A hurricane-damaged arts district in North Carolina and abandoned hotels from New York to Oregon are among the nation's most endangered historic properties, according to preservationists.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation released its yearly list spotlighting buildings and geographic areas with historic value that are at risk of being lost for reasons as varied as natural disasters and a lack of money for routine maintenance.
The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization has compiled the list for 38 years, and it has resulted in the preservation and restoration of numerous properties and neighborhoods, sometimes for commercial development projects. The Statler Dallas was named to the most-endangered list in 2008 when it faced demolition; after its restoration and reopening in 2017, it’s now an upper-upscale hotel that’s part of the Curio Collection by Hilton.
“The Statler Hilton is a poster child for the power of the historic tax credit and the ways that older and historic buildings can contribute to the vibrancy of their communities,” the National Trust said in a statement.
The yearly list “uplifts and catalyzes community-led preservation work through a high-impact public awareness campaign resulting in increased visibility, public attention and new resources to save and activate historic places for the public good,” the National Trust said.
The National Trust’s 2025 list spans the country and runs the gamut from single buildings to entire towns to an Indian reservation.
The group put four places on this year’s list because they either suffered damage from a hurricane or face damage from the effects of climate change.
About 80% of Asheville, North Carolina's River Arts District, a former industrial area converted to art studios, restaurants and entertainment venues, was destroyed by Hurricane Helene in September. Other parts of western North Carolina also sustained catastrophic damage, including Biltmore Village near the Biltmore Estate and the Swannanoa River Valley. Some property owners in the region lacked the types of insurance that would have covered the damage.
The Grand Bohemian Lodge hotel in Biltmore Village reopened this week after undergoing repairs from hurricane damage, according to Blue Ridge Public Radio.
Cedar Key, Florida, a community of 700 people on the Gulf of Mexico, also suffered badly from Hurricane Helene, with historic wood-framed homes washed out to sea and damage to the city hall, post office and restaurants. The damage threatens the community’s reliance on tourism and fishing.
This year’s list also includes the Pamunkey Indian Reservation in King William, Virginia. The community is on a low-lying portion of the Middle Peninsula in eastern Virginia and is threatened by the rising ocean levels caused by climate change.
The Oregon Caves Chateau in Cave Junction, Oregon, is notable for its rustic design. Located inside the Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve and owned by the National Park Service, it was slated for renovation in 2018. But seismic activity has raised the restoration cost, and the hotel has remained closed.
In the Catskills region of New York, the Wellington Hotel in Pine Hill opened in 1882 as one of several large-scale, wood-frame resorts in the area. Pine Hill still has an active tourism sector, but the Wellington Hotel has major structural damage. A community-based group acquired the building in 2022 and proposed converting it to a grocery store, restaurant and residential units. Restoration costs are estimated at $7 million.
The San Juan Hotel, designed in the Mission Revival style, is a landmark in the Rio Grande Valley city of San Juan, Texas, according to the National Trust. The building has been vacant for years, and the city has proposed demolishing it as part of a new master plan.
In western Michigan, the Hotel Casa Blanca was designed and built by Black architect Woolsey Coombs and served as a focal point for the Black resort community of Idlewild. The structure has been vacant for more than 30 years and needs major repair work. A local investor has proposed converting the building to a bed-and-breakfast.
This year’s list also includes:
- Two buildings dating to the late 1910s and early 1920s that are the last remaining structures from a Japanese American fishing village in Los Angeles. Members of the community were forcibly removed in 1942 after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Tuna Street commercial buildings on Terminal Island are now surrounded by the Port of Los Angeles.
- Mystery Castle in Phoenix. A single-family home built in the late 1930s, Mystery Castle was designed and built by an amateur architect. Its unusual appearance has suffered from neglect and vandalism, and it’s further threatened by suburban encroachment.
- The Turtle, also known as the Native American Center for the Living Arts, in Niagara Falls, New York. Designed by an Arapaho architect, the turtle-shaped structure was a museum and arts center focused on Indigenous arts but closed in the late 1990s because of financial problems and has been vacant since. A developer once proposed demolishing the structure to build a hotel.