SUMMER 2007

Americans for the Arts Economic Impact Study

Partner Profile

  ARC/NEA Gateway Initiative

2007 List
11 Most Endangered
Historic Places

National Conservation Summit

Scanning the States

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Partners in Tourism: Culture and Commerce is a coalition of cultural service organizations, the travel industry, and federal agencies that provides a forum for collaborative research, education, promotion and advocacy with the common goal of advancing the role of culture and heritage in the travel and tourism industry.

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Partners in Tourism: Culture and Commerce

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National Trust for Historic Preservation Issues

2007 List of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places

America’s priceless heritage is at risk—from the storied waterfronts of Brooklyn to the neon-clad mom-and-pop motels of Route 66—some of America’s most irreplaceable landmarks are threatened. In Idaho, the hallowed remnants of a World War II-era internment camp are at risk due to planned expansion of an adjacent large-scale animal feeding operation, while in New Mexico, a pristine portion of the 16th century El Camino Real—the oldest Euro-American trade route in the United States—faces a 21st century threat; the proposed development of a Spaceport. Meanwhile, budget cutbacks are also wreaking havoc on historic resources across the country: In Missouri, shortfalls at the U.S. Forest Service have imperiled more than 70 historic structures at Mark Twain National Forest, and in California, sacred structures at Stewart’s Point Rancheria—home to the Kashia Pomo Indians—are sliding into disrepair due to chronic funding inadequacies at federal Tribal Historic Preservation Offices. 

These are just some of the 11 sites the National Trust for Historic Preservation has named to its 2007 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.

“The sites on this year’s list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places embody the diversity and complexity of America’s story, and the variety of threats that endanger it,” said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “The places on this year’s list span the continent and encompass the breadth of the American experience. Each one is enormously important to our understanding of who we are as a nation and a people.”

Sites on the 2007 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places are:

Brooklyn’s Industrial Waterfront, NY -- Once a booming 19th century industrial waterfront supported by generations of immigrants, Brooklyn’s heritage is at risk as historic dockyards and factories are being demolished by developers anxious to cash in on the area’s newly hip status.

El Camino Real National Historic Trail, NM -- The earliest Euro-American trade route in the United States, the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, known for its austere physical beauty, rural solitude and remote isolation, is threatened by a $225 million commercial Spaceport, a venture planned adjacent to one of the most pristine and sacred segments of the Trail.

H.H. Richardson House, Brookline, MA -- The last home and studio of famed 19th-century American architect Henry Hobson (H.H.) Richardson – the creator of Boston’s much loved landmark Trinity Church – is vacant and vulnerable to demolition unless a preservation-minded buyer comes forth to rescue the legacy of the man who created the “Richardsonian Romanesque” style.

Hialeah Park, Hialeah, FL – The drop dead glamorous 1925 racetrack known for its stunning Mediterranean architecture and pink flamingos, Hialeah Park – frequented by celebrities such as Winston Churchill, Harry Truman and Seabiscuit – is threatened with a planned 3,760-unit condo and apartment complex with nearly one-million-square feet of retail and 200,000-square-feet of office space, which would destroy much of the storied park.

Historic Places in Powerline Corridors, VA, WA, VA, MD, PA, NY, NJ, DE  – Seven states – many of them in the Mid- Atlantic region -- are waging battles to protect everything that’s irreplaceable about their communities as massive 150-foot tall, 75-foot wide power lines are planned that will blight historic landscapes and usurp private property rights.  Proposed lines would cut through private land, publicly held open space, neighborhoods, historic sites, historic districts and magnificent view sheds.

Historic Structures in Mark Twain National Forest, MO -- Established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939, the 1.5-million-acre Mark Twain National Forest is known for rocky bluffs, pastoral views and historical sites which speak to the region’s rich heritage – from intact 19th-century frontier farmsteads to New Deal-era fire lookouts and ranger stations.  Today, due to U.S. Forest Service budget limitations, many properties are vacant, unsecured, deteriorating and threatened with demolition.

Historic Route 66 Motels, IL to CA -- Affectionately called “The Mother Road,” Route 66 is known for quirky roadside attractions and unique mom-and-pop motels, constructed between the late 1920 and late 1950s and often clad in neon.  In recent years, Route 66 motels in hot real-estate markets have been torn down at record rates, while in cold real-estate markets, motels languish and are being reclaimed by the forces of nature.

Minidoka Internment National Monument, Jerome County, ID -- From 1942 to 1945, thousands of Nikkei (Japanese American citizens and immigrants of Japanese ancestry) were sent to south central Idaho to live in camps under armed guard at the Minidoka Relocation Center.  Today a National Monument, the site, which once contained more than 600 buildings, offers scant visitor services or interpretive information, is routinely looted of artifacts and is threatened by insensitive local land-use planning, including the proposed siting of a massive animal feed operation just over a mile away.

Philip Simmons Workshop and Home, Charleston, SC -- Beloved master blacksmith Philip Simmons has spent the better part of 80 years adorning his hometown with intricate ornamental ironwork – gates, fences, stair rails and window grills -- but with no plans to preserve his home and studio, the legacy of this 95-year-old artisan is in jeopardy.

Pinon Canyon, CO -- In Southeastern Colorado, under uninterrupted blue skies, Pinon Canyon is an area of scenic buttes, river valleys, family ranches and historic and archeological sites that span 11,500 years.  The area is threatened by the U.S. Army’s plans to expand its maneuver training ground by as much as 418,000 acres, a move that could lead to forced condemnation of private lands and damage or destroy historic Santa Fe Trail monuments, ranches, and historic and prehistoric archeological sites.

Stewart's Point Rancheria , Sonoma County, CA -- The Kashia Pomo Native American tribe has inhabited this Northern California land for thousands of years. But because a federal program to protect tribal historic resources is seriously under funded, the Kashia, like many tribes, is losing its sacred and historic sites to looters, vandals and the elements.

Click here to view each 11 Most Listing on the NTHP website.

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