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Washington, D.C. (June 6, 2002) - In 1913, a millionaire
Jewish high school dropout named Julius Rosenwald teamed
with Booker T. Washington, the country's preeminent
African American educator, on an innovative program
to improve education for blacks in the south. Over the
next 20 years, the Rosenwald Fund used a pioneering
system of matching grants to help construct more than
5,300 school buildings in 15 Southern and Southwestern
states. Today, these modest schools, all but forgotten,
are disappearing fast.
To raise awareness of one of the most forward thinking
educational efforts ever conducted, the National Trust
for Historic Preservation today named Rosenwald Schools
to its 2002 list of America's 11 Most Endangered
Historic Places.
"The Rosenwald schools tell an extraordinary story
of generosity," said Richard Moe, president of
the National Trust. "In a time of great racial
inequity, Julius Rosenwald worked with communities across
the South and Southwest to improve educational opportunities
for African Americans. We can't risk losing the tangible
reminders of this great collaboration."
The History Channel will feature the list on Saturday,
July 6, 2002, at 10 p.m. EDT/PDT in a one-hour documentary
special entitled, "America's Most Endangered."
The show, hosted by Josh Binswanger, also host of "This
Week in History," is part of the Save Our History
campaign, The History Channel's award-winning national
initiative dedicated to historic preservation and history
education.
In addition, The Atlantic Monthly will present
a special feature insert, sponsored by Shell Oil Company,
on the National Trust's 11 Most Endangered list in the
July/August issue of the magazine.
History: In 1912, Julius Rosenwald, CEO of Sears,
Roebuck and Company, became interested in Booker T.
Washington's attempts to improve the education of rural
African Americans. Using state-of-the-art architectural
plans initially drawn by professors at Washington's
Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, Rosenwald schools ranged
from one to many rooms. Traditionally, the buildings
held a special place in the community because schools
and churches were the only places where blacks could
meet in the rural South before desegregation.
Threat: The schoolhouses were originally owned
by the individual school systems, but when schools were
integrated those constructed under the Rosenwald Fund
were often closed. Many of the Rosenwald schools were
destroyed, while others were simply abandoned. Most
of the remaining schools are now 75 to 85 years old
and are often located in rural areas with insufficient
funds for upkeep. Although there are historic records
regarding the schools, there is limited information
about their current status and a network to save them.
Solution: As a first step, the Rosenwald schools
surveys need to be inventoried. In addition, examples
of adaptive use of the schools should be shared with
communities and stronger activist networks created.
America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places
has identified more than 135 threatened one-of-a-kind
historic treasures since 1988. While a listing does
not ensure the protection of a site or guarantee funding,
the designation has been a powerful tool for raising
awareness and rallying resources to save endangered
sites from every region of the country. Whether these
sites are urban districts or rural landscapes, Native
American landmarks or 20th-century sports arenas, entire
communities or single buildings, the list spotlights
historic places across America that are threatened by
neglect, insufficient funds, inappropriate development
or insensitive public policy.
Recent 11 Most successes: Since the listing
of New Hampshire's grand 1874 Wentworth By the Sea
Hotel in 1996, the property has undergone a complete
restoration and is scheduled to reopen as a luxury resort
in 2003. When the West Side of Downtown Baltimore
was added to the list in 1999, the 24-block historic
commercial and entertainment district parts of which
date back to the mid-18th century was slated for redevelopment
and large scale demolition. Thanks to public outcry
resulting from the 11 Most listing and the work of dedicated
preservationists, the city of Baltimore threw out its
old plan and put forth a new one that will save the
majority of the area's historic buildings. Two major
landmarks saved from demolition have already been renovated
as apartment buildings.
Sites on the 2002 list of America's 11 Most Endangered
Historic Places are:
Teardowns
in Historic Neighborhoods, Nationwide - Historic
neighborhoods across the country are falling prey to
an epidemic of teardowns as older homes are being purchased,
demolished and replaced by houses that destroy the fabric
of communities.
St. Elizabeths
Hospital , Washington, D.C. - An architectural marvel
opened in the mid-1850s, America's oldest large-scale
government-run mental hospital is now crumbling.
Rosenwald
Schools, Southern U.S. - Between 1913 and 1932,
the Rosenwald Fund founded by Chicago philanthropist
Julius Rosenwald helped build more than 5,300 schools
for African Americans, but today, many of these landmarks
have disappeared or are falling into ruin.
Chesapeake
Bay Skipjack Fleet, Maryland - The wooden sailing
fleet that has harvested oysters on the Chesapeake Bay
for more than a century now numbers only about a dozen,
and the vessels are disappearing fast.
Pompey's
Pillar, Yellowstone County, Mont. - The place where
William Clark, co-leader of the famed Lewis and Clark
Expedition, carved his name in stone in 1806 is now
threatened by a 100-acre trucking and railroad terminal
that will plant four 150-feet tall grain elevators right
next door.
Historic
Bridges of Indiana - Built between 1860 and 1930
and made of wood, stone, iron and steel, hundreds of
Indiana's historic bridges have been demolished in recent
years, and many more are in jeopardy.
Missouri
River Valley Cultural and Sacred Sites, Montana,
North Dakota and South Dakota - The valley's archaeological
remains and Native American burial sites have been greatly
damaged by the federal government's reservoir and dam
projects.
Guthrie
Theater, Minneapolis, Minn. - The Guthrie, a Twin
Cities landmark that revolutionized theater design when
it opened in 1963, is scheduled to be demolished and
replaced with a parking garage and sculpture garden.
Hackensack
Water Works, Oradell, N.J. - The 1882 Hackensack
Water Works, a marvel of American engineering that has
been described as "the history of the Industrial
Revolution in one building," is threatened with
demolition.
Kw'st'an
Sacred Sites at Indian Pass, Imperial County, Calif.
- Filled with panoramic vistas, ancient trails, extensive
archaeological sites and petroglyphs, this landscape
could soon be defiled by a massive cyanide heap-leach
gold mine.
Gold Dome
Bank, Oklahoma City, Okla. - Built in 1958 on historic
Route 66, this 150-foot-diameter landmark, an early
example of the geodesic dome patented by famed designer
and futurist Buckminster Fuller, is facing the wrecking
ball.
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