About Paragon Heritage
What
Paragon Heritage is focused on the conservation of the heritage and history of a place for the benefit of existing and future local communities. With a vision that looks beyond mere "historic preservation" we seek to understand the "why" of a place, as well as the "what." Paragon Heritage premises its practice on leveraging the many layers of narrative inherent in a heritage space to tell the full American story.
Paragon Heritage strives to come alongside existing communities to help them define and protect the heritage, cultural values and meaning that they care about most.
WHO
Tristram Evans is an architectural historian and principal preservation consultant at Paragon Heritage. Born in Wales and raised on the south coast of England, Tristram grew up against a backdrop of castles, cobbled streets and dramatic historical landscapes. Coupled with his love of period literature, it was perhaps inevitable that he would end up as an historian .
Following a stint as an officer in His Majesty's Royal Navy, Tristram worked in the legal field for 15 years. Seeking more effective ways to have a lasting social impact, he decided to lean in to his passion for old places and obtained a Master's degree in Historic Preservation.
Tristram is a member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Alabama Historical Association, the Alabama Cemetery Preservation Alliance and the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. Tristram is also the Alabama State Representative for the Southeast Society for Architectural Historians.
Tristram is married with three children. He is passionate about reading, hiking, gardening and historic wood window restoration.
Our Mission & Core Values
Paragon Heritage aims to leverage local community input to conserve the heritage, values and meanings of a place for the benefit of future generations. Paragon Heritage believes in a proactive yet grassroots approach to heritage conservation, that foregrounds marginalized historical narratives to provide a fuller picture of a place's development through time and the experiences of the people(s) who lived through it.
Paragon Heritage believes that heritage conservation should be honest, accurate and apolitical, but should not be afraid to challenge the status quo of a place where necessary.
Reviews
Brian Murphy ~ President, Florence Historic Preservation Commission
“Tristram Evans facilitated a tax-incentive training for our historic preservation commission, and we could not have asked for more informative and accessible instruction. Tristram had clearly spent time researching the options available in our area and demonstrating how they could be used locally. The commission now has more confidence when speaking on matters of local tax-incentives as they relate to historic preservation and are looking to make this knowledge more visible in our community. We were thrilled with the level of preparation and professionalism that went into the training, and we will definitely be working with Tristram again.”
Brad Garland, CPA ~ Brand Blackwell
"Tristram's tax credit class on Alabama's Historic Rehabilitation program was informative, especially on a topic which many in North Alabama - not only taxpayers, but also accountants - are underutilizing as a potential tool to subsidize preservation/conservation expenditures while maintaining the area's heritage and history."
