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A New York City landmark designation and contextual zone changes within the neighborhood would preserve the physical character of the neighborhood.

Sites within the neighborhood include pre-law and old-law Italianate, Beaux-Arts, Queen Anne and Neo-Grec tenements, as well as federal row houses; the Good Samaritan Dispensary, a turn-of-the-last century clinic; commercial buildings such the former Ridley's Department Store; religious properties such as Eldridge Street Synagogue and Kehila Kedosha Janina; residential properties such as the tenement at 97 Orchard Street, now the site of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, a National Trust Historic Site; recreational sites such as the Loew's Theater designed by Thomas Lamb; and educational institutions such as Public School 42 and Seward Park High School.

Airship Hangar

Moffett Field's Hangar One was built in 1932 in Santa Clara County, California, to house U.S. Navy dirigibles. This enormous, 200-foot- (60-meter-) tall dome-shaped structure, with its streamlined modern form, is one of the largest remaining purpose-built hangars.

A 2003 inspection found PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) leaking from the hangar's metallic exterior. The Navy remains responsible for environmental remediation even though it transferred Hangar One to NASA in 1994. But the Navy has no mandate to preserve the building.

Proposals to demolish the hangar were reconsidered after a public outcry. Even if complete demolition is avoided, however, it is anticipated that the Navy will recommend removing the interior structures as well as the skin of the building, leaving only a skeletal frame exposed to the elements, at risk of deterioration and eventual loss.

Preservation-friendly alternatives exist, such as removal of the contaminated exterior skin and re-cladding with other materials.

As well as having served as a catalyst for Silicon Valley's contributions to aviation and space advancement, Hanger One is a contributing element of the Shenandoah Plaza National Historic District and is also individually eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

Neighborhoods at Risk

In Buffalo, New York, three neighborhoods near the Peace Bridge — Front Park, Prospect Hill, and Columbus Park — feature homes and buildings dating back to the 1850s on two National Register-listed parks designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr.

This community, which the National Trust calls a "veritable catalog of American domestic architecture," could be severely compromised to make way for an expansion of the Peace Bridge, which connects Buffalo with Fort Erie, Canada, across the Niagara River.

The Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority's proposal includes expanding the existing bridge plaza footprint from 14 to 38 acres (six to 15 hectares) and adding an extensive network of new ramps and roadways. The plan calls for the demolition of over 90 homes, including at least nine National Register-eligible properties.

The threat is imminent: the Public Bridge Authority is poised to begin using its eminent domain powers this year, and construction is slated to begin as early as 2009.

Locating most of the plaza expansion on the Canadian side of the bridge would have much less impact; however, the Department of Homeland Security suspended negotiations on a Shared Border Management agreement with Canada in 2007.

Other alternatives include locating the additional span and border entry plaza in less sensitive areas, such as the nearby International Railroad Corridor.

Historic Theater

The 1928 Boyd Theatre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, operated as a movie theater until 2002.

Designed by the architecture firm Hoffman-Henon, this Art Deco building in Philadelphia's Center City features an etched-glass mirrored lobby and a large auditorium that can seat over 2,500 people. Surviving decoration includes stained glass insets, a large mural, and gold-and-black metal silhouettes.

Clear Channel, Inc. purchased the Boyd in 2005 and planned a $31 million restoration of the theater as a live performance venue. The Boyd was later transferred to Live Nation, however, and ultimately placed on the market.

The now-vacant theater lacks designation as a historic landmark, and no preservation easement is in place.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is working with Live Nation and the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia to attract buyers who will restore and use the historic theater, which is eligible for use of Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credits by developers.

Midcentury Jewel

Once hailed as the crown jewel of Hilton Hotels, the 1956 Statler Hilton Hotel in Dallas, Texas, now stands vacant, its future uncertain.

Completed at a cost of $16 million, the Statler Hilton opened with 1,000 guest rooms, a ballroom that could hold 2,200 people, and such luxuries as a rooftop swimming pool. But now the building suffers the lack of protection shared by a number of midcentury modern buildings in large urban areas.

Designed by New York architect William Tabler, it was the first glass-and-metal hotel in the United States. The Y-shaped building employed a flat-slab structural system, the first full application of its kind, which reduced the number of columns and footers needed. Tabler was also one of the first in the country to use a thin-skinned curtain-wall of glass and porcelain-coated metal.

Development pressure heightens the threat of demolition for the hotel, and recent construction on the park across the street included destruction of the hotel parking garage.

Various hotel operators have explored the possibility of renovating the hotel, which is no longer owned by the Hilton Hotels Corporation, but without adjacent parking, and with low ceiling heights and environmental costs, the building remains a challenge.

Current regulations restrict alternative uses, so preservation activists seek a sympathetic developer to restore and reopen the Statler as a hotel.

Stately Florida Gardens

Sharing a slot in the National Trust's 2008 list are two historic house museums in southern Florida: Vizcaya Museum & Gardens in Miami and Bonnet House Museum & Gardens in Fort Lauderdale.   >>>

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SUBSCRIPTION SAMPLE The Lower East Side of Manhattan has been identified by the National Trust as an endangered place. Photo: Kate Stober, Lower East Side Tenement Museum Extra Large Image Among the historic buildings in the neighborhood is the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. Photo: Greg Scaffidi Extra Large Image SUBSCRIPTION SAMPLE Moffett Field Hangar One, in Santa Clara County, California was built in 1932 by the U.S. Navy. Photo: Courtesy NASA Extra Large Image One proposal to remedy pollution caused by Hangar One's exterior skin includes removal of the skin, which would leave the hangar's structure exposed. Photo: Rick Callison Extra Large Image Proposed expansion of the Peace Bridge connecting the United States and Canada near Niagara Falls has threatened three historic neighborhoods in Buffalo, New York. Photo: Catherine Schweitzer Extra Large Image Buffalo's Peace Bridge neighborhoods include houses built in a diverse array of American architectural styles. Photo: Catherine Schweitzer Extra Large Image The Boyd Theatre, built in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1928, was named one of America's 11 Most Endangered Places for 2008. Photo: Howard Haas Extra Large Image The Boyd Theatre's vibrant Art Deco interior survives. Photo: Courtesy The Glazer Collection Extra Large Image The growing trend of threatened modern buildings extends to the 1956 Statler Hilton Hotel in Dallas, Texas (also known as the Dallas Grand Hotel). Photo: Terry Schuck Extra Large Image The first glass-and-metal hotel in the United States, the Statler Hilton is now vacant and at risk of succumbing to development pressures. Photo: Jason Grant Extra Large Image   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.