[MSN] Group identifies most endangered US historic sites

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Group identifies most endangered US historic sites
(Reuters)

14 June 2007 



CAROLINA - A 1925 race track that drew the rich and famous to Florida and
the studio of a 95-year-old blacksmith whose ornamental ironwork gave
Charleston, South Carolina, its distinctive look are among the most
endangered US landmarks, a preservation group said on Thursday.


The National Trust for Historic Preservation listed the following sites in
the 20th edition of its annual report on America's most endangered historic
places.

 -- Historic Brooklyn waterfront - Dockyards and factories are being
demolished by developers seeking to cash in on the area's hip status.

 -- El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail, New Mexico -
The earliest Euro-American trade route in the United States is threatened by
a $225 million commercial spaceport planned near one of its most pristine
segments.

 -- H.H. Richardson House, Brookline, Massachusetts - The home and studio of
19th century American architect Henry Hobson Richardson, who created
Boston's Trinity Church, may be demolished unless a buyer willing to
preserve it is found.

 -- Hialeah Park Race Course, Hialeah, Florida - A 1925 racetrack known for
its Mediterranean architecture and pink flamingos. It drew the likes of
Harry Truman, Winston Churchill and Seabiscuit to Florida. A planned
condominium, retail and office complex would destroy much of the park.

 -- Historic sites in seven states from Virginia to New York are threatened
by a plan to build new high-voltage electric transmission lines through the
region.

 -- Historic structures in Mark Twain National Forest, Missouri - Frontier
farms and New DeAl era fire lookouts and ranger stations in the park are
deteriorating due to Forest Service budget limitations and are threatened
with demolition.

 -- Motels on Route 66 - Motels from Illinois to California - With the road
bypassed by interstate highways, many of the mom-and-pop motels along the
so-called 'mother road' are being torn down for new construction or are
falling victim to the elements.

 -- Minidoka Internment National Monument, Jerome County, Idaho - The camp
where thousands of Japanese-American citizens and immigrants were interned
during the Second World War is routinely looted of artifacts and is
threatened by local land usage, including a huge animal feed operation
nearby.

 -- Philip Simmons' Workshop and Home, Charleston, South Carolina - The
legacy of the 95-year-old master blacksmith, who has spent nearly 80 years
adorning his hometown with intricate iron gates, fences, stair rails and
window grills, is in jeopardy because of a lack of plans to preserve his
home and studio.

 -- Pinon Canyon, Colorado - The Pinon Canyon area of southeastern Colorado
includes scenic buttes, river valleys, family ranches and historic and
archeological sites that span 11,500 years. It is threatened by plans to
expand a neighboring US Army facility.

 -- Stewart's Point Rancheria, Sonoma County, California - The Kashia Pomo
people of northern California are losing their sacred and historic sites to
looters, vandals and the elements because of the federal government's
program to protect tribal historic resources is under-funded.

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