These Are the Most At-Risk Sites in America

Since the late '80s, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has released a list of historic places most at risk in America, keeping tabs on "compelling, meaningful historic sites" that have become endangered by "natural disasters, underutilization, neglect, or lack of awareness." This year's list includes not only physical structures, like the fascinating Mystery Castle in Phoenix, but entire communities, like Florida's Cedar Key, an old-time fishing village decimated by Hurricane Helene last year.

"We want sites that are experiencing some kind of threat and have a plan to address that threat," trust CEO Carol Quillen says in explaining the criteria for the annual list, per NPR. "And we want sites that, when preserved, can offer something to their community." Here, the top 11 sites that the trust is nervous about:

• Mystery Castle (Phoenix)
• Cedar Key, Florida
• French Broad and Swannanoa river corridors (North Carolina)
• Pamunkey Indian Reservation (King William County, Virginia)
• Oregon Caves Chateau (Cave Junction, Oregon)
• The Wellington Hotel (Pine Hill, New York)
• San Juan Hotel (San Juan, Texas)
• Japanese American community buildings on Tuna Street (LA's Terminal Island)
• The Turtle (Niagara Falls, New York)
• Hotel Casa Blanca (Idlewild, Michigan)
• May Hicks Curtis House (Flagstaff, Arizona)

More here on each site. (More historic site stories.)