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On August 6, 2024, port facility Greenfield Louisiana LLC announced that it is abandoning its plans to construct a grain terminal in Wallace, Louisiana in the West Bank of St. John the Baptist Parish. The National Trust worked in opposition to the proposed grain terminal for three years in coordination with local allies including the Descendants Project, the Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation, the Louisiana Landmarks Society, the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, Whitney Plantation, Evergreen Plantation, and many others.

The West Bank of St. John the Baptist Parish was included on the National Trust’s list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in 2023 due to the potential construction of one of the largest grain elevators in the world within this historic cultural landscape and the substantial adverse effects that construction would have had on multiple nationally significant historic resources.

The West Bank of St. John the Baptist Parish has been called “the cradle of Creole culture” and contains a remarkable concentration of nationally significant historic resources that are integral to telling the full American story. Historic villages such as Wallace were founded after the Civil War by Black soldiers who fought in the union army, and many descendants of people enslaved at nearby plantations still call the West Bank home.

The National Park Service is currently in the process of designating the entire West Bank of St. John the Baptist Parish as a National Historic Landmark District, and Greenfield’s industrial grain terminal would have been constructed in the heart of it, forever harming this unique cultural landscape.

The National Trust is proud to have fought alongside Louisiana’s historic preservation community in opposition to Greenfield’s proposed terminal. This outcome was achieved in large part through a careful and objective review of the project’s impacts on environmental and cultural resources by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, the Army Corps conducted a meaningful consultation process with a wide variety of stakeholders, to “take into account” the adverse effects of the proposed project on a broad array of historic resources. Greenfield’s abandonment of the proposed terminal confirms the effectiveness of the Section 106 process and demonstrates that the preservation movement is capable of saving our nation’s historic resources from significant threats, even in the face of tremendously powerful opposition.

We are grateful that plans for the grain terminal have been abandoned and we thank all who were involved in this effort.

On August 1st the General Services Administration (GSA) announced that it has selected rehabilitation and adaptive reuse as the preferred alternative for the historic Century and Consumers Buildings located at 202 and 220 State Street in Chicago, IL. This decision by GSA is a tremendous victory for preservation.

The Century and Consumers Buildings were included on the National Trust’s list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in 2023 as the GSA was considering demolishing both buildings to address security concerns with the adjacent Dirksen Federal Courthouse.

Since the 11 Most Endangered designation, the National Trust has been working with a coalition of local preservation advocates including Landmarks Illinois, Preservation Chicago, the Chicago Architecture Center, and many others to advocate to GSA for the preservation of these important historic buildings. Chair Sara Bronin of the President’s Advisory Council on Historic Preservation also recently offered her support via an editorial in the Chicago Tribune.

The National Trust is grateful that the GSA heard the many voices of advocates urging that the Century and Consumers Buildings should not be demolished and commends the GSA for their decision.

However, preservation is not yet assured, and a viable adaptive reuse must still be identified. The GSA will soon issue a request for proposals to lease the buildings, and the National Trust plans to continue to work with our local partners, GSA, and the Chicago development community to ensure the long-term preservation of these significant early skyscrapers.

On May 16, 2024 unusually strong winds devastated Houston and its surrounding areas causing damage to buildings and landscapes across the region.

Olivewood Cemetery, one of the oldest known platted African American cemeteries in Houston, was one of the places that experienced unexpected damage. The National Trust for Historic Preservation was listed as one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in 2022, and received a grant from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund in 2021

Documented damage as of May 21, 2024 included uprooted and destroyed trees, debris that includes large branches, and the need to replacement of over fifty feet of iron fencing. The Olivewood team has also identified at least seven burial markers that also suffered damage and will require repair.

Descendants of Olivewood, Inc is a 501(c) 3 dedicated to the restoration, preservation, and maintenance of Olivewood Cemetery. Learn more about the damage and the ongoing work and support that Olivewood will require to recover.

On March 12, 2024, the Berkeley City Council unanimously approved an ordinance authorizing the purchase of land containing the West Berkeley Shellmound and Village Site. The City has purchased the property with funds raised by the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, an Indigenous-led land trust based in Oakland, and will transfer the property to Sogorea Te’ Land Trust. This will make Berkeley, California, among the first cities in the country to return land to Indigenous people.

This site is one of the most important and earliest known Ohlone settlements on the shores of San Francisco Bay, with a village dating back 5,700 years. It served as a burial and ceremonial ground, as well as a lookout and communications site, with the repository of shells, ritual objects, and artifacts forming a massive mound. When Spanish missions began enslaving Ohlone people, many remaining villagers fled. Shell material was later removed by Gold Rush settlers to fertilize farms and line streets. The site was mapped in 1907, and UC Berkeley archaeologists removed 95 human burials and 3,400 artifacts before the shellmound was leveled in the 1950s.

Today the Shellmound site is still an active place of Ohlone prayer and ceremony and is considered sacred by the Ohlone people, though it has been covered by a parking lot for decades. The West Berkeley Shellmound and Village Site was included on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in 2020 after a condo development was proposed in that location by the long-time private owner of the Shellmound site. The City of Berkeley blocked the building permit, but the developers sued the City, and the California courts ruled in favor of the developers, although the National Trust’s Law Department filed amicus briefs in support of the City and the Confederated Villages of Lisjan, a group of seven tribes across the Bay Area. In light of the court decisions, the successful acquisition of the site is an especially important achievement.

In response to the news, Corinna Gould, Chochenyo Ohlone activist and co-director of Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, told the Berkeleyside: “It’s one of the most culturally significant sites for the Lisjan people and to have it protected forever, I think I’m without words.” Read more about Corinna and the Shellmound site as part of the National Trust’s Where Women Made History campaign.