Every historic building has a story to tell
Yesterday was a rare day, at least in the context of the past few weeks. I ventured outside the confines of hearth and home to carry out some fieldwork (from the safety of my car, thus ensuring proper social distancing). That task completed, I took a half hour and walked around in the spring sunshine, (read more)
You miss so much viewing the world from a car. I’ve driven down North Limestone Street in Lexington hundreds of times – but what you glimpse through the windows of a car is different, in a hundred small ways, from what you observe while on foot. And it was on foot, trudging through a January (read more)
Categories: African American History, Fayette County
Tags: #africanamericanhistory, #AfricanCemeteryNo2, #shotgunhouse
In 1890, William Miller, a 37 year old native of LaRue County, and a cashier at the newly formed LaRue County Deposit Bank, set about building a house for his family. Although there is little information available about the builder or the origins of the design, Miller’s house was certainly a fashionable statement for the (read more)
Category: LaRue County
Tags: Hodgenville, LaRue County, National Register of Historic Places
Last month, I headed southeast toward Troublesome Creek, a journey split between wide, improved sections of roadway and small, winding, narrow roads where trees hug the pavement and the road, creek, and nearby railroad all seem to converge. I was on the latter section of road when the normal vistas shifted, and an interesting collection (read more)
Category: Floyd County
Tags: #kentuckyarchitecture, #packhorselibrary, #worksprogressadministration, WPA
Many, many years ago, I spent the summer working on a road project north of Pittsburgh. Don’t be fooled – while those words may conjure up visions of a highway crew and heavy equipment, I was doing what architectural historians do – armed with clipboard and camera, and recording any buildings older than 50 years (read more)
Categories: Other Places, Roadside architecture
When was the last time you stopped for gas and admired the architecture of the gas station? Not highly likely these days – but early gas and service stations celebrated the allure of car culture and popular culture (including trending architectural styles). The former Pure Oil Station, built circa 1926, in downtown Paris, Kentucky, is (read more)
Category: Bourbon County
Tags: Adaptive reuse, Hopewell Museum, Pure Oil Gas Station, Tudor Revival
There’s a handsome (if a little careworn) house with a corner tower across from Kolb Park in Paducah, Kentucky. In 1888, this brick Queen Anne dwelling was the height of fashion, constructed for a German immigrant named Louis Kolb at a time when transportation improvements and an expansion of the city limits bolstered the city’s (read more)
Category: McCracken County
Tags: #frankkolb, #kolbdrug, #kolbhouse, #paducahky, #queenannestyle, Kolb House
There is a chill in the air this Friday morning – more reason to stay inside to catch a wonderful new documentary now airing on Kentucky Educational Television – Creelsboro and the Cumberland: A Living History. This one-hour documentary examines the history and culture of a rural valley along the Cumberland River in Russell County, (read more)
Category: Russell County
Tags: Creelsboro, Cumberland River, KET, Wolf Creek Dam
Although the Tudor Revival style takes its name from the Tudor period in 16th century England, it would be a mistake to suggest that the popular early 20th century architectural style was simply a repeat of architectural styles employed during the reign of the Tudor monarchs.* I’m not sure if any members of the Tudor (read more)
Category: Architectural Terms
Tags: mail order homes, Tudor Revival
The term “ambulance chaser” had a focused and singular meaning when I was a little girl. If one of the county’s emergency vehicles or fire truck made their way past our driveway, the sound floating up the hill to us, then my father went out to the truck to follow. Sound travels far in the (read more)
Category: Uncategorized
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