Places In Peril: Magazine Offers A Review Of Alabama’s Endangered Historic Landmarks

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — In 1962, the Mobile Historic Development Commission was established — thereby becoming Alabama’s first municipally related preservation agency. Nearly 40 years later, the story of historic preservation in the state is compiled of both smashing successes and sad defeats.

In the fall 2000 issue of Alabama Heritage magazine, Robert Gamble and Patrick McIntyre renew the magazine’s annual “Places in Peril” feature — this time with a twist. Instead of simply enumerating the most recent additions to the list and updating the stories of properties indexed in the past, Gamble and McIntyre take the millennium as an opportunity to look back on the past four decades of preservation in Alabama, touching on the biggest threats confronting the movement today: neglect, vandalism, sprawl, and a lack of overall public awareness.

Proceeding decade by decade, Gamble and McIntyre describe the demise of certain buildings, commenting on pictures of the lost properties in their heyday. From the loss of “Rocky Hill Castle” near Courtland in the 1960s to the very recent razing of Blue Springs Mill in Oxford, Gamble and McIntyre contextualize the climate of historic preservation over the years and offer solutions to melding progress and preservation.

Following the decade by decade tour, is our seventh annual listing of Places in Peril 2000, prepared by Douglas Purcell, chair, and a committee of preservationists culled from members of the Alabama Preservation Alliance and the Alabama Historical Commission. The committee made its selections based on nominations received from a variety of sources, including private individuals and preservation professionals.

Robert Gamble, senior architectural historian, and Patrick McIntyre, endangered properties, Alabama Historical Commission, wrote the text for this article. Gamble is a frequent contributor to Alabama Heritage and is often called on by AH staff for advice on historic preservation matters.

Alabama Heritage is a nonprofit quarterly magazine published by The University of Alabama and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. To order the magazine, write Alabama Heritage, Box 870342, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0342, or call 205/348-7467.