Meadow
Brook Hall
(Steve Maylone)

TRANSITIONS

SAVED 1719 Bush Hill House, Bridgetown, Barbados: in only trip abroad, 19-year-old George Washington lived here for two months in 1751 with tubercular half-brother, Lawrence; two-story Georgian house and adjoining kitchen plus other buildings and windmill now undergoing $3.2 million restoration

1929 Meadow Brook Hall, Rochester, Mich.: nation's fourth-largest historic house museum, once home to late Dodge auto heiress and founder of Oakland University, received $7 million grant to fix leaky roof, repair brickwork on 39 chimneys, stabilize foundation, and replace heating system and plumbing

RESTORED 1915 Sons of Norway Hall, Seattle: timbered structure with West Coast's largest wood dance floor, built by Norwegian cultural and fraternal societies and later used as carpenters' hall, two clubs, and tavern, now houses Cornish College of the Arts performance hall

1806 Great Stone Church, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.: struck by 1812 earthquake, which killed 40 worshippers and destroyed most of building; all-stone mission's ruins reopened to public this summer after 17-year, $9.6 million restoration

LOST 1912 Webster School, Magna, Utah: days before title passed to developer hoping to convert structure into affordable housing, three-story elementary school destroyed in June by two men and a boy playing with fire inside

18th-century Robert Hubbard Homestead barn, Middletown, Conn.: once part of farm that also included two-story 1600s colonial, carriage house, corncrib, and paddock; sold by developer and dismantled for reassembly elsewhere when buyer for the entire property could not be found

THREATENED 1805 Laura Plantation house, Vacherie, La.: 17,000-square-foot manse on former sugar plantation, renowned for tours interpreting French Creole life, severely damaged in August fire; plantation still open as owner attempts restoration

1870s Boathouse Park, North Tonawanda, N.Y.: famous for fishing and summer leisure, 4.5-acre enclave of tall trees and eclectic architecture, near confluence of Erie Canal and Niagara River, targeted by city for hotel, condos, water sports venue, and ice rink