12 US landscapes being listed as endangered spaces
Oct 3, 2012, 5:50 PM
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Cultural Landscape Foundation has released a list of 12 threatened or at-risk landscapes. Here is a look at the 12 sites:
_ Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Burlington, Vt. _ The landscape includes a grid of 123 uniformly spaced locust trees to screen the church from the city. Construction of a proposed bus terminal would remove part of that landscape.
_ Fern Dell in Los Angeles’ Griffith Park _ This 90-year-old landscape blends natural and manmade features as a unique public fern garden. Regular maintenance ended in the 1970s.
_Garland Farm in Maine _ This was the last home and garden of noted landscape architect Beatrix Farrand. Financial difficulties have stunted the completion of a planned restoration.
_ Hannah Carter Japanese Garden in Los Angeles _ This site now owned by the University of California Los Angeles has been listed for sale. Heirs of the garden’s previous owner sued to block the sale because it was a gift to the school.
_ Innisfree Garden in Millbrook, N.Y. _ This 150-acre public garden was created as an American, Modernist twist on ancient Chinese landscape design. Funding shortfalls threaten its preservation.
_ Isham Park in New York City _ This public park suffers from deferred maintenance and has become overgrown in places, obstructing planned views of the Hudson River.
_ Jack London Lake in California’s Sonoma Valley _ This California State Park has sunk into decline with a leaking dam and has been slated for closure. A private group secured a contract to operate the park this year and is working to raise money for restoration.
_ Jones Beach State Park in New York _ This popular public beach was designed in the 1920s as a premiere seaside park and served as a model for other state parks. Deferred maintenance has slowly led to its decline.
_ Nasher Sculpture Garden in Dallas _ Construction of a glass skyscraper nearby is casting a shadow over the gardens and disrupting the flow of sunlight into a museum that’s part of the site.
_ Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. _ Deferred maintenance has left small parks and enhancements along the avenue in disrepair after an earlier revitalization effort by President John F. Kennedy.
_ Riverbank Park in Flint, Mich. _ The park represents a landscape-as-infrastructure approach by Lawrence Halprin to control flooding.
_ Thieme Drive in Fort Wayne, Ind. _ A 1982 flood led to deterioration in this historic Beaux-Arts park, along with new flood walls and levees.
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