The Oscar-winning film 12 Years a Slave captured the eye of American audiences last year, but it may have also had an unforeseen effect on historic preservation. It appears that the National Trust for Historic Preservation was watching as well. The Trust has issued its annual list of the 11 most endangered historic places in the United States, which featured the slave trading center where the film’s protagonist, Solomon Northrup, was held and captured.
For twenty-five years, the National Trust has launched campaigns to save historic structures and places in regions across the U.S.—many of which are vulnerable from years of neglect or the threat of demolition. “Only a handful of the 250 places named have been lost,” the Trust said in a statement. Thus, the attention brought by the endangered list will likely help the chances of preserving these irreplaceable historic sites tied to the integrity of the nation.
Two Major Icons
Cincinnati, Ohio has two of the largest restoration projects: Union Terminal and Music Hall. Each of these projects are estimated to cost $280 million. Music Hall is a hub of arts—home to Cincinnati’s Symphony and Pop Orchestras, Opera, Ballet, and the May Festival. While Union Terminal is one of the most significant Art Deco structures in the country.
The full list includes Frank Lloyd Wright‘s Spring House, a church built in 1837, the threatened view of the Palisades, and other significant places in American history.
Full List of 2014 11 Most Endangered Historic Places
| Name | Location | Importance | Estimated Restoration Costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battle Mountain Sanitarium | Hot Springs, SD | Battle Mountain Sanitarium has provided medical care to veterans in the region for more than a century. If the VA moves ahead with its plan, it will remove the largest employer in the self-described “Veterans Town.” | $120,000 |
| Bay Harbor’s East Island | Dade County, FL | Bay Harbor’s East Island is one of the largest concentrated collections of mid-century Miami Modern (MiMo) style architecture in the country designed by architects including Morris Lapidus, Henry Hohauser, and Charles McKirahan. | N/A |
| Chattanooga State Office Building | Chattanooga, TN | The Chattanooga State Office Building was constructed in 1950 in the Art Moderne style to serve as headquarters for the Interstate Life Insurance company with a “Mad Men” era workplace. | $8,490,000 |
| Frank Lloyd Wright’s Spring House | Tallahassee, FL | Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and constructed in 1954, Spring House is the only built private residence designed by Wright in the state of Florida. | $170,000 |
| Historic Wintersburg | Huntington Beach, CA | Wintersburg documents three generations of the Japanese American experience in the United States, from immigration in the late 19th century to the return from incarceration in internment camps following World War II. | $5,000,000 |
| Mokuaikaua Church | Kailua Village in Kona, HI | Completed in 1837 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, Mokuaikaua Church represents the new, western-influenced architecture of early 19th century Hawaii. | N/A |
| Music Hall | Cincinatti, OH | Music Hall, designed by Samuel Hannaford, was built in 1878 with private money raised from what is believed to be the nation’s first matching-grant fund drive. | 280,000,000 |
| Palladium Building | St. Louis, MO | The Palladium is one of St. Louis’s last remaining buildings with a link to the city’s significant music history. | N/A |
| Shockoe Bottom | Richmond, VA | Shockoe Bottom was a center of the African slave trade between 1830 and 1865 — over 350,000 slaves were traded there. | N/A |
| The Palisades | Englewood Cliffs, NJ | The Palisades has been cherished by the nation and residents of New York and New Jersey for generations. | N/A |
| Union Terminal | Cincinnati, OH | Union Terminal, an iconic symbol of Cincinnati and one of the most significant Art Deco structures in the country. | 280,000,000 |
| Federal Historic Tax Credit | *United States | Since being signed into law by President Reagan, the federal historic tax credit has attracted $109 billion to the rehabilitation of nearly 40,000 historic commercial buildings in the U.S., creating 2.4 million jobs and sparking downtown revitalization nationwide. | N/A |
