The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation Announces Its 2010 List of State's 10 'Places in Peril'

The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation Announces Its 2010 List of State's
10 'Places in Peril'

ATLANTA, Nov. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Georgia Trust for Historic
Preservation released today its 2010 list of 10 Places in Peril in the state.

Sites on the list include: Central State Hospital in Milledgeville; Paradise
Gardens in Summerville; Morris Brown College in Atlanta; Canton Grammar School
in Cherokee County; Leake archaeological site in Cartersville; Dorchester
Academy in Midway; Old Dodge County Jail in Eastman; Ritz Theatre in
Thomaston; Herndon Plaza in Atlanta; and, Capricorn Recording Studio in Macon.

"This is the Trust's fifth annual Places in Peril list," said Mark C.
McDonald, president and CEO of the Trust. "We hope the list will continue to
draw attention to a broad range of Georgia's imperiled historic resources by
highlighting ten representative sites," McDonald said.

Places in Peril is designed to raise awareness about Georgia's significant
historic, archaeological and cultural resources, including buildings,
structures, districts, archaeological sites and cultural landscapes that are
threatened by demolition, neglect, lack of maintenance, inappropriate
development or insensitive public policy.

Through Places in Peril, the Trust will encourage owners and individuals,
organizations and communities to employ proven preservation tools, financial
resources and partnerships in order to reclaim, restore and revitalize
historic properties that are in peril.

The Trust will provide on-site preservation assistance to each of the 2010
Places in Peril through its Partners in the Field program, funded by grants
from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and a number of charitable
organizations in Georgia.

Sites that have been placed on previous years' lists have included: the Wren's
Nest, home of folklore writer Joel Chandler House in Atlanta; Pasaquan, an
internationally acclaimed visionary art site in Marion County near Buena
Vista; Andalusia, the home of Flannery O'Connor outside of Milledgeville;
Cockspur Island Lighthouse off the coast of Savannah; Bibb Mill, a historic
textile mill destroyed by fire in Columbus; and the University of Georgia
Marine Institute Greenhouse and Administration Building on Sapelo Island.
Updates on these sites and others can be found at www.georgiatrust.org.

The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation is one of the country's largest
statewide, nonprofit preservation organizations. Committed to preserving and
enhancing Georgia's communities and their diverse historic resources for the
education and enjoyment of all, The Georgia Trust generates community
revitalization by finding buyers for endangered properties acquired by its
Revolving Fund; provides design assistance to 102 Georgia Main Street cities
and encourages neighborhood revitalization; trains teachers in 63 Georgia
school systems to engage students to discover state and national history
through their local historic resources; and, advocates for funding, tax
incentives and other laws aiding preservation efforts.

The Georgia Trust is a recipient of the Trustees Award for Organizational
Excellence from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Summary Information on each Places in Peril Site

Central State Hospital, Milledgeville

Once the nation's largest mental hospital and second largest in the world, the
campus of Central State Hospital has grown and changed just as much as the
study of mental health. Built in 1842, Central State Hospital was Georgia's
first psychiatric hospital, chartered by the legislature in 1837 with the
intent of providing Georgians with mental illness a safe and humane
environment.

Some of the buildings have been vacant for years and are suffering from
neglect. Many roofs have collapsed, leaving the buildings structurally
unstable. Without immediate repairs, deterioration is imminent.

Paradise Gardens, Summerville

In 1961, Howard Finster began his 30-year creation of Paradise Gardens, a folk
art site consisting of a maze of buildings, sculptures and displays. The
setting is a four-acre swampland that Finster drained by building numerous
canals around the property. He built his folk art from found objects and
recycled materials ranging from bottles, bathtubs and toilets to bicycle
frames and cast-off jewelry.

Since then, Paradise Gardens has attained international pop icon status.
Finster and his folk art has been the subject of numerous articles and
documentaries. Images of the site can be seen on cover art and in music videos
from groups like REM and Talking Heads. Finster and his Gardens were also
featured on NBC's The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

The site was built from often fragile materials and is located in the damp
climate of a former swamp. Continuous dredging is needed to maintain the
canals Finster dug throughout the property. Constant damage from the elements
has harmed many of the dozen or so structures.

Morris Brown College, Atlanta

Morris Brown College was the first educational institution in Georgia under
sole African American patronage. Built in 1882 to educate freed slaves,
Fountain Hall was the first building constructed on campus and is now a
National Historic Landmark.

The College educated many outstanding alumni including Isaac Blythers, former
President of Atlanta Gas Light Company; Eula L. Adams, Executive Vice
President for First Data Corporation; Albert J. Edmonds, Retired Lieutenant
General of the United States Air Force; the late Reverend Dr. Hosea Williams,
civil rights leader; Thomas J. Byrd, actor of television, film and stage; and
James A. McPherson, Pulitzer prize-winning author.

Due to an embezzlement scandal in 2002, the school lost its accreditation and
conducts classes online, leaving the buildings vacant and subject to
deterioration and vandalism.

Canton Grammar School, Canton

Built in 1914, the Canton Grammar School is one of the few remaining
Neoclassical Revival style schools in Georgia. The school housed grades 1-11
until 1924 when Canton High School was built across the street. The Grammar
School building continued to be used as a school until 1974, when a new
facility was constructed. The Cherokee County Board of Education reopened the
building in 1976 as part of the Bicentennial Celebration.

The school is vacant. The Cherokee County Board of Education does not have
plans for the building's use, although discussions have included possible
demolition. Occasional maintenance has occurred over the years, but there has
been little, if any, preservation work.

Leake Archaeological Site, Cartersville

Located in the Etowah Valley Historic District in Bartow County, the Leake
site is a prehistoric archaeological site dating as far back as 300 BC. The
site contains the remnants of at least three earthen mounds and a vast moat;
midden deposits with artifacts from everyday and ceremonial activities; former
structures; and human burials.

The site began as a small domestic village that developed into one of the most
important sites in the Southeast, both as a ceremonial and political hub.

The Leake site extends along many different property parcels, some of which
have already been industrially or commercially developed. The area surrounding
the site is growing rapidly, so the unoccupied tracts of land in the
archaeological site are in imminent danger of being destroyed.

Dorchester Academy, Midway

Founded in 1871 to educate freed slaves, Dorchester Academy provided the only
educational opportunity for African American children in Liberty County for
many decades.

The only remaining building on the campus is a brick two-story Colonial
Revival style structure built in 1934 as a boys' dormitory. Earlier this year,
the school was listed on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's 11
Most Endangered Historic Places.

In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King held a meeting at the dormitory to plan the
Birmingham march, which would bring international attention to the Civil
Rights Movement in the United States.

Significant and widespread failure of the roofing system has resulted in
extensive damage to the property, leaving the building structurally unstable.
The Dorchester Improvement Association has provided loving care for the
building over the decades, but its aging membership coupled with limited
resources have made it impossible to make necessary repairs.

Old Dodge County Jail, Eastman

Built in 1897, the Old Dodge County Jail is an elaborately detailed building
that served the county for 70 years. Originally, the building had a central
three-story tower, which was removed when the roof was replaced. Most of the
interior details are intact, including a "hanging room" with a trap door,
metal loop for rope, and lever. The jail closed in 1973, when its replacement
was built beside it.

The building is suffering from lack of maintenance and funding as the window
and roofing systems continue to deteriorate.

Ritz Theatre, Thomaston

Prominently located on the courthouse square in Thomaston, the Ritz Theatre
was built during the height of Thomaston's economic growth.

Throughout its history, the Ritz Theatre has served Thomaston and surrounding
towns as a home for the arts as well as an anchor on the downtown square. The
Ritz Theatre continues to show first-run movies and serves more than 24,000
patrons annually.

A leak in the front parapet wall has contributed to water penetrating the Art
Deco facade. This water damage is causing tiles to deteriorate, posing a
threat to the structure and to pedestrians on the sidewalk below.

With the popularity of home entertainment and multiplex theaters, smaller
historic theaters are at risk of becoming obsolete.

Herndon Plaza, Atlanta

For more than 50 years, Herndon Plaza was the headquarters of the Atlanta Life
Insurance Company, which was founded by Alonzo Herndon, a former slave and
Atlanta's first African American millionaire.

The plaza consists of two adjoining buildings. The main building was built as
a residence in 1892. In 1918, Atlanta Life moved into the building to set up
their headquarters. In 1936, a second annex building was constructed, matching
the Neoclassical style of the original building. Atlanta Life built a new
building in 1980 and moved out of the Plaza. It stood vacant for many years,
but in 1997 Atlanta Life sold the building to the Historic District
Development Corporation (HDDC).

The buildings have been vandalized over the years and suffer from a lack of
maintenance. Custom wood awnings, door frames, marble floors, and hallways are
in danger of disrepair. The HDDC is in the process of hiring an architect and
contractor for the project and is applying for Historic Preservation
Certification to receive federal tax credits.

Capricorn Recording Studio, Macon

During the 1970s, Macon's Capricorn Recording Studio was a mecca for Southern
Rock music legends such as the Allman Brothers Band, Charlie Daniels Band,
Dixie Dregs, and the Marshall Tucker Band.

Capricorn Recording Studio filed bankruptcy in 1979. In 1986, the building
reopened and operated under several music labels before being purchased by
Mercer University in 1999. In 2008, MLK Properties, LLC purchased the former
studio with plans to rehabilitate it. On November 3, 2009, the building was
foreclosed upon.

The property is located within sight of downtown Macon's tourism and museum
district, but the surrounding area appears depressed and unsafe due to
numerous vacant lots and boarded-up buildings covered with graffiti.

For More Information Contact:
Traci Clark
404-885-7802
706-318-1158 (cell)
tclark@georgiatrust.org

SOURCE The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation

Traci Clark of The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, +1-404-885-7802,
+1-706-318-1158 (cell), tclark@georgiatrust.org