The Top Ten Endangered Places List is released annually to bring national attention to sites at risk due to neglect, lack of funding, inappropriate development and weak legislation. From unique 19th-century landmarks to simple vernacular housing, stone railway stations to Modernist airports, heritage districts to single buildings, the list has become a powerful tool in the fight to make landmarks, not landfill.
The National Trust uses three primary criteria to determine the 10 final sites for inclusion on the list:
• significance of the site
• urgency of the threat/potential for a positive and creative solution
• evidence of active community support on the ground for its preservation
The selection included in the 12th annual Top Ten Endangered Places list and Worst Losses List—presented here from the West coast to the East coast—was compiled from the results of the National Trust’s call for nominations as well as those stories and news items followed throughout the year.
• Point Grey Secondary School – 5350 East Boulevard, Vancouver, BC: seismic mitigation program poised to reduce historic school to rubble
• Peace River Valley, Northeast BC: hydro power trumps aboriginal and natural heritage
• East Coulee Truss Bridge, Atlas Coal Mine NHS, East Coulee, Alberta: trestle bridge needs new lease on life
• Our Lady of Assumption Church, 350 Huron Church Road, Windsor, Ontario: hope remains for future of historic church despite fundraising rollercoaster ride
• The Barber Paper Mill, 99 River Drive, Halton Hills, Georgetown, Ontario: stakeholder impasse threatens industrial heritage site
• Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, Ontario: feds play fast and loose with a national historic site
• Hôpital de la Miséricorde, 840-890 René Levesque Blvd. East, Montreal, Quebec: institutional landmark in need of revitalization
• The Quebec Bridge, St. Lawrence River, linking the cities of Quebec and Lévis, Quebec: longest cantilever bridge span in the world rusting away
• Sackville United Church, 112 Main Street, Sackville, New Brunswick: deck stacked against yet another former church building
• Belcourt Spirituality Centre, Rustico, PEI: good faith lacking in diocese’s dismissal of a cherished community asset
For more information, please visit www.nationaltrustcanada.ca/issues-campaigns/top-ten-endangered