For the 30th year in a row, the Alaska Association for Historic Preservation is compiling a list of the state’s 10 most endangered properties.
The association is soliciting property nominations from the public until April 10. Nominations go through a selection committee, which ranks properties according to how endangered they are.
What makes a property “endangered”? President Trish Neal said threats could be natural or manmade.
“The Ascension Chapel of our Lord in Karluk was rated number one because it’s sitting on the edge of a cliff and we’re holding our breath and hoping that we can get it moved away from the edge of the cliff before it falls in," she said. "We had two cultural sites involved with the Pebble Mine issue and that was a concern, too, because what they were planning on doing would impact those two cultural sites.”
The Holy Assumption of the Virgin Mary Orthodox Church in Old Town Kenai has been on the list twice, in 1991 and 2009. Neal says the association has an agreement with the church and comes out to inspect the building every five years. It was just inspected last year, as the church underwent renovations.
Prior properties include the historic Soldotna Post Office and the Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord Russian Orthodox Church in Ninilchik.
Neal says the distinction of the list can be an important one when groups are applying for restoration grants. But not all properties that make it onto the list can be saved.
Last year’s list featured the Jesse Lee Home, the historic Seward property that is currently being demolished after a multi-year custody battle.
“That was a big lesson that we need to be out there knocking on more doors," Neal said. "And letting people know that there is help.
"We don’t want to see that happen again," she added.
To submit a property to the list, visit the association’s website at alaskapreservation.org. The 2021 list comes out in May, which is national Historic Preservation Month.
