Post offices, Ellis Island join endangered list

This is the second time that Sweet Auburn has been among the most endangered sites. It was first listed in 1992 when the area around King's birth home was at risk. Since then, much of the area has been revitalized, but much of the commercial corridor remains vacant and could be wiped out by new development, said Mtamanika Youngblood, president of the neighborhood's Sustainable Neighborhood Development Strategies Inc.

"We fear that if we lose any more ... we will lose the essence of Sweet Auburn," she said, noting that the historic Atlanta Daily World Building and Atlanta Life Insurance Buildings stand vacant, along with the original Southern Christian Leadership Conference Building and others.

In practical terms, the area could also lose its historic district status if its commercial corridor disappears, she said.

"If this place is important enough for people to come halfway around the world to visit ... there should be some civic will," Youngblood said.

Federal and local officials do hope a coming $94 million streetcar project linking the Auburn Avenue district with downtown and the tourist hot spots will attract businesses to a long-depressed economic area.

Diverse communities are often underrepresented in the preservation of cultural resources. Only 3 percent of the sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places represent diverse communities, Meeks said.

National trust for Historic Preservation: http://www.preservationnation.org/ Follow Brett Zongker on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/DCArtBeat