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Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Yahoo
National Trust says one-time Michigan hotel is among 'most endangered' sites. Here's why
A one-time northern Michigan oasis that attracted Black performers and vacationers alike, the Hotel Casa Blanca in Idlewild has been named one of America's Most Endangered Historic Places. The long-vacant Hotel Casa Blanca hasn't been used since it housed a day care center 30 years ago, according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In 1979, the hotel was designated as part of the historical district of Idlewild by the Michigan State Preservation Historic Office and the National Register for its significance during the Civil Rights era, 1st Neighbor said on its website. In 2024, it was acknowledged as an African American Civil Rights Network location by the United States Park Service. It's the oldest structure where African Americans could stay and exercise their rights, marking its importance in American history, the National Trust said. During its heyday in the 1950s and '60s, the hotel attracted Black musicians, including African American artists like Louis Armstrong, Count Basie and Aretha Franklin. Designed and built by Black architect Woolsey Coombs in 1949, Hotel Casa Blanca served as a premier lodging site for African American travelers, entertainers, entrepreneurs and thought leaders during segregation, and was included in The Negro Motorist Green Book, the Trust said. After integration, like many formerly segregated Black resorts, Idlewild experienced lower visitation and economic disinvestment. Today, the historic resort community off U.S. 10 near Baldwin has a population of about 700 residents, and Hotel Casa Blanca has been vacant and deteriorating for more than 30 years. What to know about Hotel Casa Blanca and the list. Now in its 38th year, the National Trust's annual list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places has "proven to be a highly effective tool for shining a light on the threats facing our nation's greatest treasures." The Trust and its supporters, have "galvanized public support behind more than 350 sites to date with only a handful lost." This year's list "exemplifies how preservation is about creating something new, spotlighting efforts to repurpose historic buildings and activate them to serve their communities in new ways." The collection of places on this list also helps illustrate how resilience and recovery are intertwined with preservation and emphasizes the economic benefits that come with revitalization." The current owner of the building needs to raise money to move ahead with rehabilitation efforts. The previous owner of Hotel Casa Blanca sold it to 1st Neighbor LLC, a Black woman-led nonprofit. 1st Neighbor hopes to rehabilitate the hotel into a bed-and-breakfast including overnight suites, meeting spaces, and a heritage and learning center, and has taken crucial steps towards restoration, including removal of hazardous material and developing architectural plans for reuse, the National Trust said. Grants from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund of the National Trust and others have provided seed funding, but an additional $5 million is needed to complete the $6.3 million rehabilitation. 'It's history — musical history, African American history, American history," Roni McGregory, project manager for 1st Neighbor, a nonprofit working to restore the hotel, told USA TODAY. 'There's a lot of stories in that building that need to be preserved.' The windows of the brick building are boarded up. Asbestos was recently removed and electricity restored. 'That building holds a lot of history and for it to be demolished or not be able to be rehabbed would be a shame,'' McGregory said. 'It's got good bones. (But) there's a lot of work that needs to be done to bring it back.'' The National Trust, chartered by Congress in 1949, spends about a year selecting sites to include on its endangered list, considering factors such as its importance to the community, whether there's a strong partnership to support preservation and what impact the site might have once it's protected. The latest list comes as President Donald Trump has led an effort to shift the national conversation on U.S. history. 'In a time of division and polarization, I think preservation is more important than ever,'' said Carol Quillen, president and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a privately funded nonprofit organization. 'These projects bring together unlikely coalitions across the country, which form specifically around a meaningful place.'' The listings began in 1988. The recognition doesn't come with funding, but often garners attention and support for the sites. Over the years of compiling the list, the National Trust has highlighted several Michigan locations, including: 1992 - Tiger Stadium 1996 - Petoskey, Michigan 1998 - Historic lighthouses, including DeTour Reef 2004 - Madison-Lenox Hotel, Detroit 2005 - Historic downtown Detroit buildings 2010 - Saugutuck Dunes 2021 - Sarah E. Ray House, Detroit The National Trust for Historic Preservation's 2025 list of endangered historic places also includes: Virginia, : The Pamunkey Indian Reservation in the Tidewater region of Virginia has been hard hit by climate issues, including sinking land, flooding and erosion along the Pamunkey River, Spivey said. Los Angeles, California: Two buildings of a Japanese American fishing village that boosted the tuna industry there more than 80 years ago. The project known as the Terminal Island Japanese American Tuna Street Buildings aims to preserve the vacant buildings and possibly use them for a cultural center or a general store as there was in the 1940s. Another part of Terminal Island was included on the National Trust's 2012 list. Cedar Key, Florida, a cluster of small islands off the west coast of Florida that is representative of 'Old Florida," but increasingly threatened by rising sea levels and severe storms. French Broad and Swannanoa River Corridors, Western North Carolina, including the city of Asheville and other communities damaged by Hurricane Helene in late September 2024. May Hicks Curtis House, Flagstaff, Arizona, which commemorates May Hicks Curtis, who sewed the first Arizona state flag in 1911. The house where she lived and worked for decades must be relocated and the City of Flagstaff is working to restore it for community use. Mystery Castle, Phoenix, Arizona, constructed between 1934 and 1945 by Boyce Luther Gulley, who built the complex by hand for his daughter Mary Lou without plans, permits, or formal architectural or engineering training. Mary Lou and her mother Frances transformed the castle into a nationally known tourist attraction from the 1950s-2000s, but it is now in a state of disrepair. Oregon Caves Chateau, Caves Junction, Oregon, closed in 2018 because of its need for extensive repairs, served an important economic role in its rural region for 91 years and could again if revitalized. San Juan Hotel, San Juan, Texas, built in 1920, has long been one of the area's most recognizable landmarks. The Turtle, Niagara Falls, New York, completed in 1981 by Arapaho architect Dennis Sun Rhodes, the building, which has been vacant for three decades, stands as a powerful symbol of Indigenous heritage. The Wellington, Pine Hill, New York, one of few surviving large-scale wood-frame resorts built in the Catskills in the late 1800s. Community members have purchased the building to serve as a food market, cafe, and affordable housing, but needs additional funding to bring it to reality. This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Idlewild's Hotel Casa Blance is among 'most endangered' sites. What's planned
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
Former Idlewild hotel listed as one of country's most ‘endangered' historic places
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The National Trust for Historic Preservation has released its annual list of the country's 'most endangered historic places.' The 2025 list includes a hotel from Michigan's 'Black Eden.' The Hotel Casa Blanca, in Idlewild, was included in the famous 'Negro Motorist Green Book,' written by Victor Green to help African Americans find safe places to stay during their travels. Now, it's on the NTHP's list. Which Green Book sites are still standing in Michigan? Idlewild, often referred to as 'Black Eden,' became one of the region's premier resorts for black families across the Midwest. The town outside of Baldwin served as a go-to vacation destination at a time when Jim Crow laws and racial animosity limited those options. Founded in 1912, Idlewild quickly became a home away from home for prominent Black families. Vacationers would spend the day swimming, boating and horseback riding and spend the nights dancing and listening to the country's top African American performers. Louis Armstrong, Count Basie and Aretha Franklin all performed at Hotel Casa Blanca. Since the end of the Jim Crow era, many formerly segregated Black resorts experienced 'lower visitation and economic disinvestment,' Idlewild included. 'Today, (Idlewild) has a population of around 700 residents, and Hotel Casa Blanca has been vacant and deteriorating for over 30 years,' the NTHP said. Hotel Casa Blanca, a one-time draw to Idlewild, Michigan, has been named one of the 11 'most endangered historic places' in the United States. (Courtesy Roni McGregory/1st Neighbor) Hotel Casa Blanca, a one-time draw to Idlewild, Michigan, has been named one of the 11 'most endangered historic places' in the United States. (Courtesy Roni McGregory/1st Neighbor) The hotel was designed and built by Woolsey Coombs in 1949. It was identified in a 2015 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development Agency as a 'viable development project' despite the costs. According to the NTHP, the building was sold to a nonprofit, 1st Neighbor LLC, which had plans to renovate the hotel into a bed-and-breakfast. But the facility needs an additional $5 million in funding to complete the rehabilitation. 2 resorts recognized for historical relevance to Black community 'The project will protect the history inside the walls of the hotel,' 1st Neighbor Project Manager Roni McGregory said in a statement. 'To know that some of the greatest African American musicians, entertainers and thought leaders of the 50s, 60s and 70s stayed and played here is to be honored and supported.' Some of the other locations on the list include Cedar Key, Florida and the Swannanoa River Corridor in North Carolina, which were decimated by Hurricane Helene, and the San Juan Hotel in Texas. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to
