Timely warnings for historic buildings : National trust lists nation’s 12 most endangered historic places in hopes they’ll be kept from crumbling.
WASHINGTON — Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., where in 1957 federal troops were ordered to help nine black students integrate the student body, has been recognized as one of the nation’s 12 most endangered historic sites by a leading preservationist group.
The dramatic newsreel footage of Elizabeth Eckford, a solitary black girl arriving for her first day of class only to be surrounded by jeering white classmates, has stood the test of time. The image, a melange of black and white, hostility and hope, has been burned into the national psyche.
The school building, however, has not fared so well. Its roof leaks, its water-damaged plaster walls are crumbling and its windows are cracked.
“Next year will be the 40th anniversary of Central High’s integration,†said Little Rock Mayor James Dailey, “but right now it’s suffering and needs $6 million in repairs. And our school budget just doesn’t allow for that.â€
Every year, the National Trust for Historic Preservation identifies what it considers America’s most endangered places in an attempt to draw attention--and renovation help--to historically significant but structurally threatened sites.
Dailey hopes that publicity surrounding this year’s list will generate money for the rehabilitation of Central High.
This year, after publishing its usual top 11 list, the trust decided to add a 12th endangered site: “black churches of the South.â€
“Many of these churches are historic buildings, but more than that, they are the heart and soul of the communities in which they are located,†said trust President Richard Moe.
Established by Congress 43 years ago to preserve sites important to the nation’s history, the trust also has drawn attention this year to a dilapidated movie theater, a slave-era plantation and a grand old hotel.
“We’d like for people to learn about the effects of urban sprawl, of insensitive development, of deferred maintenance on historic places, and to know about the urgency of those problems,†said Elizabeth Wainger, spokeswoman for the trust.
Last year’s list included the Hoga, the only surviving Navy ship from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, which the Navy was planning to sell for scrap metal. Veterans’ groups nationwide were alerted to the situation by news about the list.
“There was such an outpouring of support after we placed it on our Top 11 list that the Navy has since changed its plans and will soon resurrect the ship,†Wainger said.
Moe hopes this year’s listings will help local groups involved with each site find the financial support they need to make repairs.
The other sites on this year’s endangered list:
* The Knight Foundry in Sutter Creek, Calif., which served the mining and lumber industries between 1873 and 1995 and was the last working water-powered factory in the country.
“It was state of the art in the late 1800s,†Wainger said, “but today’s owners can’t keep it going, and they’d like to sell it for half a million dollars.â€
* The Historic Structures of Glacier National Park in Montana, which were built in the early 1900s by the Great Northern Railway as a series of high-country chalets and sprawling hotels. Most have been left to rot and have become safety hazards.
* The Harry S. Truman Historic District. Parts of the Independence, Mo., neighborhood where President Truman grew up, began his political career and retired are losing their historic character. Several important sites have been replaced by parking lots and nondescript buildings.
* More than 100 adobe churches in New Mexico. Nearly one-third of the state’s 362 earthen churches, some pre-dating George Washington, have suffered well-intentioned but misdirected maintenance efforts.
* Sotterly Plantation in Hollywood, Md., built in 1770. Descendants of a slave and a slave owner are struggling to find money to keep the plantation’s buildings open to the public.
* Uptown Theater in Chicago, built in 1925. The 4,000-seat theater has been abandoned since 1981 and has suffered extensive water damage and vandalism.
* The town of Petoskey, Mich., where commercial development plans threaten a picturesque main street, wetlands and farms.
* East End Historic District in Newborn, N.Y. Buildings designed by architects A.J. Davis and Calvert Vaux, and landscapes designed by Andrew Jackson Downing and Frederic Law Olmsted have deteriorated.
* Wentworth by the Sea Hotel in New Castle, N.H. Once a vacation spot for movie stars, foreign dignitaries and President Theodore Roosevelt, this sprawling Victorian-era hotel closed in the early 1980s and has been scheduled for demolition.
* East Broad Top Railroad System in Huntington, Pa. A rare example of an intact 19th century railway system, the narrow-gauge tracks wind for 31 miles over bridges and through tunnels and a company town. But the railroad’s owners cannot afford to maintain it.
The trust receives 10% of its $33-million annual budget from Congress; the rest comes from 260,000 individual members and corporate sponsors.
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