Remarks by Wendy Nicholas
Director, Northeast Office
of the National Trust for Historical Preservation

Old North Bridge
Minute Man National Historical Park
Concord, Massachusetts
May 29, 2003

Good afternoon. Thank you, Anna Winter, for your introduction. And thank you, too, to you and your colleagues at Save Our Heritage for the work you are doing to preserve this vital piece of our nation's heritage.

We are here today on this sacred ground to sound the alarm, to call our citizens – not to arms, but to democratic commitment – to save this treasure, these few square miles that have defined us as a people and a nation for more than 225 years.

The late Thomas Boylston Adams, descendant of the Presidents Adams, wrote of this place:

“The Battle Road is a long road, leading even to the present and beyond. Its first five miles are more worth preserving than any other five miles of country road in the United States.

“No bit of ground in all the world, save only the field at Runnymede, where King John signed the Magna Carta in 1215, holds equal place in the mind and imagination of free peoples.”

The National Trust for Historic Preservation was created by Congress more than 50 years ago to serve as the people’s advocate, the nation’s voice to help preserve and protect the places of significance in this country, places such as Minute Man National Historical Park. We are a private nonprofit
organization with 250,000 members dedicated to protecting the irreplaceable.

In 1988, the National Trust began an annual listing of the nation’s 11 most endangered historic places. We did that to draw attention to genuine threats to destroy the places that are the physical manifestations of our history – whether city neighborhoods or rural landscapes, Native American landmarks or 20th century sports arenas, whole communities or single buildings. We also did it because we knew that naming a site to America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places list would serve as a catalyst for saving it.

We have found over the years that placing a site on the 11 Most Endangered list works. In the past we have listed the Civil War battlefields of Manassas and Chancellorsville in Virginia.

Both were endangered by encroaching development and -- in the case of Manassas, the creation of a Disneyland theme park. Both were saved.

Locally, we listed the Historic Theaters of Boston in 1995. That action spurred architects and developers, government officials, preservationists and a host of others to participate in a day-long charette the National Trust hosted with the Boston Preservation Alliance to come up with workable solutions to save these important structures.

Last year, Mayor Menino – one of the nation’s leading voices for historic preservation – was able to announce restoration plans for the Boston Opera House, the Modern Theater and the Paramount Theater. These structures will now be restored and reused, bringing new life and vitality to an important piece of downtown Boston.

But just as some threats dissipate, others appear. That is why we are here today.

Recognizing the very real threat of the Massachusetts Port Authority’s expansion plans for the Hanscom Field civilian airport, the National Trust for Historic Preservation today is naming Minute Man National Historical Park and the surrounding sites in the historic towns of Concord, Lexington, Lincoln and Bedford to the 2003 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.

Within the national park where we stand today and the four adjacent towns are more than 1,000 sites on the National Register of Historic Places. What are some of these sites?

Walden Woods, the scene of Henry David Thoreau’s reflections on man, nature and civil disobedience.

The homes of Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and the Alcotts. Lexington Green.

The place where Paul Revere was captured by British troops near the end of his Midnight Ride.

The Old North Bridge behind me where was fired the shot heard ‘round the world, the first battle in what may be the most historically significant conflict of humankind.

And, the Battle Road, the scene of a daylong running battle as the Minutemen chased the British troops back to Boston and the site, even today, of the graves of many of those British soldiers who were buried where they fell.

These sites came to prominence long before the first runway was laid out at Hanscom.

225 years ago, we stopped an empire on this very spot. It’s time to do it again.

Massport’s ambitious plans for expanded use of the Hanscom Field civilian airport – already the second busiest in takeoffs and landings in all of New England -- are threatening the park and the surrounding sites with increased ground and air traffic, noise and visual intrusion. Their plans would worsen existing problems and necessitate major structural changes to the Battle Road that would destroy its historic authenticity.

The Battle Road – Route 2A -- is the primary resource Congress intended to protect when it established the Minute Man National Historical Park in 1959. It is also the only public access road to Hanscom Field, which abuts the national park.

The patriots who fought and died here more than two centuries ago created a nation and an ideal. It’s up to us to honor their sacrifice by protecting these historic places from the increased noise, development, and drastic changes to the Battle Road that would result from expanded airport operations.

What can be done to save this treasure?

· Federal legislation is needed that would limit the number and type of
civilian aircraft operations at Hanscom.

· Federal and state officials must work diligently in developing and implementing a regional transportation solution that includes increased Northeast Corridor high speed rail, as well as smarter use of ground and air resources.

· If Massport continues to refuse to treat its neighbors and the nation’s historic treasures with respect and honor, then control of civilian operations at Hanscom Field should be transferred to a new local authority that will.

Most important of all, however, is that committed citizens here today and those who will join your ranks tomorrow continue to make your voices heard – if not ‘round the world, at least ‘round the commonwealth and ‘round the nation.

I look forward to returning to Minute Man National Historical Park for the celebration that this sacred, hallowed ground has been saved and can be removed from the list of America’s Most Endangered Historic Places.

Thank you.

_________________________
Washington, D.C. (May 29, 2003) – Whether churches, synagogues,
meetinghouses or mosques, America’s urban religious structures give
eloquent testimony to the American experience and the quest for
religious freedom that helped shape our nation – but these monuments to
faith are falling victim to changing demographics, limited capital
budgets, soaring real-estate values, and often the wrecking ball.
Meanwhile, just outside Boston, on the road made famous by a group of
scrappy Revolutionaries, Minute Man National Historical Park, the cradle
of the American Revolution, is once again engulfed in battle. In
Arkansas’ Hot Springs National Park, North America’s greatest collection
of historic bathhouses is deteriorated and running out of steam. And in
New York, the curvilinear TWA Terminal at JFK International Airport, an
icon of modern design, may soon have its wings clipped.

These are just four of 11 sites the National Trust for Historic
Preservation named today to its 2003 list of America’s 11 Most
Endangered Historic Places.

“In their amazing diversity, these places tell us who we are as a
nation,” said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust. “They
constitute an epic cultural narrative whose chapters include not only
world-famous icons like Minute Man National Historical Park but hidden
treasures such as the elegant bathhouses of Hot Springs. Unless all of
us become aware of the importance of our heritage and take action to
preserve it, America’s past won’t have a future. That’s the real message
of the 11 Most Endangered list.”

The History ChannelÒ will feature the list on July 12, 2003 at 8:00 p.m.
EDT/PDT in a one-hour documentary special entitled, “America’s Most
Endangered.” The show, hosted by Roger Mudd, is part of the The Save
Our HistoryÔ campaign, The History Channel’s award-winning national
initiative dedicated to historic preservation and history education.

Across the nation, America’s urban houses of worship, many of which are
architectural landmarks as well as vital community anchors, are
endangered. Although there’s no simple solution, the efforts of
Partners for Sacred Places, the national leader in this field, and
several local organizations demonstrate that with technical assistance,
staff and board training, and the development of new funding sources,
these landmarks to spirituality, cultural tradition, and community
service can be saved.

On April 19, 1775, a series of bloody skirmishes along the road from
Boston to Concord marked a momentous turning point in America’s struggle
for independence. More than two centuries later, a different kind of
struggle has engulfed the ground where British soldiers and America
militia – the famed Minute Men – met. The source of the trouble is
Hanscom Field, a busy regional airport where heavy air traffic,
unchecked noise and visual intrusions are taking a heavy toll on Minute
Man National Historical Park, located right next door.

For thousands of years, travelers have come to Hot Springs, Ark., to be
healed by its curative waters. Today, Hot Springs National Park, the
oldest unit in the national park system, protects 47 springs – as well
as eight historic bathhouses. Extremely decorative, these facilities
were once among the most luxurious in the world – but not any more.
Mothballing and basic stabilization efforts have kept them standing, but
the long-term survival of these evocative links with the “Golden Age of
Bathing” is dependent on the development and implementation of viable
adaptive-use strategies.

In New York, there’s no other building like the TWA Terminal at JFK
International Airport. Its soaring, graceful form was meant to evoke
the romance and excitement of flight, and even the smallest interior
details – ticket counters, chairs, signs and telephone booths – were
designed to complement the gull-winged shell. But now, the Port
Authority wants to demolish significant portions of the building and
construct a hulking new terminal behind it.

America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places has identified more than
150 threatened one-of-a-kind historic treasures since 1988. While a
listing does not ensure the protection of a site or guarantee funding,
the designation has been a powerful tool for raising awareness and
rallying resources to save endangered sites from every region of the
country. Whether these sites are urban districts or rural landscapes,
Native American landmarks or 20th-century sports arenas, entire
communities or single buildings, the list spotlights historic places
across America that are threatened by neglect, insufficient funds,
inappropriate development or insensitive public policy.

Recent 11 Most Successes: Since the listing of Virginia’s
Chancellorsville Battlefield in 1998, the Spotsylvania County Board of
Supervisors voted unanimously not to rezone an 800-acre parcel of core
battlefield for 2,000 houses and 1.2 million square feet of commercial
and retail space. The Board’s decision followed a grassroots campaign
led by the Coalition to Save Chancellorsville Battlefield, the Civil War
Preservation Trust and the National Trust. However, while this battle
is won, we cannot claim victory as another development proposal is
already underway. Since appearing on the 2001 list because it was
threatened with demolition, Oklahoma City’s Gold Dome has been acquired
by a new owner who will rehabilitate it for use as a business and
international cultural center. And at the Dwight D. Eisenhower VA
Medical Center in Leavenworth, Kans., 39 formerly imperiled buildings
will be rehabbed for new uses. At the end of February, the Veterans
Administration announced the p!
roperty will be used to support current VA operations, including
housing. The property was on the 2000 list of America's 11 Most
Endangered Places.

Sites on the 2003 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places are:

URBAN HOUSES OF WORSHIP, Nationwide – Whether churches, synagogues,
meetinghouses or mosques, America’s historic urban religious structures
are among the nation’s most significant cultural treasures. In addition
to being irreplaceable architectural landmarks, they are vital community
anchors – feeding the poor, providing meeting space for Girl Scouts and
AA groups, and offering social services ranging from daycare to homeless
shelters. Today, they are falling victim to changing demographics,
limited capital budgets and soaring real-estate values.

OCMULGEE OLD FIELDS TRADITIONAL CULTURAL PROPERTY, Macon, Ga. –
Embracing evidence of 12,000-year-old Ice Age settlements, numerous
burial and ceremonial mounds, and valuable wildlife habitat, this
one-time home of the Muscogee Creek Nation is threatened by a proposed
multi-lane highway.

AMELIA EARHART MEMORIAL BRIDGE, Atchison, Kans. – Opened in 1938 and now
a memorial to a world-famous hometown heroine, this Missouri River span
is slated for demolition and replacement with a new bridge, even though
it is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

EAST SIDE AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS, Decorah, Iowa – A prominent local landmark
and time-honored symbol of the hopes and dreams of generations of
Decorah residents, the 1896 East Side School is empty, deteriorated and
– along with the adjoining Middle School built in 1922 – facing an
uncertain future.

ZUNI SALT LAKE AND SANCTUARY ZONE, Catron and Cibola counties, N.Mex. –
Considered sacred by no less than six Native American tribes, this lake
and its surrounding area are threatened by plans to strip-mine coal and
build a 44-mile rail line that will destroy many burial and cultural
sites and possibly drain the lake itself.

LITTLE MANILA, Stockton, Calif. – Three modest buildings are the last
survivors of the once-bustling neighborhood that housed the largest
Filipino community outside the Philippines – and now they could be
demolished to make way for a strip-mall parking lot.

MINUTE MAN NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK AND ENVIRONS, Bedford, Concord,
Lincoln, and Lexington, Mass. – Heavy air traffic, unchecked noise and
visual intrusions from a busy regional airport are taking a devastating
toll on many important landmarks – especially this national park on the
site where the American Revolution began.

TWA TERMINAL AT JFK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, New York, N.Y. –The Port
Authority plans to demolish portions of Eero Saarinen’s 1962 curvilinear
masterpiece and construct a hulking new building behind it, rendering
the modernist icon useless for aviation purposes.

BATHHOUSE ROW, HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK, Garland County, Ark. – Known
for their eclectic architecture and decorative flourishes, six of the
eight surviving buildings along Bathhouse Row are vacant and
deteriorated and in need of viable plans for preservation and reuse.

UNITED STATES MARINE HOSPITAL, Louisville, Ky. – Constructed in 1851 by
an act of Congress, this 3-story Greek Revival landmark served the
community and the nation faithfully for more than a century but is now
unused and crumbling.

MICHIGAN BOULEVARD GARDEN APARTMENTS, Chicago, Ill. – One of the
nation’s foremost examples of visionary workforce housing, this 1929
apartment complex, constructed by philanthropist Julius Rosenwald has
been vacant for years, even though it has great reuse potential.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a private, nonprofit
membership organization dedicated to protecting the irreplaceable.
Recipient of the National Humanities Medal, the Trust provides
leadership, education and advocacy to save America's diverse historic
places and revitalize communities. Its Washington, DC headquarters
staff, six regional offices and 23 historic sites work with the Trust's
quarter- million members and thousands of local community groups in all
50 states. For more information, visit the Trust's web site at
www.nationaltrust.org.