Lovers of New Orleans history and architecture were cheered when state and local officials agreed to move rather than demolish scores of homes on the sites of the planned Veteran Affairs Medical Center and University Medical Center complexes in Mid-City. Two years later, however, dozens of the century-old houses still sit roofless and open to the weather, their future uncertain, the Louisiana Landmarks Society said this week in placing the homes on its annual list of the nine most endangered historic sites in New Orleans.

Other sites on the 2012 list include numerous buildings on Bourbon Street, the Odd Fellows Rest cemetery, the former U.S. Public Health Service Hospital, a Kenner high school, a Central City corner store, an old mansion on Carondelet Street, a 1930s building in City Park and caretaker cottages at several cemeteries.

The landmarks society released its first “New Orleans Nine” list in 2005. The annual list — like its model, the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s list of the 11 most endangered sites nationwide — is intended to make the public aware of historic places and physical features threatened by demolition, damage or deterioration.

The nine entries on this year’s list were chosen by a 12-member selection committee after a call for nominations from individuals and neighborhood, historical and architectural organizations. The choices were based on criteria such as a site’s historical, architectural and cultural value, the severity of the threat facing it and the degree of community support for saving it.

A public reception to mark release of the list will be held tonight from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Pitot House, 1440 Moss St.

The society said that of 165 historic homes threatened by construction of the two hospital complexes, about 84 were relocated, in what was likely the largest house-moving project in U.S. history. The city allocated $3.2 million in federal money for the move. However, many of the houses, which date from around 1890 to 1920, had their roofs and camelbacks removed to avoid power lines during the move, and they were sawed in two at the 60-foot mark so they could be towed around corners.

While dozens of the houses were put on a track toward rehabilitation, many are in no better condition today than they were on the day they were moved, the society said, and a few have been demolished. The house-moving effort could have been a national model for saving historic homes and “infilling” historic neighborhoods, the society said, but so far the results are less than preservationists hoped to see.

Here are the other endangered properties for 2012:

• The 200 through 1300 blocks of Bourbon Street: Seventeen buildings rated as nationally important are threatened by excessive noise, pounding vibrations, overcrowding, structural neglect and the loss of historic features, the society said. The buildings date from the late 18th century through mid-19th century. Careless proprietors are damaging not only their buildings but the street and neighborhood as a whole, the society said. It said the city and the courts must do a better job of ensuring that businesses on Bourbon follow the rules established by the city and the Vieux Carre Commission.
• A renovated corner store at 1201 Baronne St.: One of the few 19th century corner store buildings left in Central City, this is an example of a new legal threat to preservation. The site, named a local landmark in 2004, was in deplorable condition and was sold at a tax sale and extensively rehabilitated, but then a state law was changed, possibly allowing the original owner to reclaim the property without reimbursing the renovator for his costs. The old law encouraged preservation, but the new law makes protection of run-down properties with tax liens unlikely, the society said.
• The Odd Fellows Rest cemetery at 5055 Canal St.: Founded by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows benevolent society in 1831, Odd Fellows Rest is one of oldest and most beautiful cemeteries in New Orleans, the society said. Today, though, it is an “orphan” site, threatened by neglect, because only one member of the local Odd Fellows chapter remains alive. The cemetery needs a permanent source of funding, a new legal caregiver such as the Save Our Cemeteries organization, or agreement by the state to maintain it, the society said.
• The Armstrong Danna House, 2805 Carondelet St.: This outstanding Italianate-style mansion is listed by the city as a local landmark with the highest possible rating. However, it has suffered from neglect for many years and is in desperate need of care, the society said. The masonry needs tuckpointing, cracks are showing between the first- and second-story windows, the upper and lower gallery floors are cupping, the shutters are rotting, the ironwork needs reconditioning, the foundation needs careful attention and some historic architectural components are missing.
• The City Park maintenance building at No. 1 Palm Drive: Designed by architect Richard Koch and built by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s with bricks from a demolished 1831 Treme prison, the City Park maintenance complex is badly neglected and approaching a point when reconstruction will not be economically feasible, the society said. Even before Hurricane Katrina, it was in need of extensive repairs; since then the damage has accelerated. Portions of the main roof and exterior walls have collapsed, leaving the building open to the weather.
• The former U.S. Public Health Service Hospital at 210 State St.: This historic campus, originally a plantation brickyard, and a deteriorated cottage near Tchoupitoulas Street date from before the Civil War. The site was converted in the mid-19th century to a U.S. Marine Hospital. It later became a Public Health Service Hospital and still later the New Orleans Adolescent Hospital. A domed, pentagonal early 20th century building forms the principal hospital structure. The entire site is threatened by neglect and a planned sale to Children’s Hospital without any guarantee the historic buildings will be preserved, the society said.
• Sexton cottages at several local cemeteries: The caretaker cottages at Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, Lafayette Cemetery No. 2 and Holt Cemetery — the city’s last examples of 19th century cemetery cottages — are in imminent danger of demolition. The city has proposed to tear them down and erect masonry structures with artificial wood siding. The landmarks society, working with other preservation organizations, has proposed what it says would be lower-cost alternatives that would preserve their structural integrity while still supporting needed cemetery maintenance.
• Kenner High School at 1610 Third St., Kenner: One of Kenner’s few architectural landmarks, this National Register of Historic Places-listed building sits empty and threatened by neglect. Although showing the marks of time, the classical revival-style building, designed by William T. Nolan, maintains its original charm. Renovation by a public-private partnership would let it contribute to the quality of life in Kenner and serve as an anchor for further development in the city’s historic area, the society said.

Bruce Eggler can be reached at beggler@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3320.