Los Angeles' Ennis-Brown House is among 11 sites on The National Trust for Historic Preservation's 2005 list of the most endangered historic places in America. Built in 1924, the grandest of Frank Lloyd Wright's textile-block houses was badly damaged by a 1994 earthquake and recent rains. It's unsafe for visitors, and stabilization costs would be about $5 million.
Belleview Biltmore Hotel
The Belleview Biltmore Hotel, in Belleair, Fla., has welcomed presidents, royalty and other VIPs since it opened its doors in 1897. The historic hotel, known as "The White Queen of the Gulf," is the state's largest wood-frame building. But it is at risk of being demolished, as its owners seek to redevelop the high-priced land on which it sits.
Boston Catholic Churches
The cash-strapped Boston archdiocese is in the process of closing and consolidating parishes, and a record number of the city's historic churches are up for sale or demolition. The National Trust cites not only their architectural significance, but also the role the buildings have played in the development of historic and ethnic neighborhoods. Pictured is St. Augustine's, in South Boston.
Camp Security
The sole remaining site of a Revolutionary war prison camp is threatened by plans to build suburban homes. The National Trust says the York County, Pa., site, which has been used as farmland since the 1780s, may have important historic artifacts buried in its soil.
Detroit Buildings
More than 100 of Detroit's historic buildings are on a list for demolition, many of them in anticipation of the city's hosting the 2006 Super Bowl. The National Trust is calling on the city's "political and financial hierarchy" to make an effort to breathe new life into the buildings. Pictured is the May 2005 demolition of the Madison-Lenox Hotel, a building that had been on the 2004 most endangered list.
Eleutharian College
This Madison, Ind., college was one of the first in America to admit students of all races. It was also a stop on the underground railroad. The building has been vandalized and neglected and Congressional funds for preservation are decreasing.
Ernest Hemingway House
Novelist Ernest Hemingway's Cuban hideaway is the first site outside the United States to make the National Trust's list. Hemingway spent more than 20 years at the home near Havana, where he wrote "The Old Man and the Sea." But now time and the elements have severely damaged the hacienda, called Finca Vigia, or Lookout Farm. The trust has gained permission to go to the communist-run island and begin emergency preservation work on the structure.
'Hallowed Ground'
This 175-mile-long stretch that runs through Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania includes six homes of U.S. presidents, one of the largest collections of Civil War battlefields, scenic rivers and African American monuments. It's threatened today by suburban sprawl. An initiative is trying to balance growth and conservation.
King Island
This island located 95 miles off Nome, Alaska, was occupied for centuries by Inupiat Eskimos, known as "King Islanders" or Ugiuvangmiut.. After the U.S. closed the island's school in 1959, many of them relocated to the mainland. Now, surviving Inupiat families want to return for seasonal visits, however the island's structures, many made of wood and walrus skin, are in urgent need of repair. "To the Ugiuvangmiut people, this rugged island is more than a historic site: It is the cradle of their culture, the homeland they had to abandon a half-century ago," said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust.
Western Conservation Land
The National Landscape Conservation System has 26 million acres spread out among 12 Western states. It includes dozens of monuments, historic trails and scenic rivers. It's threatened in part by theft and vandalism, and left vulnerable by the fact that the Bureau of Land Management, which oversees it, is losing resources.
Daniel Webster Farm
The Franklin, N.H., home once belonging to the American orator and statesman still stands on 141 acres of rich farmland. The site was also home to children orphaned during the Civil War, and several of the orphanage's buildings remain on the property. The integrity of the site has come under threat, however, from a builder looking to develop the property into subdivisions.