Today, the National Trust for Historic Preservation released their annual list of the 11 most endangered places in the U.S. While none of them are in Montgomery County, the list includes two mid-century modern buildings–the Worldport Terminal at JFK Airport and the Houston Astrodome–a recogonition that recent history is also historic.

In fact, The National Register of Historic Places, which sets out criteria for historic designation, generally recognizes that 50 years is a reasonable remove from which to conisder history. The register is alos looking for buildings associate with events or a noted person, those that can share information or reflect the work of a master, and those that exhibit unique construction or artistry.

That age deadline and those criteria have been applied in our own County, for example at the Carderock Springs community, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Place in 2009, “as a prime example of situated modernism where houses completment and blend in with the landscape.” You can see more of the County’s mid-century architecture at Montgomery Modern.