Every historic building has a story to tell
I will always associate Edinburgh with Christmas. The capital city of Scotland boasts an impressive history, and the architecture ranges from ancient to avant-garde, which creates an exciting (if sometimes contentious) city environment. But for me, the flavor of Edinburgh – and I include the smog of roasting malt that drifts across the city – (read more)
Tags: #christmastravels, Edinburgh, Scotland
I detoured off of the bypass around Versailles yesterday afternoon to drive through town – bypasses aren’t known for their pleasing aesthetics. After dilly-dallying a bit, I set off for Lexington, and caught in a dense row of cars heading east, I couldn’t stop when I saw the bulldozers chomping through the brick building that (read more)
I’ve enjoyed a lifelong love affair with mail-order catalogs. The arrival of the mail meant a 1/4 mile hike down the gravel driveway to the big metal mailbox (an enticing target for mailbox baseball players), and back up the hill again holding the treasure (secured by at least two large rubber bands) of three daily (read more)
Researching historic buildings is still an exercise that involves books (usually old and in the case of deed books, with varying levels of legible handwriting), lots of conversation (if you are lucky!), and patience. I employ many tactics to tease out the story of buildings for my day job, a luxury I can’t always indulge (read more)
Dr. Zirl Palmer’s Pharmacy at the corner of East Fifth and Chestnut Streets, most recently the home of the Catholic Action Center, is a building significant for the role it played in segregated Lexington, and for its design – but neither attribute will save it from demolition. Lexington doesn’t have the best record for valuing (read more)
Prior to my first trip to Great Britain, I knew little about the architecture of the British Isles beyond…castles. How much more do you need to know when you are a 14-year old girl? My mental catalog has expanded over the years, (as has my interest in how “real” people lived) but any mention of a quintessential British architectural (read more)
Category: England
Tags: Hampton Court Palace, Queen Elizabeth I, Richard III, Thames Town China, Tudor architecture
Architecture is more than just shelter – and to those of us who love historic buildings – architecture is more than just ornament. Architecture is imbued with symbolism by the people that create and shape it, and historic buildings serve as artifacts of the time in which they were built. In that way, historic buildings represent (read more)
I’m fascinated by mid-century American motels – complete with motor court, a fun name, and ideally, an appealing neon sign. These standalone motor courts are cool, but what’s really intriguing are the few examples I’ve seen of mid-century motels built around a historic 19th century house. Maybe it’s the juxtaposition between the large single family (read more)
As any regular reader of this blog will know, I grew up with a love of history and of old buildings. I believe strongly that our communities are stronger when historic buildings are preserved and utilized. But one of the few tools we have to save historic buildings in this country is under attack. It’s (read more)
Category: Historic Preservation
I’ll likely never help forge a community out of a wilderness in quite the same manner as the first EuroAmerican settlers in Kentucky. (Spending hour after sweaty hour ridding the land of invasive honeysuckle is satisfying work, but…not the same.) The sheer magnitude of building everything from scratch always amazes me, and never more when (read more)
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