?America?s Front Yard,? musical landmarks, and a postmodern marvel are all at risk Historic preservation often gets covered as a local story. But with today?s release of America?s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places, an annual designation by the National Trust for Historic Preservation designed to save threatened landmarks, the spotlight on special buildings, monuments, and civic space underscore the full scope of the nation?s architectural, cultural, and artistic history.
This year?s list offers an eclectic array of place, from ancestral Native American landscapes in Utah to postmodern architectural marvels in Chicago, as well as rare and vital buildings tracing the history of black Americans (a particular focus of the Trust). The most nationally recognized places in this year?s class?the cherry tree-lined National Mall Tidal Basin in D.C. and Nashville?s Music Row, a font of creativity and country music?underscore how two forces, increased development and climate change, will continue to put some of our most precious places at risk. Some of these sites face more immediate risks than others, including Chicago?s James R. Thompson Center, which the Illinois Governor plans to sell later this year. Earning this designation, however, has proven to be a good omen for threatened buildings, directing national attention and resources towards preservation and adaptive reuse. In the 32-year history of the list, more than 300 places have been highlighted, and only five percent h...