The century-old building that for decades housed Tony's Place restaurant in downtown Roanoke tops the Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation's 2004 list of most endangered sites.

The three-story structure at 110 Salem Ave. S.E. was bought last summer by the Art Museum of Western Virginia, which may demolish the building to help make way for a new art museum, said Alison Blanton, the preservation foundation's president.

Georganne Bingham, executive director of the art museum, said in August that the museum had made no decision on what would be done with the restaurant building. She could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

The art museum, currently housed in Center in the Square, plans to build a $30 million museum on city-donated land behind the 110 Salem Ave. building.

Demolition or renovation of the structure, which is in the downtown historic district, would need approval from the city's Architectural Review Board.

The building, which has housed a saloon, pool hall and restaurants since it was built in 1898, should be saved because it is an integral part of the historic fabric of the Roanoke City Market, Blanton said.

The preservation foundation's list includes three other 19th-century structures, the Interstate 81 corridor, the green space around Victory Stadium and boarded-up houses in Old Southwest.

The other 19th-century structures are a manor house along Williamson Road that was built by David Deyerle about 1857; a stone arch that's a remnant of the Valley Railroad chartered in 1866; and a grist mill built about 1870 between Boones Mill and Burnt Chimney.

The green space around Victory Stadium should be preserved as parkland regardless of the stadium's fate, the foundation said.

The proposed widening of I-81 would bring more air and water pollution and destroy historic houses, archeological sites, streams and terrain, according to the foundation.

Old Southwest's character would be damaged if the large number of boarded-up houses in the historic neighborhood were demolished, the foundation said.

ROANOKE'S MOST ENDANGERED SITES

The preservation foundation's list includes:

• A city market-area building at 110 Salem Ave. S.E. that was built in 1898.

• A manor house at 5901 Williamson Road that was built by David Deyerle about 1857.

• A stone arch that's a remnant of the Valley Railroad, chartered in 1866.

• The Piedmont-Clemonts grist mill built about 1870 between Boones Mill and Burnt Chimney.

• Historic buildings along the Interstate 81 corridor.

• The green space around Victory Stadium.

• Several boarded-up houses in Old Southwest.