Even the Wildwoods are at risk. Here are N.J.'s 10 most endangered, historic sites for 2019.

Photo Provided | Preservation New Jersey

Preservation NJ this week released its latest list of the 10 Most Endangered Historic Places in the Garden State. The list highlights historic, architectural, cultural, and archaeological resources that the group feels are in imminent danger of being lost.

It was generated from nominations by the public with a goal of finding creative solutions.

"Several challenges face properties on this year’s endangered sites list, including neglect and deferred maintenance, threats incurred by redevelopment and new construction, difficulties raising adequate historic preservation funding, and the need for creative adaptive reuse proposals," the group said. "Half of the sites on this year’s list are owned by government, highlighting a recurring theme of neglect by entities entrusted by the public with the care of our historic resources."

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East Point Lighthouse

East Point Lighthouse, built in 1849, is the second oldest existing lighthouse in New Jersey. It underwent a full restoration two years ago but is still threatened, PNJ said.  Located in an area where Maurice River enters the Delaware Bay in Cumberland County, the land near the lighthouse is rapidly eroding. The erosion has already washed out the protective dunes and the stewards of the lighthouse are left with sandbag brigades in an attempt to hold back tidal waters and storm surge.

"While the site owner, the State of New Jersey, is currently studying mitigation alternatives, they need to act more expediently to protect this National and State Register of Historic Places listed site before it is gone forever," Preservation NJ siad.

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Isaac Corwin House

In 1829, James Topping, a master cabinetmaker and owner of an iron mine, purchased the Isaac Corwin House, which was built in 1800, and surrounding 53 acres of land in Chester Borough, PNJ said.  In 1945, the house and property were sold to Willis Larison and became Larison's Turkey Farm Inn. Chester Borough has agreed to demolish the Corwin house and another historic structure as part of an affordable housing lawsuit settlement, PNJ said.

"The plight of the Isaac Corwin House is reflective of a larger issue related to the State’s refusal to actively manage its obligation to ensure the creation of adequate affordable housing," the group said.

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Lackawanna Train Terminal

The Lackawanna Train Terminal opened in 1913 and was designed by William Hull Botsford, who was on the Titanic the year before, PNJ noted. It was a hub for the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad between Hoboken and Montclair. A developer has proposed knocking down the terminal to double the size of a parking lot, the preservation group said.

"The Montclair Historic Preservation Commission has attempted to communicate the importance of maintaining the structures within the new site plan; but unfortunately, the Montclair Planning Board approved the site plan including the demolition of a significant portion of the train sheds," the group said.

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Lee Brothers Park Pavilion

The Lee Brothers Park Pavilion, located on Lake Hopatcong, is a "unique surviving example of lake-style recreational architecture in New Jersey," PNJ said.  Brothers, Clarence J. Lee and Edwin Lee, purchased the 10-acre property in 1919, when Mount Arlington was a major tourist destination. When Clarence Lee's son decided to retire in 1995, he donated the property to Morris County so that the pavilion the family built and surrounding park land would be preserved and not be subdivided into a lakefront development. But the structure has steadily deteriorated since, the preservation group said.

"The County has demonstrated its support of this site by including funding for its stabilization over several budget cycles totaling more than $1 million dollars to date; yet, the County has not taken any other steps to ensure the preservation of the building," the group said.

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Historic fires station in Milltown is on this year's most endangered historic site top-10 list. (Photo Provided | Preservation New Jersey)

Historic firehouses

Today’s fire engines, ladder trucks, and ambulances are much larger and heavier than their predecessors, and as a result, many historic firehouses cannot fit modern emergency equipment. This has created a preservation crisis in some of these buildings, PNJ said.

"We know that these structures can be adaptively reused for a number of functional and interesting purposes, such as libraries, offices, restaurants, bars, and even homes," the group said, noting a situation in Milltown Borough, where they are undergoing a $12 million project to construct a new firehouse and public works facility "with no commitment as to the future of the community’s two historic firehouses."

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Port Colden Manor

The 1835 Port Colden Manor is a" provincial example of Greek Revival architecture built by William Dusenberry in 1835," the preservation group said. The building became a boarding school for girls in the mid-18th century, was used for local school district offices for much of the 20th century, and then was converted into professional offices in the 1980s.

"The current owner has made some minimal repairs while they negotiate with the township for approval to convert the structure into apartments; which at this time, seems to be at an impasse," Preservation NJ said.

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United States Animal Quarantine Station

The United States Animal Quarantine Station in Clifton, also known as the Ellis Island for animals, was developed between 1900 and 1907 to "temporarily isolate foreign animals along the East Coast in order to safeguard the nation's livestock and poultry against diseases of foreign origin," PNJ said. It was used until air travel in the 1950s made a new facility near Stewart Air Force Base more practical. Clifton acquired the property in 1966. "While several buildings are being actively used by the city, local citizens are rallying to save the remaining unused and underutilized buildings on the site but has a long road of fundraising and rehabilitation ahead of them to ensure the site's preservation before the buildings fall victim to demolition by neglect," PNJ said.

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Park Theater

The Park Theater opened in 1932 as The Passion Play Theatre. It included classrooms, a state-of-the-art stage with a wide screen, an organ, and "an orchestra pit worthy of any grand movie palace of its day," PNJ said. Largely vacant now it is owned by the Archdiocese of Newark, the preservation group said. "The diocese is open to leasing the building to an outside organization willing to take on the project and make it a destination," the group said. "Someone is needed to champion the cause before this architectural and cultural treasure is lost forever."

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The Wildwoods

The Wildwoods — four municipalities on a barrier island comprising a popular Jersey Shore resort popular for more than a century — are threatened by typical development pressures , PNJ said. In the past two decades, buyers discovered the Wildwoods' lower prices and a building boom has begun to transform the island from Doo Wop motels and older single-family homes into condos and large single-family homes.

The group is urging residents to have their towns establish Historic Preservation Commissions "to prevent the Wildwoods from falling victim to the ever-growing homogeneity of the Jersey shore region, where one municipality is indistinguishable from the rest."

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Van Ness House

The Van Ness House was built by one of the earliest Dutch families to settle in western Essex County, Simon Van Ness, who brought his family to Fairfield in 1701 and was one of the founders of the Reformed Church of Fairfield in 1720, PNJ said. The house was likely built around 1760 and is a typical 18th century farmhouse in the Dutch brownstone tradition of northern NJ, which predates the Revolutionary War. Currently owned by the Township of Fairfield, the building has now sat vacant for a number of years and the town has said it doesn't have the money to stabilize or maintain it, the preservationist group said.

RELATED: Take a look at the list for 2018

Bill Duhart may be reached at bduhart@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@bduhart. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.com's newsletters. 'Ask Alexa for New Jersey news'

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