The
National Trust for Historic Preservation is an
American
member-supported organization that was founded in 1949 by congressional
charter to support preservation of historic buildings and
neighborhoods through a range of programs and
activities.
Its mission statement states:
- "The National Trust for Historic Preservation provides
leadership, education and advocacy to save America's diverse
historic places and revitalize our communities."
History
In 1947, a meeting convened by
David E. Finley, Jr. culminated in the creation
of the
National Council for Historic Sites and
Buildings. This group was able to obtain the congressional
charter for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which
President Harry S. Truman signed on October 26, 1949. Finley
served as the National Trust's first chairman of the board,
remaining in the position for 12 years.
National Trust Historic Sites
Twenty-nine sites are designated as National Trust Historic Sites.
Most are owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and
operated by other non-profit organizations (e.g., Farnsworth
House); some are owned and operated by the National Trust for
Historic Preservation (e.g., Drayton Hall); and some are owned and
operated by other non-profit organizations and hold a long-term
cooperative agreement with the National Trust for Historic
Preservation (e.g., Lower East Side Tenement Museum). These sites
currently include:
- Acoma Sky City, Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico
- The
African
Meeting House and Abiel Smith School, Boston,
Massachusetts

- The
African Meeting
House
, Nantucket, Massachusetts
- Belle Grove
Plantation, Middletown, Virginia

- Brucemore
, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- Chesterwood, Stockbridge,
Massachusetts

- Cliveden
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Cooper-Molera
Adobe, Monterey,
California

- Decatur House
, Washington,
DC
- Drayton Hall
, Charleston, South Carolina
- Farnsworth House
, Plano,
Illinois
- Filoli
, Woodside,
California
- Gaylord Building
, Lockport, Illinois
- Glass House
, New Canaan, Connecticut
- Hotel de
Paris, Georgetown, Colorado

- Kykuit
, Tarrytown,
New York
- Lincoln Cottage
, Washington, DC
- Lower East Side Tenement
Museum
, New York, New York
- Lyndhurst
, Tarrytown, New York
- James Madison's Montpelier
, Orange,
Virginia
- Oatlands Plantation
, Leesburg, Virginia
- Pope-Leighey House
, Alexandria, Virginia
- Frederick C.
Robie House
, Chicago
, Illinois
- Shadows-on-the-Teche
, New Iberia, Louisiana
- Touro Synagogue
, Newport, Rhode Island
- Woodlawn Plantation
, Alexandria, Virginia
- Woodrow
Wilson House, Washington, DC

- Frank Lloyd
Wright Home and Studio
, Oak Park, Illinois
- Villa Finale,
San Antonio,
Texas

Historic Hotels of America
The National Trust has also compiled a list of hotels registered as
"
Historic Hotels of
America" because they are at least 50 years old and have
faithfully maintained their historic character and ambiance.
National Trust Community Investment Corporation
NTCIC, the for-profit subsidiary of the National Trust, makes
equity investments in real estate projects that qualify for federal
historic tax credits and when available, state historic and New
Markets Tax Credits.
"America's 11 Most Endangered Places"
Each year since 1988, the National Trust for Historic Preservation
has compiled a list of "
America's 11 Most Endangered
Places" in an effort to protect America's architectural,
cultural, and natural heritage.
In April 2009, the trust announced its list of 11 most endangered
places to be:
- Strand Historic District
, Galveston, Texas
- Century Plaza Hotel
, Los Angeles, California
- Ames Shovel Shops
Easton, Massachusetts
- Dorchester Academy
, Midway, Georgia
- The
Manhattan Project's Enola Gay Hangar
, Wendover Airfield, Utah
- Human Services Center
, Yankton, South Dakota
- Lanai City, Hawaii
, a plantation town
- Memorial
Bridge, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to Kittery, Maine
- Miami Marine Stadium,
Virginia Key, Florida
- Mount Taylor
, Grants, New Mexico
- Unity Temple
, Oak Park, Illinois
In recent, previous years, this list has included:
- Burholme Park
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Antietam National Battlefield
, Sharpsburg, Maryland
- 2 Columbus Circle
, New York, New York
- Belleview Biltmore Hotel
, Belleair, Florida
- Camp Security, York County,
Pennsylvania

- Daniel Webster
Farm, Franklin,
New Hampshire

- El Camino Real de Tierra
Adentro Historic Trail, New Mexico

- Eleutherian College
, Madison, Indiana
- Ennis-Brown House
, Los Angeles, California
- Finca Vigía: Ernest Hemingway House, San Francisco de Paula,
Cuba
- Hangar One,
Moffett
Field
, California
- Historic Buildings of downtown Detroit,
Michigan

- Historic Catholic Churches of Greater
Boston,
Massachusetts

- Independence
National Historical Park
, Philadelphia
, Pennsylvania
- King Island, Alaska

- National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS), Western
States
- Nine Mile Canyon
, Utah
- President Lincoln and Soldiers' Home
National Monument
, Washington DC
- “The
Journey Through Hallowed Ground” Corridor, Virginia
, Maryland
, Pennsylvania
- The
Doo Wop Motels of Wildwood, New Jersey

- Brooklyn
's Industrial Waterfront
- State
of Vermont

- Motels of U.S. Route 66
- Henry
Hobson Richardson House, Brookline, Massachusetts

- Hialeah Park Race Track
, Hialeah, Florida
- Minidoka
Internment Camp
, Hunt,
Idaho
- Pinon Canyon,
Colorado

- Philip Simmons
Workshop and Home, Charleston, South Carolina

- The Statler Hilton Hotel
, Dallas,
Texas
- Stewart's Point Rancheria,
Sonoma
County, California

- Sumner Elementary School
, Topeka, Kansas
- Trans World Flight Center
, New York, New York
- Frank Lloyd
Wright's Taliesin
, Spring Green, Wisconsin
- Valley Forge
National Historic Park
, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
See also
References
External links