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Constructed in 1934-1935 by Boyce Luther Gully for his daughter Mary Lou, Mystery Castle is a mix of organic architecture and folk art, inspired by local materials in the Sonoran Desert and Indigenous cultures of the American Southwest and Mexico. From 1945 onward Mary Lou and her mother dedicated their lives to the site making the site a nationally known tourist attraction.

After Mary Lou’s death in 2010, vandalism and multiple break-ins caused extensive damage, and Mystery Castle was in danger of demolition. Concerns over the site’s future led to its inclusion on the National Trust’s list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places 2025.

Since its endangered designation, progress to save the site has been steady. In September 2025, the all-volunteer Friends of Mystery Castle became a task force of Preserve Phoenix, a 501(c)3, opening funding opportunities to hire a consultant to develop a strategic plan for the future of the site.

In April 2025—the culmination of a 9-month process that involved extensive partnership and engagement with the community to identify the options for the future of site—Friends of Mystery Castle/Preserve Phoenix announced that the Harrell Family of Companies (HFC) purchased the Mystery Castle from the Mystery Castle Historical Foundation. HFC is committed to preserving Mystery Castle while creating a destination for events in the Phoenix area.

As part of the continuing community engagement process, Erick Harrell of HFC will present his plans to preserve Mystery Castle and the company’s future development plans at a community forum on May 2, 2026 from 2-4pm at the South Mountain Community Library.

Built in 1905 as a clergy house for the Episcopal Mission, Yates Memorial Hospital was re-purposed in 1909 as a 12-bed hospital during the boom years of Ketchikan’s growth. Under very difficult conditions, many dedicated and determined women worked tirelessly as nurses, to care for the sick and injured there.

After being vacant for 15 years, the National Trust listed it as one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places for 2020, bringing national attention to its uncertain future,

This past January however the preservation of this structure took a great leap forward when Historic Ketchikan, Inc completed its purchase of the building, opening the way for the nonprofit to begin restoration efforts. With some initial grants in hand, HKI is seeking the public’s support to keep the momentum going. The hope is for it to contribute to the broader revitalization efforts in Ketchikan.

Opened in 1874, the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse used to be one of several “middle-of-the-river” lighthouses on the Hudson River. Now it’s one of only two left standing. The lighthouse was built to guide vessels around a shallow area in the river near Athens and Hudson, New York, and continues to serve as a navigation aid today, helping commercial and leisure mariners safely navigate this portion of the Hudson River. In 2024, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named the lighthouse to its annual list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places due to erosion and damage to pilings that support the lighthouse, as well as other preservation challenges.

Despite some significant progress, the site had a setback in April 30, 2025 when a barge hit the lighthouse, destroying its dock and stairway. In November 2025 a report commissioned by the lighthouse owners the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse Preservation Society, and completed by Proper & O’Leary Engineering, documented further damage to the base of the lighthouse, noting that the impact “pushed in some of the base’s stones and rotated others,” further compromising the foundation The cost of repairs is estimated between $1.9-3.6 million.

The Minidoka War Relocation Center, in Jerome County, Idaho, is where 13,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II. Today, the site stands as a powerful reminder of this chapter in American history.

In August 2025, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum revoked the federal permit for the Lava Ridge Wind Project, which had been issued by the Bureau of Land Management in December 2024. The proposed Lava Ridge Wind Project would have caused adverse effects to the Minidoka National Historic Site, which spurred Minidoka’s inclusion on the National Trust’s 2022 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.

For years, the National Trust’s Legal Advocacy and Government Relations teams worked along with advocates from the Japanese American and Minidoka survivor groups to oppose the project.

Further action followed in January 2026 when Congress enacted the FY 2026 Interior Appropriations bill. The legislation prohibits the use of federal funds for construction of the Lava Ridge Wind Project in Idaho unless the Secretary of the Interior completes a review of the Department of Interior’s Record of Decision and the Presidential Memorandum, and as appropriate, an analysis in accordance with the Presidential Memorandum titled ‘‘Temporary Withdrawal of All Areas on the Outer Continental Shelf from Offshore Wind Leasing and Review of the Federal Government’s Leasing and Permitting Practices for Wind Projects.’’