A St. Joseph landmark was recognized for its preservation efforts.

The Shakespeare Chateau at 809 Hall Street was awarded the Preserve Missouri Award. The award was presented by Missouri Preservation during its annual Statewide Preservation Honor Awards March 4 in the State Capitol Rotunda.

The historic 1885 Ogden Mansion is an opulent work of Victorian architecture and a gem of St. Joseph’s gilded age. Owner Isobel McGowan embarked on an epic rehabilitation when she purchased the property in May 2012.

Over the past three years she has transformed the former single-family house into a remarkable destination. Her quest has involved updating building systems, repairing plaster, and installing period-appropriate wallpaper; recreating the back porch to reflect the original design; painstakingly stripping paint from woodwork; refinishing floors; adding a catering-quality kitchen; and sensitively remodeling the upper floors.

According to a news release from the St Joseph Convention and Visitors Bureau, “…it is always a challenge to find a use that is appropriate to both the scale and economics of a property this large and grand, but Isobel McGowan has done just that with the opening of the Shakespeare Chateau bed and breakfast.”

Presented for the first time in 2000, the Preserve Missouri awards recognize outstanding efforts and projects around the state. Suggested categories include, but are not limited to: Commercial Revitalization, Institutional/Civic Building Restoration, Neighborhood Revitalization, Residential Rehabilitation, Historic Landscape Preservation, Rural Preservation, and Preservationist-in-Action.

Find out more about the Shakespeare Chateau here.