True, raw concrete doesn't hold up especially well, particularly in the face of an errant 2011 hurricane named Irene. But surely the $75 million allotted for Rudolph's replacement—a faux Colonial sad sack of bureaucratic architecture—could reinvigorate the complex?

Here's what's happening: Preservation group DOCOMOMO alerted the masses with an email blast in February, then banded with the World Monuments Fund who added Rudolph's OCGC to its annual watch list. The groups have proposed a conditions study of the building along with precise estimates for its renovation, an essential step considering the county government isn't allowing interior access to assess its condition. And this week, after a chorus of impassioned tweets and critical pleas for historic preservation, the cause has hit Change.org, where a petition is in the nascent stage of a more formalized protest.

(Finally, if you really want to torture your preservationist-bleeding-heart, check out photographer Chris Mottalini's series of demolished Rudolph homes.)

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