History is made all around us all the time, said Stephanie Meeks, President of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. And sometimes, there are very important pieces of history that take place in very common looking buildings.

On Wednesday, the National Trust for Historic Preservation unveiled its annual list of America's 11 most Endangered Historic Places.

The 11 most list serves as an alarm when important places are threatened, Meeks said.

But while the organization sounds the alarm, Meeks noted it's the local citizens that make things happen.

Grassroots preservation plays an important role in saving national heritage, she said. There are 15 million local preservation activists working in their towns and communities across America. They are the heart and soul of the preservation movement and have been behind the great successes we've had with the 11 most endangered list.

The privately funded nonprofit organization works to save America's irreplaceable architectural, cultural, and natural heritage. The trust has identified over 233 threatened one-of-a-kind historic treasures since 1988 and uses the annual list, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, as a rallying call to raise awareness and save endangered sites from every region of the country.

The Trust's efforts run the gamut of American history from the oldest surviving McDonald's in Downey, Calif. to JFK International Airport's TWA terminal.

Attention from the nonprofit has, at times, quickly garnered public support to rescue a treasured landmark. In other instances, however, it has been the impetus for a long battle to save important pieces of American history.

Not all battles have ended well. According to Meeks, 10 sites have been lost over the past quarter century, including Minneapolis' Guthrie Theater and Detroit's Tiger Stadium. Both were demolished.

Three of the sites on this year's list, Ellis Island Hospital, Texas Courthouses, and Sweet Auburn Georgia, are carryovers from previous years. Meeks said there is more work to be done and she hopes that by including them again, the organization can spur additional conservation efforts.

All of these places have great stories to tell, she said.

Click Start for a look at the complete list of the 11 most endangered historic places in America in 2012.

Ellis Island Hospital Complex New York Harbor, NY and NJ
Historical Significance: This mostly unused and unrestored complex of buildings, part of the Ellis Island National Monument, once comprised the largest U.S. Public Health Service institution in the country. Threat: Lack of Funding Partners: Save Ellis Island, National Park Service, New York Landmarks Conservancy NTHP
Village of Zoar Zoar, OH
Historical Significance: Founded in 1817 by a group of separatists who fled Germany in search of religious freedom. Threat: Insufficient Protection Partners: Zoar Community Association, Ohio Historical Society, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers NTHP
Malcolm X Ella Little-Collins House Boston, MA
Historical Significance: Built in 1874, this modest structure is the last known surviving boyhood home of Malcolm X. Threat: Lack of Funding Partners: Historic Boston, Inc. NTHP
Terminal Island Port of Los Angeles, CA
Historical Significance: Terminal Island played a vital role during WWI and WWII as a major shipbuilding center and was also the site of a tragic chapter of American history when an entire Japanese-American community there was forcibly removed and imprisoned at the internment camp Manzanar. Threat: Demolition Partners: Los Angeles Conservancy NTHP
Princeton Battlefield Princeton, NJ
Historical Significance: George Washington rallied his forces here to defeat British troops in the Revolutionary War. Threat: Inappropriate Development Partners: Princeton Battlefield Society NTHP
Joe Fraziers Gym - Philadelphia, PA
Historical Significance: Joe Frazier, a gold medal winner at the 1964 Olympics and later Heavyweight Champion of the World, trained for his victorious bout against Muhammad Ali inside this modest three-story brick building. Threat: Insufficient Protection Partners: Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, Temple University NTHP
Theodore Roosevelts Elkhorn Ranch Billings County, ND
Historical Significance: One of America’s greatest conservationists and the 26th president lived here off and on. Threat: Inappropriate Development Partners: Theodore Roosevelt National Park NTHP
Sweet Auburn Historic District Atlanta, GA
Historical Significance: The historic district of Auburn Avenue, birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr., was once known as “the richest Negro street in the world,” but spiraled into decline in the 1980s. Threat: Inappropriate Development Partners: Historic District Development Corporation, Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, Atlanta Preservation Center NTHP
Bridges of Yosemite Valley Yosemite National Park, CA
Historical Significance: Three historic Rustic Style bridges over the Merced River built in 1928 and 1932 face removal. Threat: Demolition Partners: None NTHP
Texas Courthouses State of Texas
Historical Significance: Texas courthouses helped establish a unique identity for each of the state’s counties and continue to serve as a source of community pride. Threat: Lack of Funding, Neglect Partners: Texas Historical Commission, Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program, Preservation Texas NTHP
Historic Post Office Buildings
Historical Significance: Last year, the U.S. Postal Service identified nearly 4,400 post offices that it plans to study for closure. These post offices traditionally played an essential role in the lives of millions of Americans. Threat: Insufficient Protection Partners: City of Geneva NTHP