June Newsletter
JUNE 7, 2023
2023 Most Endangered Places List
Preservation Texas announced its annual list of Texas’s Most Endangered Places on May 11, 2023 at the North Central Texas Regional Preservation Summit in Mineral Wells. This year’s list stretches across the state from El Paso to Beaumont and from Mission to Amarillo, and includes a diverse array of sites in both urban and rural communities. Preservation Texas supports sites on its Most Endangered Places list by providing advocacy support, publicity, connections to professional resources and assistance in fostering and building community partnerships.
The complete list of nine sites included on the 2023 Texas’s Most Endangered Places follows (alphabetical by county name):
St. John Colony - Near Dale (Caldwell County)
DeLeon Depot - DeLeon (Comanche County)
El Paso County Coliseum - El Paso (El Paso County)
The Tournalaid Homes - Longview (Gregg County)
Courtney & St. Holland’s Schools - Courtney (Grimes County)
Roosevelt School Auditorium - Mission (Hidalgo County)
Caroline Gilbert Hinchee House - Beaumont (Jefferson County)
Historic Resources of East Lampasas - Lampasas (Lampasas County)
Amarillo Santa Fe Depot - Amarillo (Potter County)
To learn more about each site, visit preservationtexas.org/news-blog/mep2023.
North Central Texas Regional Preservation Summit Report
Preservation Texas held its first Regional Preservation Summit of the year in the North Central Region at the Crazy Water Hotel in Mineral Wells on May 11th. The event was attended by 80 people from across the North Central Texas region and beyond, providing opportunities to learn about local preservation issues and network with regional preservation professionals.
The program featured North Central Texas-focused presentations on topics including the history of Mineral Wells, the Bankhead Highway, Texas tabernacles, the Preservation Plan for Tarrant County, and the history of the West Texas Utilities Power Plant in Abilene. The Summit ended with the announcement of the 2023 list of Texas’s Most Endangered Places, followed by a rooftop reception with beautiful views of Mineral Wells.
Save the Date
NORTHEAST TEXAS REGIONAL PRESERVATION SUMMIT
The 2023 Northeast Texas Regional Preservation Summit will be held on Thursday, September 7th from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm at the Rose Garden Center in Tyler. The program will draw on the experience of a diverse group of people and organizations across the Northeast Texas region. Attendees will learn about some of the fundamental processes and tools deployed to identify, promote, fundraise, and save the historic buildings significant to their communities. Further details coming soon!
CENTRAL TEXAS REGIONAL PRESERVATION SUMMIT
The 2023 Central Texas Regional Preservation Summit will be held on Thursday, September 21st from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm at the Dunbar Recreation Center in San Marcos. The program will focus on serving an audience of local preservation professionals, commission volunteers, and community advocates. Topics will include neighborhood gentrification, density and appropriate infill issues, improving local design review standards, and local government incentives for preservation. Further details coming soon!
The Central Texas Regional Preservation Summit is sponsored by The Burdine Johnson Foundation.
SOUTHEAST TEXAS REGIONAL PRESERVATION SUMMIT
The 2023 Southeast Texas Regional Preservation Summit will be held on Thursday, November 16th in Beaumont. Topics will include disaster preparedness and response, vernacular architecture as environmental response, and coastal cultural landscapes. Further details coming soon!
Business sponsorship opportunities are available for the events listed above.
Preservation Texas Honor Awards 2023
Presented every other year, Preservation Texas Honor Awards recognize outstanding efforts to restore, preserve, rehabilitate or reconstruct historic places that have been included on the Most Endangered Places list. Nominations for the 2023 Honor Awards are now closed. Stay tuned for the announcement of this year's award winning projects later this summer!
Statewide Preservation News
AMARILLO: Santa Fe Railroad Depot joins Amarillo historical sites among Most Endangered Places in Texas
The Amarillo Santa Fe Railroad Depot, or Santa Fe Station, has stood on South Grant Street in the Downtown area since 1910 following the completion of the Santa Fe Railroad line into the city…
EL PASO: Coliseum named to 2023 Most Endangered Places list
Built in 1942, the El Paso County Coliseum was originally intended for rodeos and livestock shows. It later served as a detention center for captured Italian POWs during WWII, and as a processing center for Braceros in the early 1950s…
LONGVIEW: Preservation Texas trying to save special pieces of history in East Texas
Preservation Texas and the Machine-Built Architecture Conservancy are hoping to preserve two rare Tournalaid Houses in Longview…
LONGVIEW: Why These Ugly, Abandoned Longview Homes May Be Worth Saving
Behind the run-down exteriors of these concrete houses lies the story of an East Texas innovator and his one-of-a-kind machine...
MISSION: Mission CISD begins demolition of historic Roosevelt School Auditorium
Mission CISD has begun demolition of the 1929 Roosevelt School Auditorium, saying that the building is too challenging to preserve. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the auditorium is among the only surviving elements of Mission’s once segregated school system…
NAVASOTA: Courtney School Approved for Preservation Texas’ 2023 Most Endangered Places List
Originally built in 1913, the Courtney School became a segregated school for African-American students in the early 1950s. After integration in 1966, the school was closed and has remained vacant ever since…
PALACIOS: Luther Hotel Inspection Report
After conducting an inspection of the Luther Hotel on April 25th, Lance Malley of the Architectural Studio in Baton Rouge reports that the hotel is an excellent candidate for rehabilitation, and that it would easily qualify for both the State and Federal Historic Tax Credits...
PORT BOLIVAR: Lantern house removed from the Bolivar Point Lighthouse
The lantern house of the 150-year-old Bolivar Point Lighthouse has been removed as part of the first phase of the Bolivar Point Lighthouse Foundation’s ongoing restoration project...
SHAMROCK: U Drop Inn Café to receive a Backing Historic Small Restaurants grant from the National Trust
The Backing Historic Small Restaurants grant program has granted a total of $3 million to 75 historic restaurants since 2021. This critical financial support helps small restaurant owners better navigate supply chain issues, staffing shortages, inflation, and other challenges…
STATEWIDE: Phase One Nominations for the 2024 Michael C. Duda Preservation Awards open now through August 1st
The Texas Historical Foundation is proud to announce the 2024 Michael C. Duda Preservation Awards, honoring excellence in historic preservation. The THF seeks to recognize the best of the best in Texas preservation with a top prize of $100,000 towards the completion of the winning project…
TEMPLE: City of Temple plans to transform historic railroad into hike and bike trail
The City of Temple is converting the historic Georgetown Railroad into a hike and bike trail that will eventually connect Belton and Temple...
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Preservation Texas is the advocate for the historic and cultural resources of Texas. We are a private, member-supported nonprofit organization and do not receive any operational funding from the government.
2023 Business Sponsors
