America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places, 2009

Over at National Trust for Historic Preservation site they have released the 2009 Edition of American's most endangered historical places.

Here is a little on each place. Go here if you would like to see more.

Ames Shovel Shops, Easton, Mass.— In southeastern Massachusetts, the Ames Shovel Shops complex, an intact 19th-century industrial village that resembles a picture-perfect New England college campus, is threatened by a plan to demolish several of the site’s historic buildings and radically alter others to pave the way for new mixed-use development.

Cast-Iron Architecture of Galveston, Texas— The assemblage of late-19th-century Greek Revival and Italianate buildings with elaborate cast-iron storefronts in Galveston’s 12-block Strand/Mechanic National Historic Landmark District is one of the largest collections of historic commercial buildings in the country. Unfortunately, the widespread flooding caused by Hurricane Ike in September 2008 caused extensive damage, leaving the district fighting to survive.

Century Plaza Hotel, Los Angeles, Calif.— Opened in 1966, the 19-story curved hotel, designed by renowned architect Minoru Yamasaki, who would later design New York’s World Trade Center twin towers, has been a prominent Los Angeles landmark for more than four decades. Despite a $36 million facelift just over a year ago, the hotel’s new owners now intend to raze the building and replace it with two 600-foot, “environmentally sensitive” towers.

Dorchester Academy, Midway, Ga.— Founded in 1868 as a school for freed slaves, Dorchester Academy started humbly in a one-room schoolhouse and later gained prominence as a center for voter registration drives during the civil rights movement. The academy’s last remaining building, a handsome 1934 Greek Revival dormitory, is deteriorating and structurally compromised.

Human Services Center, Yankton, S.D.— Founded in 1879 as the South Dakota Hospital for the Insane and once regarded as a model institution of its kind, this campus comprises a collection of neoclassical, Art Deco and Italianate buildings that have stood vacant for years. Despite the site’s potential for innovative reuse and appropriate redevelopment, the State is moving forward with plans to demolish 11 historic buildings on the Yankton campus.

Lāna‘i City, Hawai‘i— One of Hawaii’s eight main islands, Lāna‘i, known as the “Pineapple Isle,” has lush tropical beaches, breathtaking natural beauty, lavish resorts and one attraction none of the other islands can claim: an intact plantation town. Lāna‘i City, built by pineapple baron James Dole in the 1920s, features plantation-style homes, a laundromat, jail, courthouse and police station, and is now threatened by a large-scale commercial development calling for the destruction or significant alteration of 15-20 historic buildings.

The Manhattan Project’s Enola Gay Hangar, Wendover Airfield, Utah— The hangar that housed the Enola Gay, the B-29 Superfortress that dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945, is, along with other Manhattan Project sites, in a critical state of disrepair.

Memorial Bridge, Portsmouth, N.H. to Kittery, Maine— For more than 85 years, Memorial Bridge, the first major lift bridge in the eastern US, has been a sturdy and dramatic landmark, spanning the Piscataqua River and connecting two coastal towns steeped in history. But like so many others in the nation, the bridge has suffered from tight budgets and postponed maintenance. The states of Maine and New Hampshire have not yet agreed on a plan to save Memorial Bridge and are now considering their options, including its removal – a move that would be costly and in direct opposition to the desires of local residents in two communities.

Miami Marine Stadium, Virginia Key, Fla.— Completed in 1963, Miami Marine Stadium is both a South Florida landmark and an icon of modern design. Built entirely of poured concrete and featuring a dramatically cantilevered folded-plate roof, the stadium is a sentimental favorite of many Miami residents. After sustaining damage during Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the stadium, a prime target for developers, closed and has since suffered from years of deterioration, vandalism and neglect.

Mount Taylor, near Grants, N.M.— Located in the southwestern corner of New Mexico’s San Mateo Mountains, midway between Albuquerque and Gallup, Mount Taylor, with an elevation of nearly 12,000 feet, is startlingly beautiful and a sacred place for as many as 30 Native American tribes. Currently, the mountain is under threat from exploration and proposals for uranium mining, which, if allowed to proceed, would have a devastating impact on this cherished historic place.

Unity Temple, Oak Park, Ill.— Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unity Temple, designed for a Unitarian congregation in Oak Park, is widely acknowledged as a masterpiece of 20th-century architecture. Completed in 1908, the cubist, flat-roofed structure is also one of the earliest public buildings to feature exposed concrete, one of Wright’s signature design elements. Years of water infiltration have compromised the structure, prompting a multi-million-dollar rescue effort that the current congregation cannot afford.

A Meteor Shining Brightly

A Meteor Shining Brightly
Essays on Major General Patrick R. Cleburne

The story of Pay Cleburne’s life is told in this wonderful book. Mauriel Phillips Joslyn is the editor and main essayist. The essays are in chronological order and cover Cleburne’s entire life, from his youth in Ireland to his service in the British Army in the 1840s, through his immigration to the U.S., settling in Helena, Arkansas, service to the confederacy, and death at Franklin, Tennessee.
The life of Patrick Cleburne has been well documented in books and articles. The material in these essays is not new, but it is well written, easy to follow, and offer a special insight into the life of one of the Confederacy’s finest generals. His years as a Southern military commander are particularly absorbing and describe his emergence as a great military leader.
Cleburne’s proposal to free the slaves and arm them for the Confederacy was met with mixed reactions and never acted upon. But the fact that his proposal was considered was a testament to the high degree of respect Cleburne commanded.
Mauriel Joslyn delved deep into the character of the man to describe his loyalty, patience, and bravery. She researched his friendships and his great love for Susan Tarleton, whose great-nieces provided photographs and information for some of the essays.
The last essay is sad, as are all essays and books about the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee. Thomas Cartwright’s description of the battlefield that beautiful Indian summer afternoon is so similar to Winston Grooms’s description in Shrouds of Glory that you can almost see the brilliant colors of the fall foliage, feel the slight nip in the air, and hear the bands playing “Dixie’s Land” and “Bonnie Blue Flag” as 20,000 confederate soldiers march across a bare valley, most of them towards death.
Pat Cleburne died there that day: He was laid out on the porch of the McGavock home alongside the bodies of General Adams, Granbury, and Strahl.
The Appendix of the book contains Cleburne’s full proposal to make soldiers of the slaves. It is interesting to read and contemplate, as are all the fine essays in this book.

Civil War Magazines

Over at TOCWOC, Brett Schulte has a very cool thing going concerning Civil War Magazines and Journals.

Here's what's happening: "American Civil War Magazines and Journals Index is an online index of all Civil War Magazines and Journals either currently or previously in distribution. The site is meant to be used to find articles, authors, and subjects quickly and easily. We are in the early stages of this project, and we will initially be working on Columbiad and progress from there."

And everyone can help Brett complete this project by volunteer to transcribe. If you are a subscriber to any of the Civil War Magazines head over to TOCWOC to check it out!

Whose Father Was He Part 5

The 5th and final part of "Whose Father Was He".

Don't miss this wonderful story!

Go here

Whose Father Was He?

The saga continues with part-four

whose Father Was He?

If you haven't heard of Errol Morris's five part article about a civil war soldier, you are missing something very interesting. Mr. Morris has written the first three articles.

Here is a snip: "The soldier’s body was found near the center of Gettysburg with no identification — no regimental numbers on his cap, no corps badge on his jacket, no letters, no diary. Nothing save for an ambrotype (an early type of photograph popular in the late 1850s and 1860s) of three small children clutched in his hand."

You can read this at: Whose Father Was He? (Part One)

Follow-up on my discovery

If you would like to read more on my discovery, please go to Genealogy Simple & Fun. I have posted an update.