A San Diego landmark is on a list of the 100 most endangered cultural and architectural sites in the world. The World Monuments Fund says the Salk Institute is on the list because of a planned construction project that would partially obscure the view of the Pacific Ocean from a stone-paved courtyard.
New Orleans' hurricane-ravaged historic neighborhoods and cultural heritage sites in Iraq are among the other locations listed on the fund's top 100 most endangered. The U.S. locations also include historic Route 66, the fabled east-west highway flanked by eccentric, deteriorating attractions.
The list is issued every two years. It is intended as a cultural clarion call, and the group says it's been a successful one.
The organization says more than three-quarters of the places listed in previous years are no longer imperiled. The group has given more than 47-million-dollars to help save about 200 sites since 1996.
A group of experts chose the sites from hundreds of nominations submitted by governments, conservationists and others. The selections were based on the sites' importance and the urgency of the dangers to them.
This year's list of the 100 most endangered sites includes 59 countries. The United States is home to more listed sites than any other country at seven.
This year's list is the first to add global warming to a roster of forces the organization says are threatening humanity's architectural and cultural heritage. Other factors include political conflict, pollution, development and tourism pressures, and a thirst for modernity in buildings and lifestyles.
