Hitching posts, a former gum factory and a pre-Revolutionary War-era house are among the landmarks identified as at risk in the annual Places in Peril report, issued Monday by Greater Portland Landmarks.

The historic preservation agency began listing threatened and vulnerable sites in 2012. Monday’s report was the third in the Places in Peril program.

Five sites made the list:

Equestrian street artifacts on Portland’s Eastern and Western Promenades, installed between 1840 and 1910. These include cast-iron hitching posts and granite carriage mounts, which serve as examples of Portland’s golden age. The artifacts are threatened because of snow removal and utility work, the agency said.

The Curtis & Son Chewing Gum Factory, 291 Fore St., Portland, constructed in 1866 with an addition in 1900. John Beacon Curtis made spruce chewing gum there and helped give gum mass-market appeal. The building is designed with a modified “flat-iron” style and is suffering from deterioration to its windows, masonry and other exterior elements. The building is also at risk because of development pressure in the neighborhood, Landmarks said. It is the current home of Hub Furniture.

The Deacon John Bailey House, 1235 Congress St., Portland, constructed between 1730 and 1756, with an addition in 1807. Hilary Bassett, the organization’s executive director, called this house among the most important historic structures in the city, because so few buildings from that time survived fires in 1775 and 1866. It was included the Historic American Building Survey of 1936. The house is in a heavily traveled corridor, and a large tree in the front yard may be affecting the structure’s integrity.

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“The building is intact and has an owner who is highly knowledgeable and appreciative of its history,” the report said. “They are working hard to keep up the building while also operating a business.”

It may be eligible for the National Register of Historic Place, which could provide tax credits to support rehabilitation.

The Church of the Sacred Heart, 65 Mellen St., constructed 1896-1915. Architect Francis H. Fassett designed this Italian Renaissance Revival-style church, which was among the first houses of worship in the United States built with steel framing. It lacks funding for overdue preservation, with a copper roof that is deteriorating and allowing water to leak into the church and degrade ornamental plaster.

The building is being used, and church members are raising money for repairs. They hope to place it on the National Register.

Winn Road School, also known at Merrill School, in Cumberland Center. Constructed in 1846, the Winn Road School is one of only two one-room, brick, Greek Revival-style schoolhouses remaining in Maine. It has a full-brick pediment, a date block, granite lintels and a sloped floor, which improved sight lines for students.

The building is vacant and has been damaged by vandals. It is listed on the National Register and has a preservation easement.

“Our goal is to broaden awareness of historic buildings and streetscapes and to advocate for their preservation, protection and adaptive reuse,” Bassett said in a press release. “It is essential to save these properties and artifacts because they help define Greater Portland.”


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