Nominations for 2021 Awards and Most Endangered Places Now Open 

LTHP is now accepting nominations for its annual list of Most Endangered Places and honorees for Louisiana Preservation Awards for 2021!  Each year historic sites threatened for various reasons such as demolition, neglect, funding, etc are selected to the Most Endangered List to bring awareness and attention to our rapidly disappearing cultural heritage.  To date, over 140 sites have been recognized on the MEP listings.  Since 1999, more than 3 dozen sites have been rehabilitated and many currently in the process being saved.   LTHP welcomes public nomination for sites that are important to their community by Sunday March 7, 2021.

LTHP is also encouraging nominations from parishes that have yet to be highlighted on past years’ listings: Acadia, Allen, Assumption, Avoyelles, Catahoula, Concordia, Evangeline, Jackson, Jefferson Davis, Pointe Coupee, Red River, St. Bernard, St. Helena, St. Mary, Terrebonne, Vermillion, West Carroll, and Winn.

Recognition on this list has sparked more interest in recent years. Jimmy Hand of Homer Main Street says “Listing the Pan American Gas Station and the Homer Community Center/American Legion Hut on the 2020 LTHP Most Endangered Places List has already generated a lot of local interest. It has reminded us of our historic past and how important it is to preserve it so we can use it to build on our future. We are already moving forward to revitalize the Pan Am Gas Station and have been awarded a grant to begin that project in 2021. The next step for the Community Center is to get it listed individually on the National Historic Register to open up grant and tax credit opportunities. I believe that listing these two buildings on the Most Endangered Places List was the catalyst we needed for preserving and revitalizing them.”   To review past Most Endangered Places and nominate a site in your community, click here.

Louisianans can also nominate people and places for the annual 2021 Louisiana Preservation Awards.  For the first time, nominations are open to the public for a list of 10 different categories ranging from educational programs, media outreach, and lifetime achievements.  Nominations are due by Wednesday March 3, 2021. 

If you know of a special individual, organization, or project that should be recognized visit this link to learn more about each category and complete a nomination.

Selected Most Endangered Places and Louisiana Preservation Awards will be formally announced later this spring, tentatively May 2021. 

The Union Church in St. Joseph (circa 1902) was added as a Most Endangered Places site in 2019. 

Remembering Sue Turner 

Last month on December 27th, preservation in Louisiana lost one of its strongest supporters. Sue Turner, a founder of the Louisiana Preservation Alliance, Inc. (Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation), passed away at the age of 93. "Mrs. Sue" was present at our conferences, Rambles and her support made it possible for us to form our statewide revolving fund program, to continue saving endangered historic buildings into the future. We are grateful for her vision, commitment and support.  Learn more about Sue's legacy in this recent Advocate article.  

2020 Most Endangred Places Exhibit on Display in Claiborne Parish

Visit the Claiborne Parish Library now through Friday February 19th to see an exhibit about the 2020 Most Endangered Places.  Learn more about these unique historic sites that could be lost to future generations. You can visit the exhibit at the Claiborne Parish Library at 909 Edgewood Drive, Homer, LA 71040 from Monday to Friday, 8AM to 5PM.

This exhibit is free and open to the public. Please wear a mask and maintain social distance while enjoying the exhibit and library.  If your community would like to host a future Most Endangered Places Exhibit, please contact Will at wprince@lthp.org. 

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