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Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation shares 2026 “Places in Peril” list
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A historic pool, a small-town courthouse and a church community building are among Georgia landmarks facing imminent threats.
The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation on Wednesday listed those properties and seven others on its “Places in Peril” list.
The annual selections highlight historic properties threatened by demolition, neglect, development, or public policy.
Georgia Trust president and CEO Wright Mitchell says the selections are aimed at drawing attention to both the sites and their stories.
“Each of these sites is a physical remnant of a conglomeration of stories,” he said. “And when you lose the physical connection to those stories, it becomes much more difficult to tell the story itself.”
Many of the Georgia Trust’s “Places in Peril” go on to be restored, while others languish, and a few are torn down and lost forever.
You can see this year’s complete list at the Georgia Trust’s website. But here are just a few selections to get you going.
A historic pool
The University of Georgia’s Legion Pool was once the largest swimming pool between Richmond, Virginia and Miami.
Built in 1936, the 75 by 150-foot pool was a New Deal-era collaboration between the federal Works Progress Administration and the City of Athens.
“It’s one of Georgia’s best surviving examples of a WPA-era recreational facility,” he said. “It’s a pool that generations of Athenians and University of Georgia students have used and really seem to have an affinity for.”
UGA plans to demolish it for parking and green space as part of a redevelopment plan.
A small-town courthouse
A historic railroad hub in southeast Georgia, the small town of Jesup once told much of its stories in the two-story red brick courthouse at its center.
But the circa 1902 building and its prominent clock tower are unused now.
Significantly damaged by a fire in 2025, the structure’s future is in the hands of Wayne County leaders, who are considering a complete replacement of the courthouse’s roof, among other changes.
“It’s a situation where we’d like to see the roof itself repaired rather than replaced,” Mitchell said.
The Georgia Trust is urging county leaders to keep as many of the building’s original elements as possible as they consider appropriate restoration efforts.
A church community building
The only property on this year’s list in the Atlanta area, Egleston Hall, is a 1918 Gothic Revival building in midtown Atlanta.
It’s part of the All Saints Episcopal Church campus and features a round design that was popular in church buildings at the time.
Mitchell says, not only is the community building important architecturally, but it was also an important cultural hub.
“During the Civil Rights movement, the congregation was very progressive and hosted many interracial meetings there to talk about how the Episcopal Church would respond to the movement,” he said. “It also, interestingly, served as a recording studio for some of the most important musical acts in the 1920’s and 1930’s, including Blind Willie McTell and the Carter family.”
Nearby construction undermined the building’s structural integrity, and church officials are considering redeveloping the site, leaving the hall’s future uncertain.
Since the “Places in Peril” list was established in 2006, more than 200 sites have been listed, and more than 95% of them are still standing, according to the Georgia Trust.
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