America's 11 most endangered historic places announced

ByABC News
April 27, 2009, 11:25 AM

— -- The National Trust for Historic Preservation today announced its list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places for 2009. The Trust creates this list annually to highlight historical sites at risk of destruction. On hand to make the announcement were Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Academy Award-winning actress Diane Keaton.

The announcement was made at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, one of the sites at risk. "All over Los Angeles, too many of our great modern buildings have already fallen to the wrecking ball," Keaton said. "We need to lead by example and show the rest of the country that buildings are renewable, and we shouldn't be throwing them away. We should be recycling them just like we recycle newspapers."

The Manhattan Project's Enola Gay Hangar at Wendover Airfield in Utah, also on the list, is at risk of irreparable damage.

Joining the hangar and hotel are Frank Lloyd Wright's innovative Unity Temple in Oak Park, Ill., which is in a state of disrepair due to a lack of restoration funding.

New Mexico's Mount Taylor a sacred site for 30 Native American tribes is in danger of losing valuable cultural and archaeological resources due to uranium mining activity.

The Ames Shovel Shops complex in southeastern Massachusetts an intact 19th-century industrial village is in danger of being demolished for new development.

A 12-block strand of 19th-century buildings with cast-iron storefronts in Galveston, Texas, is struggling to survive after Hurricane Ike caused extensive damage in September 2001.

Miami Marine Stadium in Virginia Key, Fla., has never fully recovered from Hurricane Andrew in 1992, making it a prime target for developers despite the vandalism and deterioration it has suffered.

Formerly a school for freed slaves, Dorchester Academy in Midway, Ga., is deteriorating without funds in sight to save it.