Sweet Auburn Historic District named to ‘Most Endangered Historic Places’ list

The National Trust for Historic Preservation this week named Atlanta’s famed Sweet Auburn Historic District as one of its 2012 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.

“Sweet Auburn, a prime example of the flourishing segregated African-American neighborhoods in the South during the Jim Crow era and birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr., faces disinvestment and inappropriate development along its commercial corridor,” the group said in a news release.

The list also includes Ellis Island Hospital Complex in New York/New Jersey, Princeton Battlefield in New Jersey and the Village of Zoar in Ohio. The organization has named more than 230 locations to the list since its establishment 25 years ago.

“For 25 years, our list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places has called attention to threatened one-of-a-kind historic treasures throughout the nation and has galvanized local preservationists to help save them,” Stephanie Meeks, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation said in a news release.

“From Ellis Island in New York to Terminal Island in California to the beloved courthouses across the state of Texas, this year’s list reflects the diversity of America, its historic places, and the variety of threats they face,” Meeks added. “As it has over the past 25 years, we hope this year’s list inspires people to speak out for the important places in their own communities that help to define our nation’s past – and enrich its future.”