Are These US Treasures About to Be Destroyed?

这些美国建筑将会被摧毁吗？

Many old buildings and aging neighborhoods across the United States look like they are
ready to be torn down and replaced. But the National Trust for Historic Preservation believes
that such areas and structures are actually important links to America’s past.

美国各地的许多历史建筑和老旧的社区似乎都即将被拆除和翻新。但美国国家历
史保护信托基金会认为，这些地区和建筑实际上与美国的过去有着重要的联系。

The National Trust is a private, nonprofit group that works to save America’s historic
places. Katherine Malone-France works with the group. She told VOA, “All old places, they
have incredible power to bring people together and to provide us with continuity in the stories
of who we are and where we want to go.”

国家历史保护信托基金会是一个致力于保护美国历史古迹的私人非盈利组织。凯
瑟琳·马龙-弗朗斯在该组织工作。她对美国之音说：“所有古老的地方都有令人难以置
信的力量，把人们聚集在一起，让我们不断讲述关于我们是谁，将去往何处的故事。”

The National Trust is concerned about an old, unused public housing development in
Buffalo, New York. It is called Willert Park Courts. It was the first housing project in the
state built specifically for African Americans.

美国国家历史保护信托基金会对纽约州布法罗市一处陈旧，荒废的公共住宅开发
区表示关注。它被称为威勒特公园法院。这是该州首个专门为非裔美国人建造的住房
项目。

The group says another reason to save Willert Park Courts is that many buildings provide
an example of early modernism. That kind of building design often shows events from
everyday life.
 该组织表示，拯救威勒特公园法院项目的另一个原因是，这里的很多建筑都是早
期现代主义风格。这类建筑风格通常展示着日常生活中的事件。

An example of an aging neighborhood is the Tenth Street Historic District of Dallas,

Texas. Its old buildings date back to the late 1800s and early 1900s. They were mostly settled
by former slaves after the U.S. Civil War. At least 70 of the area’s 260 homes have already
been destroyed.

德克萨斯州达拉斯市第十街历史街区就是一个老旧街区的例子。这里的历史建筑
可以追溯到 19 世纪末和 20 世纪初。在美国内战之后，这个街区的居民大多是以前的
奴隶。该街区 260 栋住宅至少有 70 栋被毁。

The National Trust also has expressed concern about what has been called the
“Superman” building in the eastern state of Rhode Island. Built in 1928, the high-rise
building once housed the Industrial Trust Company, one of the largest and most powerful
banks in the northeastern U.S. The Industrial Trust Company later became part of the Bank of
America. The building has been empty since Bank of America moved out six years ago.

国家历史保护信托基金会也对美国东部的罗德岛州所谓的“超人”建筑表示担忧。
这栋建于 1928 年的高层建筑曾是美国东北地区规模最大、实力最强的银行之一工业信
托公司的所在地。工业信托公司后来成为美国银行的一部分。自美国银行 6 年前迁出
后，这栋建筑一直空置着。

All three areas are among the places on the National Trust’s list of America’s 11 Most
Endangered Historic Places for 2019. Other places on the list include one of Puerto Rico’s
last historic coffee plantation houses, ancestral places in Utah, a railroad bridge in North
Dakota and Nashville’s Music Row.

这三个地区都被美国国家历史保护信托基金列入 2019 年美国 11 个最濒危历史古

迹名单。名单内的其他地方还包括波多黎各最后一处历史悠久的咖啡种植园、犹他州
的祖先遗迹、北达科他州的一座铁路桥和纳什维尔市的音乐街。

A place like Music Row is not just about saving individual buildings. It is also about
protecting the community to which they are connected. The goal of the National Trust is to
make sure that places like Music Row remain unharmed. However, the group also seeks to
find a way to keep the places in active use, serving the surrounding community.

像音乐街这样的场所不仅仅要保护单个建筑物。这也是为了保护与之相连的社
群。美国国家历史保护信托基金的目标是确保像音乐街这样的地方不受损。然而，该
组织也在寻求一种途径来维持这些地方的积极利用，为周边社区服务。

Malone-France says losing such places would leave Americans without a real connection
to the past and to places where American history happened.

马龙-弗朗斯说，失去这些地方会让美国人与过去以及美国历史发生地失去真正的
联系。

She adds, “They’re important to individuals, and they’re important to their local
communities, but also they are representative of stories that are important parts of our larger
American story and places help tell those stories.”

她补充说：“它们对个人很重要，对当地社区也很重要，而且它们也是美国历史的
重要组成部分，也能帮助我们讲述这些历史。”