Endangered Historic Places
POSTED: 1:48 p.m. EDT May 24, 2004
UPDATED: 2:03 p.m. EDT May 24, 2004
Sites on the 2004 list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places are:
- 2 Columbus Circle, New York, N.Y.-- Designed by famed architect Edward Durell Stone, this Manhattan building has been controversial since it was completed in 1964. If a new owner carries out planned renovations, the building will lose the distinctive features that have made it an icon of Modernist design.
- Ridgewood Ranch, Home of Seabiscuit, Willits, Calif. -- The final home and resting place of one of America's most famous horses, this ranch is now owned by a church association that lacks the resources to stabilize and maintain the 20-plus historic buildings that still stand.
- Bethlehem Steel Plant, Bethlehem, Pa. -- This complex played a major role in the development of America's steel industry, was the site of many technological advances and provided steel for some of the nation's best-known structures, but now it lies dormant and threatened with demolition.
- Elkmont Historic District, Great Smoky Mountains NP, Tenn. -- This collection of modest wooden structures suffers from abandonment, inadequate maintenance and vandalism. Some park advocates favor demolishing the buildings – which are listed in the National Register – in order to return the land to its "natural" state.
- Gullah/Geechee Coast, S.C. and Ga. -- This stretch of coastline is the homeland of descendants of slaves who have managed to retain a distinctive culture, traditions and language. Long protected by its relative isolation, the area is now being overrun by sprawling new resorts, subdivisions and strip malls.
- Tobacco Barns of Southern Maryland -- A state-sponsored buyout has encouraged many farmers to abandon tobacco farming, the longtime mainstay of the region's agricultural economy, and many historic barns have been abandoned or are being demolished.
- Madison-Lenox Hotel, Detroit, Mich. -- The city's landmarks commission has refused to grant a demolition permit for this 3-building complex that could be rehabbed as the centerpiece of a burgeoning inner-city area, but the owner still wants to demolish it for a parking lot.
- Historic Cook County Hospital, Chicago, Ill. -- The setting or inspiration for numerous films and TV shows, this historic hospital could be converted to housing and help bring vitality to its neighborhood, but it is slated for demolition at a cost to taxpayers of $30 million.
- George Kraigher House, Brownsville, Texas -- This 1937 house by famed architect Richard Neutra has stood vacant for several years and is gradually being destroyed by weather, neglect and vandalism.
- Nine Mile Canyon, Carbon and Duchesne counties, Utah -- Sometimes called "the world's longest art gallery" because it encompasses an estimated 10,000 petroglyphs and pictographs, this site is threatened by extensive oil and gas exploration plans recently approved by the federal Bureau of Land Management.
- The State of Vermont -- The State of Vermont appeared on our 1993 list because it faced an onslaught of big-box retail development. Today the threat is worse than ever, with Wal-Mart planning to saturate the state with 7 new super-stores that are likely to spur additional development, sprawl, disinvestment in downtowns, the loss of locally owned businesses, and the erosion of the state's unique sense of place.
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