The Library of Congress and the National Park Service announced the winners of the 2025 Leicester B. Holland Prize, an annual competition that recognizes the best single-sheet measured drawing of a historic building, site or structure prepared to the standards of the Historic American Buildings Survey.

The first-place award was presented to Dewey Erwin Jr., principal of Saluda Architecture, for his documentation of Roseneath Farm in Florence County, South Carolina. Designed in 1920 by architect William J. Wilkens for prominent local businessman Joseph Maner Lawton, the Mediterranean Revival-style residence reflects early 20th-century regional development and craftsmanship. The property, built of terra cotta block with a stucco finish, also features a notable two-acre walled garden designed in the late 1930s by landscape architect Julia Lester Dillon. Subsequent alterations were made to the house in the 1940s by architect Willis Irvin.

Two honorable mentions were also awarded. C. J. Howard, associate professor at The Catholic University of America, was recognized for documenting the Van Ness Mausoleum in Washington, D.C. It was built in 1824 by John Peter Van Ness, four-term mayor of D.C., and his wife Marcia Burnes Van Ness. Intended as family mausoleum, it was designed by architect George Hadfield, one of America’s first professional architects and an early proponent of the Greek Revival style. The mausoleum was relocated from its original downtown location to Oak Hill Cemetery in 1873.

Eric Menninger of EAM Preservation LLC received an honorable mention for his drawing of First Missionary Baptist Church in Thomasville, Georgia. Founded in 1866 by formerly enslaved individuals, the church is one of the oldest African American congregations in the state. Long a spiritual and community center for the local African American population, the church played a pivotal role in the civil rights movement of the 20th century in southern Georgia.

The 2025 competition received 10 entries from across the country. The winner will receive a $1,500 cash prize and a certificate of recognition, while honorable mentions will receive a $500 cash prize each and a certificate of recognition.

The annual prize honors Leicester B. Holland (1882–1952), who was a fellow of the American Institute of Architects; director of the Library of Congress Fine Arts Division (now the Prints and Photographs Division); co-founder of the Historic American Buildings Survey, and the program’s first curator.

The Leicester B. Holland prize highlights excellence in architectural documentation and promotes the recording of America’s built environment. It is intended to increase awareness, knowledge and appreciation of historic sites, structures and landscapes throughout the United States, and to encourage the submission of drawings by professionals and students alike. All drawings accepted for the competition are added to the permanent collection in the Library of Congress. Images can be viewed here.

For more information about the Holland Prize competition, visit the National Park Service contest website.

The Center for Architecture, Design and Engineering is a program in the Prints and Photographs Division at the Library of Congress that sponsors activities and publications to engage the public with the Library’s rich collections. For more information, visit https://guides.loc.gov/architecture-design-engineering-collections.