11 Most Endangered Historic Places

Hotel Casa Blanca

Constructed: 1949
Architect: Woolsey Coombs
Location: Idlewild, Michigan

Hotel Casa Blanca played a significant cultural role in the historic Black resort community of Idlewild, Michigan. Designed and built by Black architect Woolsey Coombs in 1949, Hotel Casa Blanca served as a premier lodging site for African American travelers, entertainers, entrepreneurs and thought leaders during segregation, and was included in The Negro Motorist Green Book. Known as “Black Eden,” by the 1950s Idlewild drew thousands of annual visitors, and Hotel Casa Blanca hosted performances by legendary African American artists like Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, and Aretha Franklin.

After integration, like many formerly segregated Black resorts, Idlewild experienced lower visitation and economic disinvestment. Today, the historic resort community has a population of around 700 residents, and Hotel Casa Blanca has been vacant and deteriorating for over 30 years.

With hopes of saving the building, the previous owner of Hotel Casa Blanca sold it to 1st Neighbor LLC, a Black woman-led nonprofit. 1st Neighbor plans to rehabilitate the hotel into a bed-and-breakfast including overnight suites, meeting spaces, and a heritage and learning center, and has taken crucial steps towards restoration, including removal of hazardous material and developing architectural plans for reuse.

Grants from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund of the National Trust and others have provided seed funding, but an additional $5 million is needed to complete rehabilitation so that the Hotel Casa Blanca can serve its community by providing much needed lodging, event space, and economic opportunities.

The Hotel Casa Blanca was named to the National Trust's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places list for 2025.