List of destroyed heritage of the United States
This is a list of destroyed heritage of the United States. The year of demolition is marked in parentheses.
This is a list of cultural-heritage sites that have been damaged or destroyed accidentally, deliberately, or by a natural disaster, sorted by state. Only those buildings and structures which fulfill Wikipedia's standards of notability should be included. The simplest test of this is whether the building or structure has its own article page.
Cultural heritage can be subdivided into two main types—tangible and intangible heritage. The former includes built heritage such as religious buildings, museums, monuments, and archaeological sites, as well as movable heritage such as works of art and manuscripts. Intangible cultural heritage includes customs, music, fashion and other traditions within a particular culture.[1][2] This article mainly deals with the destruction of built heritage; the destruction of movable collectable heritage is dealt with in art destruction, whilst the destruction of movable industrial heritage remains almost totally ignored.
Alabama
[edit]- David Rinehart Anthony House
- Augusta Sledge House (circa 2010)
- Birmingham Terminal Station (1969)
- Cedar Haven (2000s)
- Daniel Payne College
California
[edit]- International Savings & Exchange Bank Building (1954): Demolished by the city government of Los Angeles.[3]
- MGM Silent and Early Sound Film Archive (1965): A fire in one of the studio's archival vaults destroyed the only copies of hundreds of silent and early sound era MGM films.[4]
- Richfield Tower (1969): Demolished to clear site for City National Plaza.
- Wolf House (1913): Jack London's house which burned down before he and his family ever got to move in
Georgia
[edit]- Bonaventure Plantation (1804): fire
- Georgia Guidestones (2022): bombing
- Greenwich Plantation (1923): fire
- Wetter House (1950)
Illinois
[edit]
- Chicago Federal Building (1965)
- Garrick Theater (1961)
- Home Insurance Building (1931): Demolished to clear site for the Field Building.[5]
- Masonic Temple (1939)
Indiana
[edit]- Bridgeton Covered Bridge (2005): arson
- Bucklen Theatre (1986)
- Cadle Tabernacle (1968)
- Indianapolis Traction Terminal (1972)
- Louisville and Nashville Railroad Station (Evansville, Indiana) (1985)
- Snyderman House (2002): arson
- Terre Haute Union Station (1960)
- Tomlinson Hall (1958): fire
- Wilbur Wynant House (2006): fire
Louisiana
[edit]- New Orleans Cotton Exchange (1964)
Massachusetts
[edit]- Kragsyde (1929)
Michigan
[edit]- Detroit City Hall (1961)
- Franklin H. Walker House (1998)
- J. L. Hudson Department Store and Addition (1998)
- William Livingstone House (2007)
Minnesota
[edit]- Metropolitan Building (1961)
Mississippi
[edit]- Brierfield Plantation (1931): fire
Missouri
[edit]- Kiel Auditorium (1992)
New Jersey
[edit]- 20th Century Fox Silent Film Archive (1937): A fire in the studio's archival vault destroyed the only prints and original negatives of a majority of silent era films produced by the Fox Film Corporation prior to 1932, as well as the majority of the silent film negatives of Educational Pictures.[4]
- Marlborough-Blenheim Hotel (1978): Demolished to clear site for construction of Bally's Atlantic City.[6]
- Traymore Hotel (1972): Demolished during a downturn in economic fortunes in Atlantic City.[7]
- Ulysses S. Grant Cottage (1963): Demolished by owners.[8]
New York
[edit]- Larkin Administration Building, Buffalo (1950)
- World Trade Center (2001)
- Pennsylvania Station (1963)
Ohio
[edit]- Heinrich A. Rattermann House (2005)
- Nasby Building
- Many mounds of the Ohio Hopewell lost throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to cultivation and urban expansion. Notable examples include:
- Marietta Earthworks - almost entirely covered by the city of Marietta.
- Newark Earthworks - numerous probable ceremonial walkways and several large enclosures lost to urban expansion of Newark.
- Mound City Group - Mostly destroyed during the construction of Camp Sherman. Evidence of the mounds is still present below the surface and are currently preserved by the National Park Service.
Pennsylvania
[edit]- Broad Street Station (1953)
- Carnegie Building (1952)
- La Ronda (2009)
- Linden Grove (2000)
- Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal (1954)
- Whitemarsh Hall (1980)
Rhode Island
[edit]- Whitehall (1971)
- America Street School (1996)
Tennessee
[edit]- Luther Brannon House (2021)
Virginia
[edit]- Abingdon (1930)
- Chantilly mansion (1863)
- Leesylvania (1950)
Washington, D.C.
[edit]- Raleigh Hotel (1964)
- Wylie Mansion (1947): destroyed partially by fire and then demolished
See also
[edit]- Save America's Treasures
- List of destroyed heritage
- List of monuments and memorials removed during the George Floyd protests
- Removal of Confederate monuments and memorials
References
[edit]- ^ "What is meant by "cultural heritage"?". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016.
- ^ Stenning, Stephen (21 August 2015). "Destroying cultural heritage: more than just material damage". British Council. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
- ^ "Wreckers Put Hammer to Old Health Building". Los Angeles Times. December 30, 1954.
- ^ a b Pierce, David (1997). "The legion of the condemned – why American silent films perished". Film History. 9 (1): 5–22.
- ^ Taussig, Meredith. Field Building (Report). Commission on Chicago Landmarks. p. 5 – via Archive.org.
- ^ Spatz, David (October 18, 2009). "Kaboom!". Atlantic City Weekly. Archived from the original on October 9, 2011. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
- ^ Hallstead, William (May 1973), "BIG BANG on the Boardwalk", Popular Mechanics, retrieved March 4, 2022
- ^ Carino, Jerry (August 29, 2016) "In Long Branch, a President Slept Here – A Lot", Asbury Park Press. Retrieved May 6, 2020.