2002 Most Endangered

Most Endangered Places in New Mexico 2002

• White Sands National Monument Visitor Center, Otero
  
• Carrizozo Woman's Club, Lincoln
  
• D.D. Monroe Civic Building, Union
  
• New Mexico Public Welfare Building (The Villagra Building), Santa Fe
  
• The Whittlesey House, Bernalillo
  
• Edgewood Schoolhouse, Santa Fe
  
• Glorieta Battlefield, Santa Fe
  
• Castaneda Hotel, San Miguel
  
• The Hondo Valley, Lincoln
  
• Las Cruces Downtown Main Street, Dona Ana
  

D.D. Monroe Civic Building, Union

Significance: Constructed in 1939 by the WPA, in Spanish Pueblo Revival style, this New Deal building has over the decades housed the public library and served as a meeting hall for numerous civic groups and lodges such as the Rotary, the Federation of Women?s Clubs and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

Threat: Ongoing neglect of even routine maintenance, weather and vandalism has resulted in broken windows, loose boards, peeling paint and roof problems. If remedial action is not taken soon, the entire structure will degenerate beyond repair. The interior original WPA furniture is also threatened.

UPDATE: Kendyl Monroe, Seneca, reports that the Most Endangered Places designation on January 17, 2001, received extensive publicity locally. On April 5, the Building was listed on the State Register of Cultural Properties at the initiative of the State Historic Preservation Division; both events received extensive local publicity that greatly enhanced public awareness of the historic importance of the Building as an outstanding example of New Deal southwest architecture. A non-profit lessee currently proposes to renovate the Building for community uses that are consistent with the Building?s historic purposes.