Merritt makes endangered list

The National Trust for Historic Preservation included Connecticut”™s Merritt Parkway on its annual list of America”™s most endangered historic places, along with the federal and state park system and nine other natural, historic and architectural treasures.

First opened 70 years ago, the Merritt runs nearly 38 miles through Fairfield County and features natural landscaping and overpasses featuring unique designs. The National Trust for Historic Preservation cited what it said was insufficient maintenance work by the cash-strapped Connecticut Department of Transportation, along with DOT efforts to realign roads, replace bridges and redesign interchanges, all at the cost of the parkway”™s unique character.

The trust also included America”™s park system on the list, noting a recent survey that estimated as many as 400 state parks nationwide could close.

Other sites on the list include:

• Black Mountain in Harlan County, Ky., which is threatened by mining projects;
• Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, N.J., one of the last surviving Negro League baseball parks, which is deteriorating;
• the Industrial Arts Building in Lincoln, Neb., which is threatened with the wrecking ball;
• the Juana Briones House in Palo Alto, Calif., an abandoned adobe house that is the oldest structure in Palo Alto;
• the Metropolitan A.M.E. Church in Washington, D.C., the water-damaged site of the funerals of Frederick Douglass and Rosa Parks;
• Pagat in Yigo, Guam, an ancient Chamorro settlement near U.S. military installations;
• Saugatuck Dunes in Saugatuck, Mich., a 2,500-acre coastal area adjacent to a proposed mixed-use development;
• the Threefoot Building in Meridian, Miss., a 16-story granite skyscraper in the Art Deco style that could be demolished; and
• Wilderness Battlefield in Orange and Spotsylvania counties, Va.; where Walmart is said to be eyeballing land within the historic boundaries of the battlefield for a new store.