Group lists historic places that are endangered
5:05 p.m. Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Today, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named Sumner Elementary School in Topeka, Kansas, to its 2008 list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. This annual list highlights important examples of the nation's architectural, cultural and natural heritage that are at risk for destruction or irreparable damage.
Sumner Elementary School, a National Historic Landmark that helped launch the nation's Civil Rights Movement as the centerpiece of the U.S. Supreme Court's (1954) ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, presently sits in a deteriorated and threatened state. Vacant since 1996, the school suffers from deferred maintenance and has sustained significant damage from water infiltration, neglect and vandalism. As current problems remain unaddressed and damage worsens, this national icon is being allowed to deteriorate even further and resources have not been allocated to stem this tide.
Sumner Elementary
Learn more about the condition of Sumner Elementary in this report from 49 News Community Reporter Liz Zamora.
In 2002, the city of Topeka purchased Sumner Elementary with funding from the State Historic Preservation Office. As part of the acquisition, the city signed a covenant, which expires in 2012, that prevents demolition, and requires the city to maintain and protect the building, with the goal of finding a reuse for the facility. Unfortunately, limited resources - the majority of the $7,900 annually allotted to the building's upkeep is spent on mowing the lawn - and failure to secure a developer have prevented the city from implementing an effective strategy to safeguard the school. As a result, the Topeka City Council authorized staff in June 2007 to take the initial steps toward destroying the school. The city's failure to protect the site and its subsequent proposal to demolish it violate the covenant.
A campaign has been launched to secure a developer who could purchase the school from the city and rehabilitate it for a new use without compromising its historic character. This initiative is appealing to both private and public funding sources while raising awareness about the national significance of the historic site.
"Losing Sumner Elementary School to neglect is utterly unacceptable," says Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. "It represents a significant chapter in American history and powerfully symbolizes the struggle for equal educational opportunities in this country. We must protect the legacy of Sumner Elementary and provide the conscientious stewardship it needs and deserves."
Built for white students in 1936, Sumner Elementary became a pivotal catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement, when the School Board refused to admit Linda Brown, an African-American student. Although the school was only seven blocks from her home, Brown was forced to either walk one mile across a railroad switchyard or travel for more than an hour by an unreliable bus service to attend the all-black Monroe Elementary School. In 1954, the NAACP took her complaint to the Supreme Court and made history when the case-Brown v. Board of Education struck down the "separate but equal" doctrine and mandated that all schools be desegregated.
In 1987, the National Park Service designated both Sumner and Monroe Elementary Schools National Historic Landmarks. Since Sumner was still in active use at the time, Monroe Elementary was selected to house the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site where visitors could learn about the landmark case and its broader contribution to the Civil Rights Movement.
The 2008 list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places (in alphabetical order):
Boyd Theatre, Philadelphia, Pa. - Philadelphia's last surviving downtown movie palace-a masterpiece of Art Deco design-faces an uncertain future as it sits vacant and remains vulnerable to demolition. It awaits a preservation-minded buyer to return the vintage venue to its original grandeur.
California's State Parks - California's state park system, the largest park system in the U.S., encompasses a vast array of historic and cultural resources that chronicle the state's rich and storied heritage. It also has suffered greatly from years of chronic underfunding and has $1.2 billion in deferred maintenance. Proposed budget cuts, which would have led to the closure of 48 state parks, have been staved off. The underlying problem remains. Current funds only cover 40% of actual maintenance and operations needs, which means irreplaceable historic and cultural resources remain endangered.
Charity Hospital and the adjacent neighborhood, New Orleans, La. - While Charity Hospital sits abandoned, plans call for the demolition of nearly 200 homes in the adjacent Mid-City neighborhood to accommodate construction of two new hospitals. Alternate locations for the new hospitals are available, and Charity Hospital, a National Register-eligible building that closed after Hurricane Katrina, could be rehabilitated to once again serve the community.
Great Falls Portage, Great Falls, Mont. - This National Historic Landmark, one of the best preserved landscapes along the Lewis and Clark Trail, is slated to get a massive coal-fired power plant in its front yard.
Development abutting the Great Falls Portage, an undeveloped rural area under panoramic blue Montana skies, will irreparably harm the cultural and visual landscape.
Hangar One, Moffett Field, Santa Clara County, Calif. - The hangar, a local icon built in 1932 to house U.S. Navy dirigibles, is a cavernous, 200 foot tall dome-shaped structure covering more than 8 acres of land. A 2003 inspection revealed PCBs leaking from the hangar's metallic exterior.
Although the Navy transferred Hangar One to NASA in 1992, the Navy is responsible for environmental remediation, but has no mandate to replace the
exterior and preserve the building.
The Lower East Side, New York City - The Lower East Side embodies the history of immigration, one of the central themes of American history in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, yet development threatens to erase the surviving historic structures. This includes houses of worship, historic theaters, schools and the tenement, a unique architectural type which, by the sheer numbers who lived in such a building, had an impact on more Americans than any other form of urban housing. A New York City landmark designation and contextual zone changes within the neighborhood would preserve the physical character of the neighborhood.
Michigan Avenue Streetwall, Chicago, Ill. - This 12-block stretch of historic buildings-dating back to the 1880s-is a virtual encyclopedia of the work of the city's best architects, including Daniel Burnham and Louis Sullivan. Although this "streetwall" was designated a Chicago Landmark in 2002, its historic character is now being threatened by the inappropriate addition of large-scale towers that retain only small portions of the original buildings or their facades.
Peace Bridge Neighborhood, Buffalo, N.Y. - The neighborhood and the site, with homes and buildings dating to the 1850s on two National Register Olmsted parks, is an iconic section of the City of Buffalo. The Public Bridge Authority (PBA) proposes to expand Peace Bridge and include a 45 acre plaza that will eliminate over 100 homes and businesses (dozens of which are eligible to the National Register) and diminish the Olmsted parks. Suitable alternate sites exist, but PBA refuses to properly consider them.
The Statler Hilton Hotel, Dallas, Texas - When the Statler Hilton opened in downtown Dallas in 1956, it was hailed as the most modern hotel in the country. Today, the building sits vacant. Located on an increasingly attractive piece of real estate, the Statler Hilton faces an uncertain future as encroaching development pressure heightens the threat of demolition. Current regulations restrict alternate uses, so a sympathetic developer is needed to restore and reopen the Statler as a hotel.
Sumner Elementary School, Topeka, Kan. - The school, a National Historic Landmark, helped launch the nation's Civil Rights Movement as the centerpiece of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Board of Education. Currently vacant, the school suffers from deferred maintenance and has sustained significant damage from water infiltration and vandalism.
Though the city of Topeka owns the school and is required to maintain and protect it, the City Council has authorized its demolition. A sympathetic developer is needed to save and restore this icon.
Vizcaya and the Bonnet House, Fla. - Pending development of out-of-scale buildings and corresponding zoning changes will permanently ruin the vistas surrounding Vizcaya Museum & Gardens (Miami) and Bonnet House Museum & Gardens (Ft. Lauderdale) and threatens to set a precedent for future
high-rise structures.
America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places has identified 200 threatened one-of-a-kind historic treasures since 1988. While a listing does not ensure the protection of a site or guarantee funding, the designation has been a powerful tool for raising awareness and rallying resources to save endangered sites from every region of the country. Whether these sites are urban districts or rural landscapes, Native American landmarks or 20th-century sports arenas, entire communities or single buildings, the list spotlights historic places across America that are threatened by neglect, insufficient funds, inappropriate development or insensitive public policy.
At times, that attention has garnered public support to quickly rescue a treasured landmark, while in other instances, it has been the impetus of a long battle to save an important piece of our history.
To download high resolution images of this year's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places, please visit press.nationaltrust.org.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a non-profit membership organization bringing people together to protect, enhance and enjoy the places that matter to them. By saving the places where great moments from history - and the important moments of everyday life - took place, the National Trust for Historic Preservation helps revitalize neighborhoods and communities, spark economic development and promote environmental sustainability. With headquarters in Washington, DC, 9 regional and field offices, 29 historic sites, and partner organizations in all 50 states, the National Trust for Historic Preservation provides leadership, education, advocacy and resources to a national network of people, organizations and local communities committed to saving places, connecting us to our history and collectively shaping the future of America's stories. For more information, visit www.PreservationNation.org.
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