The Revitalist

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has released their 11 Most Endangered Places 2007.

Number 3 on the list is the H.H. Richardson House in Brookline. The house is not in his signature Richardsonian Romanesque style, but it did house his workshops and studio for many years. It is also near Frederick Law Olmstead's home place; the two men were close friends and collaborated on the grounds of the H.H. Richardson House. Today the house is empty, has sustained significant water damage, but has managed to dodge the bulldozer through the intervention of its neighbors. The house is on the market with preservation restrictions, but there aren't buyers clamoring at the door, and there is no restoration plan in place. It's a tricky one, but I know that it is also on the radar of the Boston preservation community.

Number 1 on the list if the Brooklyn Industrial Waterfront, which is under heavy development pressure. The NY Times has a good article on the listing and the tension between economic development and historic preservation.