Family Life

04.28.09 | FL News Team

The National Trust for Historic Preservation releases its annual list of America's most endangered historic sites today. The organization chose eleven spots representing the diverse heritage of the United States that it believes should be protected from either a demolition crew or plain old neglect.

Among the destinations on the Trust's 22nd annual list is the now-dilapidated Enola Gay hangar in Wendover, Utah, which housed the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan in 1945. Also on the list is legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright's Cubist-style Unity Temple in Oak Park, Illinois, which has been weakened by years of water damage.

The elements are not the only enemy for the historic sites that made this year's list. The 19-story Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles could face the wrecking ball as its new owners work on plans to replace the building with two 600-foot towers. Commercial development also threatens to wipe out Lanai City, which was built in the early 20th century by pineapple mogul James Dole on the Hawaiian island known as "Pineapple Isle."

The full list of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's most endangered historic places is available at PreservationNation.org.