Since 1988, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has used its list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places to highlight the threats facing some of the nation's greatest treasures. Now in its 39th year, the annual list has identified more than 350 places to date.

In this round of updates to 9 previously listed sites hear about setbacks, forward momentum, and victories from California to North Carolina, and along the Mother Road.

Route 66 Motels (Multi-State | Listed 2007)

Route 66 motels were included on the 11 Most Endangered list in 2007. Though these motels continue to be threatened in many places, there are success stories along the famous 2,400-plus mile highway. One example is the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumari, New Mexico, whose exterior is nearly complete thanks to a restoration project in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Benjamin Moore. While restoring and painting the facade of their 1939 roadside accommodation, the owners took the opportunity to repair foundations, parapets, soffits, and other areas of the building that had deteriorated over the decades. Visitors from around the world seek out the Blue Swallow for its authenticity and charm, which is now preserved for another generation.

Other projects at historic motels across Route 66 include neon repair and replacement, digitization of processes, interior renovations, and even conversion from apartment properties. The Shamrock Court in Sullivan, Missouri is working towards re-opening for overnight room rentals after decades of serving private, long-term residents. Sadly, other properties like the Glancy Motor Hotel in Clinton, Oklahoma and the Hacienda Motel in Gallup, New Mexico have been demolished.

With the centennial of Route 66 on the horizon, small businesses from Chicago to Santa Monica are getting ready for the planned increase in travelers along the Mother Road, but work continues to save properties that face an uncertain future.

Terminal Island Japanese American Tuna Street Buildings (Los Angeles, California | Listed 2012, 2025)

In 2012, the National Trust included the entirety of Terminal Island on the 11 Most Endangered list, which resulted in the Terminal Islanders Association and Los Angeles Conservancy working with the Port of Los Angeles to include preservation and reuse recommendations in their master plan.

However, the Port of LA was considering demolition of the Nanka Shoten and A. Nakamura Co. buildings—the only remaining structures from the Japanese American fishing village on Terminal Island. In response to this threat, the buildings were included on the 11 Most Endangered list in 2025.

We are pleased to share that on August 20, 2025, the Los Angeles City Council formally approved the designation of these two buildings as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments, providing much needed leverage against demolition and creating an opportunity for Terminal Island descendants and survivors to pursue positive preservation solutions that honor their shared heritage, communicate their history to new generations, and align with the Port’s larger goals and mission.

Mitchell Park Domes (Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Listed 2016)

A midcentury Milwaukee landmark, the Mitchell Park Domes have welcomed community members and tourists for more than 60 years. been a center of community life and an international tourism destination for more than 60 years. After temporary closure due to falling concrete, the Domes were included on the 11 Most Endangered list in 2016. Now, thanks to years of dedicated advocacy, including leadership by the Milwaukee Preservation Alliance and support from the National Trust, the Domes are on their way to being a success story.

In July 2025, the Milwaukee County Board approved a commitment of $30 million dollars towards an overall $133M plan that will fully rehabilitate all three Domes using historic tax credits, as well as adding new visitor amenities, enhanced accessibility, and nature-based programming and education. The plan was developed by the Milwaukee Domes Alliance in partnership with Milwaukee County Parks and Madison-based real estate developer The Alexander Company. Supporters can track continued progress on the Domes Reimagined project website.

Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ (Chicago, Illinois | Listed 2020)

Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ became a landmark in American history in 1955, when Mamie Till-Mobley held the open-casket funeral of her son, Emmett Till. Thousands traveled from near and far to mourn and bear witness to a moment, born of a mother’s courage, that helped ignite the modern Civil Rights Movement.

In 2020, Roberts Temple was named to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places list, underscoring decades of deferred maintenance and the urgent need to protect this sacred site. On July 25, 2023, President Joseph Biden established the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument, designating Roberts Temple as a key site in Chicago and securing its permanent recognition and federal protection.

Today, the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Institute, in partnership with Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ, is leading a multi-phase restoration effort, supported by the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund and the Mellon Foundation. Phase One, completed in September 2025, involved uncovering and restoring the church's facade from the 1950's which had been hidden behind a second layer in the 1990s. In addition to the brickwork, period-accurate replica's of the original windows have been installed.

Phase Two, now underway, will reinstall the church’s historic neon blade sign in early 2026. Phase Three, which will focus on restoring the interior sanctuary, is currently in the planning phase.

Pine Grove (Cumberland, Virginia | Listed 2021)

Pine Grove Elementary School, a Tuskegee-Rosenwald School that holds the legacy of Black education in Virginia, was included on the 11 Most Endangered list in 2021 due to proposed construction of a large landfill nearby. Following the listing the AMMD Pine Grove Project (AMMDPGP) recived funding from the 2024 African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund National Grant Program. On April 21, 2025 the Cumberland Planning Commission voted “No” on the Green Ridge Conditional Use Permit, and recommended that the Board of Supervisors (BOS) also vote “No.”

Unfortunately, on July 28, 2025, over the objections of residents and landowners, the Cumberland BOS voted to approve the conditional use permit for the Green Ridge Landfill, moving the project to the next phase of the permitting process.

Pine Grove supporters led by the AMMDPGP will continue working with the UVA Environmental Law Clinic, the Southern Environmental Law Center, Preservation Virginia, and their membership, to advocate against approval of the project by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

Minidoka National Historic Site (Jerome County, Idaho | Listed 2022)

On August 6, 2025, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum issued an order revoking the federal permit for the Lava Ridge Wind Project, which had been issued by the Bureau of Land Management in December 2024. The 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.

As originally proposed, the Lava Ridge project would have included hundreds of wind turbines more than 700 feet high, many of which were within the original footprint of the Minidoka War Relocation Center, where 13,000 Japanese Americans were imprisoned during World War II. The National Trust’s Legal Advocacy team worked for years along with advocates from the Japanese American and Minidoka survivor groups to oppose the Lava Ridge Wind Project.

While the project’s footprint was reduced and shifted in location as a result of the Section 106 consultation process, the project would still have covered more than 57,000 acres with hundreds of turbines, and the adverse visual effects were not eliminated. As a result, this permit revocation is a major victory for historic preservation and for the Japanese American community.

Camp Naco (Bisbee, Arizona | Listed 2022)

After the Civil War, the 179,000 African American troops in the Union Army were consolidated into the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments and the 24th and 25th Infantry Regiments. These soldiers served in the wars of westward expansion where they received the moniker “Buffalo Soldiers.” For the duration of its existence, the 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 24th and 25th Infantry were assigned to Fort Huachuca and rotated to Camp Naco (which was about 35 miles away, and less than a mile from the US-Mexico Border) as required, playing a pivotal role in protecting the border during the Mexican Revolution.

When Camp Naco was included on the 11 Most Endangered list in 2022, the designation provided a much-needed boost of national awareness, and in 2023 the site received funds from the state of Arizona (as part of the American Rescue Plan Act) and the Mellon Foundation’s Monuments Project Initiative.

In August 2025, Camp Naco was awarded an additional $750,000 as part of the National Park Service Save America's Treasures grant program. This matching grant will allow the site to finish the Mess Hall, which will open up a community catering kitchen, an Education Barracks, which will eventually have a small resource center, temporary gallery space, and a permanent exhibit space on the Barracks, and an Arts Barracks for classrooms, theatre support, and art studios. Funds were awarded because Camp Naco is listed on the National Register at the national level of significance and federal funding for grants awarded from the Historic Preservation Fund is derived from Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas lease revenue, not tax dollars.

Palmer Memorial Institute (Sedalia, North Carolina | Listed 2022)

Over a period of 69 years, the Palmer Memorial Institute in Sedalia, North Carolina, educated more than 1,000 Black students. The school was founded by educator and activist, Dr. Charlotte Hawkins Brown, in a former blacksmith shop in 1902 and grew into a prestigious social finishing school with a 300-acre campus and 15-plus buildings. However, following desegregation and a devasting fire, the school closed and what is now the Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum at Historic Palmer Memorial Institute (CHBM) was underfunded and deteriorating. By 2022 its condition warranted its inclusion on that year’s 11 Most Endangered list.

In 2024-2025 the National Trust’s Where Women Made History program partnered with RAMSA (Robert A. M. Stern Architects), which has directed $100,000 of pro bono professional planning and design services to this important historic site of Black women’s achievement. WWMH and RAMSA have worked side-by-side with the CHBM staff and leadership to create a new campus plan for the 1902 campus. Building on Dr. Brown’s legacy, the plan aims to revive the Palmer campus as a thriving center for the celebration of African American heritage that inspires innovation for a new generation of leaders.

In 2024, to reinforce this work and support the future of the site, the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund awarded CHBM funds for for Endowment Project Planning.

Mystery Castle (Phoenix, Arizona | Listed 2025)

Mystery Castle was constructed circa 1934-1945 by Boyce Luther Gulley, who built the complex by hand for his daughter Mary Lou without plans, permits, or formal architectural or engineering training. The site was transformed by Mary Lou and her mother into a nationally known tourist attraction. However, since the early 2000s the site has been largely unoccupied and requires significant investment to halt deterioration and damage from vandalism so that it can be reopened to the public.