Galveston storefronts on endangered list

WASHINGTON, April 28 (UPI) -- Texas storefronts slammed by Hurricane Ike are among America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places, the National Trust for Historic Preservation said Tuesday.

The 19th-century buildings with elaborate cast-iron storefronts in Galveston, Texas, head the list of U.S. historic sites considered to be most at risk by the organization, it said in a release,

Flooding from Hurricane Ike caused extensive damage to the buildings, leaving the historic district fighting to survive, the group said.

Also on the list is the 43-year-old Century Plaza hotel in Los Angeles, whose owner has slated it for demolition and replacement by a $2 billion residential-commercial project. The Los Angeles Times, calling the hotel a monument of "space age" modernism, quoted owner Michael Rosenfeld as saying, "The naming of the hotel as a historic place is not supported by the facts."

Also making the list were the Ames Shovel Shops, Easton, Mass.; Dorchester Academy, Midway, Ga.; the Human Services Center, Yankton, S.D.; Lanai City, Hawaii; the Manhattan Project's Enola Gay Hangar at Wendover Airfield, Utah; Memorial Bridge, Portsmouth, N.H.; the Miami Marine Stadium, Virginia Key, Fla.; Mount Taylor, near Grants, N.M., and Unity Temple, Oak Park, Ill.