Hello Everyone:
Welcome to fresh, kind of humid week on the blog. Washington D.C. waits with baited breath for former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's testimony, before the House of Representatives, this Wednesday. For House Democrats, it is a critical moment because they are hoping Mr. Mueller will make a strong case for opening impeachment proceedings and turn public sentiment in their favor. The latest news is that full report will be made public which could be a game changer. Blogger cautions against high expectations. As we have seen, Robert Mueller is not someone who will say any more or any less than he has to. Expecting the former special counsel to be the savior is completely unrealistic. Expect Mr. Mueller to dole out just enough information for the House of Representatives to draw the appropriate conclusion. Stay tuned. In the meantime, onward.
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| Happy 70th Birthday National Trust for Historic Preservation savingplaces.org |
Hard to believe that our friends at the National Trust for Historic Preservation are celebrating their 70th birthday. You all read correctly, the NTHP has been saving places of American cultural and historic significance for seventy years and that is just warm up.
For the past 32 years, the NTHP has been publishing a list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. The list highlights examples of American heritage that are in danger of destruction or irreparable damage. Since the beginning, attention has brought to over 300 places, and in the 32 year history of the list, fewer than five percent of the listed sites have been lost (savingplaces.org: May 30, 2019; date accessed July 22, 2019). Now that is an accomplishment worth cake and champagne.
This year's list offers a diverse mix of familiar historic places, around the United States, that are still facing numerous challenges and threats, from climate change to inappropriate development to neglect. If you would like to find out more about America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places, go to savingplaces.org for more information. Here we go with the list.
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| Tenth Street Historic District Dallas, Texas savingplaces.org |
Tenth Street Historic District
Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas is our first stop and today we are visiting the Tenth Street Historic District. This part of Dallas was mainly settled by former enslaved people following the Civil War. The Historic District includes a collection of buildings from the late 19th- to early 20th-centuries. In 2010, a change to local ordinance permitted demolition permits for residences less 3,000 square feet, regardless of Landmark Commission rulings, increasing the rate of demolitions. As of writing, at 70 of the The Tenth Street Historic District homes have been taken down.
If you would like to challenge this ordinance, a local preservation group has filed a lawsuit against the city of Dallas to either amend or repeal this ordinance, check out the petition at savingplaces.org.
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| Music Row Nashville, Tennessee savingplaces.org |
Nashville, Tennessee
Next on our tour is Nashville's Music Row. If you are a serious music fan, musician, or singer, this is the place for you. Music Row is home to over 200 music-related businesses, making it a very unique place in the world. From a collection of modest homes and commercial buildings an entire canon of music emerged, cutting across a variety music genres, to the joy of generations of fan around the world.
Despite its critical role in America's cultural history and Nashville's identity, economy, and culture, Music Row is on pace to become a memory. Since 2013, 50 buildings--most of which serve music-related functions--have been razed to make way for new developments. Currently there is a new plan to guide the future of Music Row in development, and now is the perfect time to urge Nashville's elected to preserve and protect this musical mecca. Go to savingplaces.org for more information.
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| Hacienda Los Torres Puerto Rico savingplaces.org |
Hacienda Los Torres
Lares, Puerto Rico
We head to the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico, an American territory still reeling from Hurricane Maria in 2017 and currently roiling in political drama. One of the island's last historic coffee plantation houses and oldest remaining structure, Hacienda Los Torres is currently under threat. Hacienda Los Torres was built in 1846, during the apex of Puerto Rico's coffee industry by Jose Maria Torres. It is also associated with the Grito de Lares revolt and the Spanish-America War.
Long-term neglect and the cumulative effects of multiple hurricanes, including Maria, threaten this site. To find out what you can do support saving Hacienda Los Torres, go to savingplaces.org.
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| Ancestral Places of Southeast Utah Southeast Utah savingplaces.org |
Ancestral Places of Southeast Utah
Southeast Utah
Get your hiking boots out because we are going to Southeast Utah for tour of Ancestral Places. Archaeologists believe this magnificent desert is one of the United States' most culturally rich, albeit, unprotected landscapes is a target for oil and gas extraction. Over the past two years, the Bureau of Land Management has drastically stepped up leasing activity in the region, oblivious to concerns from the NTHP, affected Native American tribes, and NTHP's regional partners. The good news is you can do something about it. Let the Department of Interior know that the Ancestral Places of Southeast Utah should remain off limits to oil and gas extraction at doi.gov.
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| James R. Thompson Center Chicago, Illinois savingplaces.org |
James R. Thompson Center
Chicago, Illinois
Postmodernism is making it debut on the list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places with the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago, Illinois. The Thompson Center is Chicago's grandest example of this much loved or loathed style. Love it or not, you have to be concerned over the fact that Governor J.B. Pritzker recently signed legislation allowing the sale of the building to help close a budget gap. Without any kind of preservation protections, the Thompson Center could be razed. You can help save it by adding your name to a list urging Governor Pritzker to require retention and reuse of the building when it is sold. Go to savingplaces.org to add your name.
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| Bismarck-Mandan Rail Bridge Bismarck, North Dakota kfyrtv.com |
Bismarck-Mandan Rail Bridge
Bismarck, North Dakota
We are going to Bismarck, North Dakota of the next stop on tour. We are going to check out the Bismarck-Mandan Rail Bridge, built in 1883. It was the first rail bridge across the upper Missouri River. This iconic bridge is recognized as an International Site of Conscience for the role it played in opening up the western United States to white settlement--profoundly impacting the Native American communities. Despite its historic status, it is currently under consideration for demolition by the BNSF Railway Company.
The Coast Guard is consulting with the railway company and related parties under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Thus far, the Coast Guard has suggested a conditional permit that would require the BNSF to keep the Bismarck-Mandan Rail Bridge until after a new adjacent bridge is constructed in order to identify preservation remedies. You can go to savingplaces.org and tell the Coast Guard not to allow the demolition of this historic bridge.
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| Industrial Trust Company Providence, Rhode Island ppsri.org |
Industrial Trust Company Building
Providence, Rhode Island
"Look up in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane, it's an endangered site of American history." Yours Truly made up the last part but the Industrial Trust Company Building, the "Superman Building" is under threat from deterioration and deferred maintenance after six years of remaining empty. The good news is that is this site is located within an "Opportunity Zone;" the bad news is there is no redevelopment plan for the building and the future is uncertain. Read more at savingplaces.org.
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| The Excelsior Club Charlotte, North Carolina savingplaces.org |
Charlotte, North Carolina
The latest stop on our tour of endangered sites of American history is The Excelsior Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Excelsior Club was notable as leading private club for African Americans and listed in the Green Book. During its heyday, it played host to jazz greats Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole. This lovely example of Art Moderne is serious investment. It is currently for sale and if an appropriate buyer is found, an adaptive reuse plan and major investments are needed to ensure The Excelsior Club's future. Read more at savingplace.org.
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| National Mall Tidal Basin Washington D.C. nationalmall.org |
National Mall Tidal Basin
Washington D.C.
We head north to Washington D.C. to check out the most iconic landscape in America, the National Mall Tidal Basin. This breathtaking place is home to some of the most famous monuments and cherry blossoms that bloom every spring. The National Mall Tidal Basin is in need of as much as $500 million in order to upgrade and maintain this popular and most visited site. The National Trust for Historic Preservation is conducting a three-year campaign to ensure the Tidal Basin's long-term healthy future. Join the campaign at savingplaces.org.
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| Willert Park Courts Buffalo, New York preservationbuffaloniagara.org |
Willert Park Courts
Buffalo, New York
We head further north, to Buffalo, New York to check out the Willert Park Courts. This complex was New York state's first housing project built specifically for African Americans and features some early examples of Modernism with bas-reliefs of everyday life. Currently, the site is vacant and many of the buildings are open to the elements. The Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority has proposed tearing the complex down and building putting replacement housing. The NTHP is asking the Housing Authority to preserve and redevelop the site, instead of demolishing it. Find out more at savingplaces.org
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| Mount Vernon Arsenal and Searcy Hospital Mount Vernon, Alabama support.savingplaces.org |
Mount Vernon, Alabama
The final stop on our tour is Mount Vernon, Alabama. Wait, before you scroll past this section, it is not something political. This Civil War-era arsenal was once part of the Confederacy, later housed Geronimo and 400 Apache prisoners in the late 19th-century. During the 20th-century, it was a segregated mental health facility for African Americans until it closed in 2012. The campus remains closed and is suffering from deterioration. If you want the state of Alabama to do something about it, find out how you can help at savingplaces.org.
That for our annual tour of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places for this year. As always, you can find out more about these sites and how you can support them at savingplaces.org. Until the next time
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