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Dr. King’s Sweet Auburn Neighborhood in Atlanta on List of Most Endangered Historic Places

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Joe Frazier’s Gym in Philadelphia and the neighborhood where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. grew up, in Sweet Auburn,  Atlanta, are among the 11 important sites at risk of damage or destruction cited by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in its annual list, to be unveiled on Wednesday.

Sweet Auburn is a once-thriving African-American commercial district now threatened by development along its commercial corridor. Frazier’s longtime training center is currently for sale.

America’s Most Endangered Historic Places of 2012, the National Trust’s 25th annual roster, also includes historic United States Post Office buildings that are threatened by neglect. Zoar Village in Ohio, a historic town vulnerable to flooding if a protective levee is removed; and the Ellis Island Hospital Complex in New York, part of the original gateway to America for millions of immigrants, which is deteriorating.

The list highlights threatened examples of the nation’s architectural, cultural and natural heritage. Only a handful of the more than 230 sites that have been listed have been lost.

“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,” Stephanie Meeks, president of the Trust, said in a statement.

Source: Robin Pegrebin,  NY Times

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