation field, Laura worked in special education classrooms and administration at Crow Island School in Winnetka. She lives in Evanston near the Lakeshore Historic District, which influenced her love of historic buildings and preservation.
BENJAMIN HISTORIC CERTIFICATIONS With BHC, Laura has researched, drafted and photographed a National Register of Historic Places nomination for a modern house by Keck & Keck, assembled Historic and Architectural Impact Studies (HAIS), written local landmark designations, and contributed sections of a historic resource survey for properties in the western area of Wilmette. She has also prepared Illinois Property Tax Assessment Freeze applications for houses in Winnetka, Glencoe, and Lake Forest.
PRESERVATION WORK While at SAIC, Laura completed her thesis focusing on the Wilmette homes of early North Shore developer C.A. Hemphill. During school she served as the 2023 Driehaus Preservation Awards intern at Landmarks Illinois, and as an assistant to a Chicago real estate broker specializing in historic properties. After graduation she spent a year assisting Vinci Hamp Architects with the organization of their project drawings archive.
AWARD Laura was part of the team awarded the Library of Congress 2023 Holland Prize for HABS documentation, contributing measured drawings of the east and west elevations for the 1961 Illinois State Beach South Bathhouse in Zion, Illinois. Additionally, she was a member of a finalist team in the Association for Preservation Technology’s 2023 Student Design-Build Competition, where her team won Best Structural Analysis for their work on the entryway arch at the Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago.
VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES Laura is a member of the Society of Architectural Historians, the Victorian Society of America, Docomomo, and the Landmarks Illinois Skyline Council. She attended the 2024 Victorian Society’s Newport Summer School, where she visited numerous historic sites, gained extensive knowledge, and formed lasting friendships with fellow preservationists.
EDUCATION Laura received her BA in Geography from the University of Colorado at Boulder and her MS in Historic Preservation from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.