First United Methodist Church, Memphis
(Paul Ryburn)

Kalahikiola Congregational Church, Kohala, Hawaii
(Boyd Bond/Historic Hawai'i Foundation)

LOST c. 1893 First United Methodist Church, Memphis: October blaze destroyed two-story downtown church before spreading to nearby structures built between 1895 and 1925; congregation plans to rebuild

1931 Rachel Raymond House, Belmont, Mass.: believed to be New England's first modern house, designed by architect Eleanor Raymond for her sister, demolished this fall to make room for expanding boys' school

THREATENED 1855 Kalahikiola Congregational Church, Kohala, Hawaii: earthquakes last fall reduced structure's rock walls to rubble in historic district where Rev. Elias Bond once did missionary work

1870-71 Quarters One, Rock Island, Ill.: 20,000-square-foot Italianate limestone mansion is country's second-largest (after White House) federally owned single-family residence; Army officials are considering selling it and base's golf course or converting house to offices

SAVED 1912 Eastern University log cabin, Radnor, Pa.: two-story, 3,000-square-foot timber clubhouse, designed by architect David Knickerbacker Boyd for Italian Renaissance-style estate, received temporary demolition reprieve in October

1928 Herman Building, Los Angeles: longtime home to family luggage business at famed Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street crossroads had been slotted for demolition as part of $400 million condo and retail project, before builder consented to incorporate structure into plans

RESTORED 1890 Grand Opera House, Meridian, Miss.: designed by architect G.M. Torgenson and left vacant since 1927 after conversion to movie palace; reopened as Mississippi State University performing arts venue in $25 million project that replicated early wall coverings and papier-mâché ornamentation

1929 Temple Emanu-El, New York City: two-year, $25 million infrastructure upgrade and renovation of synagogue's mosaic tiles, ceiling, pews, and 62 stained-glass windows completed last fall

1944 Manhattan Project building, Los Alamos, N.M.: wood garage-like structure where atomic bombs were first assembled during World War II underwent $1 million renovation last fall but remains inaccessible to public

1953 Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn.: steel, glass, and concrete main gallery building, considered architect Louis Kahn's first masterpiece, marked country's departure from traditional museum architecture; reopened in December after three-year renovation

c. 1920 Hit Factory, New York City: industrial structure turned '60s recording studio—where many classic albums, including Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life and Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA, were cut—made into luxury condos

c. 1945 Reading Terminal Market sign, Philadelphia: neon sign at city's famed market—installed by Reading Railroad after World War II but removed in 1990 after falling into disrepair—rededicated in November