Monumental Risk: Spotlighting 5 Threatened U.S. Cultural Heritage Sites
The World Monuments Fund has listed the most threatened cultural heritage sites across the world, and five of them are in the United States
By Stela Razzaque, Superscript November 19, 2013A place may be culturally significant for various reasons. It may exhibit exceptional contributions to architecture and design, represent a masterpiece of human creativity, or illustrate a period in time or cultural traditions that are slowly disappearing. Every two years since 1996, the World Monuments Fund (WMF) publishes a list of the most threatened culture heritage sites across the globe. The WMF's Watch List serves as "a call to action for cultural heritage around the globe that is at risk from the forces of nature and the impact of social, political, and economic change." While we traditionally see exceptional yet endangered world monuments like Angkor in Cambodia or the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, the 2014 Watch List, released in October, includes five sites right here in the United States.
Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
St. Louis, Missouri
The Book

Donald Albrecht
Alexandra Lange
You’re probably more familiar with this monument by another name: the St. Louis Gateway Arch. Built in the early 1960s as a symbol of the United States’ westward expansion, the Gateway Arch has become an internationally recognizable icon. Designed by architect Eero Saarinen, the 630-foot-tall stainless steel–clad structure remains the tallest man-made monument in the United States. Despite its resounding cultural significance, the World Monuments Fund has placed the Gateway Arch on its list of endangered sites due to neglect. The unusual shape, coupled with its far-reaching height, has proved a challenge for preservation efforts, not to mention the overall decline in government funding for the management and conservation of national monuments. As the monument prepares for its 50th anniversary in 2015, an overhaul of the Dan Kiley–designed landscape is currently underway.
Taliesin
Spring Green, Wisconsin
The Book

Kathryn Smith
Not even the architectural masterpieces of Frank Lloyd Wright are immune to the forces of nature which have put them at risk of decay. Taliesin, the famed architect’s home and studio in Wisconsin, was built on a sprawling 600-acre estate in 1911 in Wright’s signature “prairie style.” Like so many of Wright’s designs, Taliesin is a successful fusion of architecture and nature, where the building appears to be in harmony with the sprawling plains, and rolling hills of the landscape. Now one of the most celebrated residential buildings in the United States is decaying from water infiltration, drainage problems, roof failure, and other structural issues. Preservation goals are being putting in place to restore the building to its former glory and increase awareness of its architectural significance.
The Cloisters and Palisades
New York, New Jersey
Donated to The Metropolitan Museum of Art by John D. Rockefeller Jr., the Cloisters museum and gardens in Manhattan's Fort Tyron Park was established in 1925, with the purpose of showcasing the art and architecture of medieval Europe. The establishment has since become a landmark site, with its uninterrupted views of the Hudson River, dense parkland, and the steep cliffs of the Palisades in New Jersey. Now, Rockefeller’s wish to preserve this significant and undeveloped cultural landscape may be in jeopardy as plans have been approved for a new corporate headquarters to be constructed above the tree line in the Palisades. The World Monuments Fund has stated that such construction “would seriously affect one of the most unspoiled areas of the Hudson River” and have a devastating impact on this rare and cherished view from the Cloisters.” The site has been placed on the Fund’s Watch List and an online petition has been launched with the hope that it will cement efforts underway to eliminate such construction.
George Nakashima House and Studio
Bucks County, Pennsylvania
The Book

Architecturally significant for integrating modern style with Japanese craft traditions, this house and studio in Pennsylvania was built by master craftsman and architect George Nakashima, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. Nakashima is considered to be a pioneer of the American crafts movement, and his work has inspired designers all over the world for its sophisticated yet humble aesthetics. Today the architectural masterpiece faces many preservation challenges, and proper training of craftsmen is imperative, in order to respect the original craftsmanship and structural integrity of the building.
Chinati Foundation
Marfa, Texas
The Book

Formerly used as a military base in the early 20th century, renowned artist Donald Judd transformed this group of abandoned government buildings into permanent art installations, to showcase his own work, as well as other minimalist artists. The contemporary art complex which opened in 1986, in Marfa, Texas, has gained international recognition for bringing Judd’s artistic vision to life. The site attracts design-lovers from all over the world, and is considered culturally significant for its successful adaptive reuse and contributions to the art world. Today many of the buildings in the sprawling complex have structural failings and are rapidly deteriorating. In an effort to manage the site’s long-term preservation, the Fund has listed Chinati Foundation as a threatened site of 2014.
Announcements
Louis Kahn: Architecture as Philosophy by John Lobell
Louis Kahn: Architecture as Philosophy
By John Lobell
Publisher: The Monacelli Press
Published: June 2020
Noted Louis I.Kahn expert John Lobell explores how Kahn’s focus on structure, respect for materials, clarity of program, and reverence for details come together to manifest an overall philosophy.
Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn by Harriet Pattison
Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn
By Harriet Pattison
Publisher: Yale University Press
Forthcoming: October 2020
An intimate glimpse into the professional and romantic relationship between Harriet Pattison and the renowned architect Louis Kahn. Harriet Pattison, FASLA, is a distinguished landscape architect. She was Louis Kahn’s romantic partner from 1959 to 1974, and his collaborator on the landscapes of the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, and the F.D.R. Memorial/Four Freedoms Park, New York. She is the mother of their son, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Nathaniel Kahn.
Louis I. Kahn: The Nordic Latitudes
Louis I. Kahn: The Nordic Latitudes
By Per Olaf Fjeld and Emily Randall Fjeld
Publisher: University of Arkansas Press
Published: October 4, 2019
A new and personal reading of the architecture, teachings, and legacy of Louis I. Kahn from Per Olaf Fjeld’s perspective as a former student. The book explores Kahn’s life and work, offering a unique take on one of the twentieth century’s most important architects. Kahn’s Nordic and European ties are emphasized in this study that also covers his early childhood in Estonia, his travels, and his relationships with other architects, including the Norwegian architect Arne Korsmo.
Reading Graphic Design History: Image, Text, and Context by David Raizman
Reading Graphic Design History: Image, Text, and Context
By David Raizman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Visual Arts
Published: December 2020
An innovative approach to graphic design that uses a series of key artifacts from the history of print culture in light of their specific historical contexts. It encourages the reader to look carefully and critically at print advertising, illustration, posters, magazine art direction, and typography, often addressing issues of class, race, and gender.
David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian by Rick Poynor
David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian
By Rick Poynor
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: September 2020
A comprehensive overview of the work and legacy of David King (1943–2016), whose fascinating career bridged journalism, graphic design, photography, and collecting. King launched his career at Britain’s Sunday Times Magazine in the 1960s, starting as a designer and later branching out into image-led journalism, blending political activism with his design work.
Teaching Graphic Design History by Steven Heller
Teaching Graphic Design History
By Steven Heller
Publisher: Allworth Press
Published: June 2019
An examination of the concerted efforts, happy accidents, and key influences of the practice throughout the years, Teaching Graphic Design History is an illuminating resource for students, practitioners, and future teachers of the subject.
Recent Articles



