Endangered Places

“Hey, look over here!” still proves to be the most effective way to get a person’s attention, and it’s the approach the Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation opts for when out to save crumbling, mildewing, dilapidating sites around the state. Its yearly list of Most Endangered Places, compiled since 1999, asks citizens to consider both the effects and causes of neglected history: lack of funding and sympathy play their parts—as does the rising sea level.

Sites added to the list receive the benefit of the Louisiana Trust’s lobbying for resources to aid in their salvation and revitalization. Historic significance, the threat upon the building, and whether a difference can actually be made are all criteria for an Endangered Place. Just announced, the 2018 additions include the Bogalusa Coca-Cola Bottling Plant (1930), Hodges Gardens (1950s) in Sabine Parish, The Old Benevolent Society Building (1883) in St. Francisville, and New Orleans’ Traditional Neighborhoods (est. 1718)—whose much-decried threat comes from the surplus of short-term rentals.

View the whole list online at lthp.org.