Every historic building has a story to tell
I dodged the rain yesterday and got some much-delayed fieldwork completed, and on my slow, meandering route home (eschewing the Interstate for Dixie Highway and briefly heading north instead of south…) I found a beautiful historic building. Now, if you are not a first time visitor to Gardens to Gables, you know very well that (read more)
Category: Kenton County
In September 1930, a modern new building on Pleasant Street opened for business as Cynthiana’s new city hall. Designed by the Lexington firm of Churchill & Gillig,* the “modern” two-story brick building presents a restrained facade. A loggia extends across the ground floor and elements of the Craftsman Commercial style are evident along the (read more)
Category: Harrison County
Tags: #churchillandgillig, #cynthianaky, #howardachurchill, #kentuckyarchitecture
Earlier this morning, after I found my flat-bed scanner (underneath the futon in the guest room), I scanned a torn black and white photograph of a stately Tudor Revival house. The photograph bears the embossed mark of the photographer, Brown & Dawson of Stamford, Connecticut. Nothing is written on the back of the image, save (read more)
Category: Bath County
Tags: #albertkdawson, #brown&dawson, #cousincatherine, #stamfordct, #tudorrevivalstyle
Mason County, Kentucky, teems with historic farms, rural villages and hamlets, and of course, the wonderful county seat of Maysville, located on the Ohio River. I’ll be speaking there on Sunday, October 5, 2025 at 2pm. The Mason County Historical Society graciously invited me to talk about my journeys across Kentucky and the stories (read more)
I’ve been living in the past lately (more so than usual) as I delve into the creation of the “super highway system” in Kentucky. This necessitates a great deal of browsing time in historic newspapers, where I am prone to distraction by an interesting story or photograph, a distraction that inevitably leads me down an (read more)
A sprawling Mission-style bakery complex, once lauded as “the finest west of New York,” appears poised for restoration and rebirth. The Whiteside Baking Company, which opened in 1908, has been purchased by a Florida-based spirits company that plans to open a distillery and tasting room in the complex on West Broadway Street. Von Payne Whiskey, (read more)
Category: Louisville
Tags: #arthurloomis, #bondbread, #kentuckyarchitecture, #louisvilleky, #whitesidebakery
The start of the school year still inspires me, though I am sadly not heading off to the halls of academia myself. I like the edging of summer into fall, and the promise of cooler weather energizes my mental faculties – usually resulting in a great many “to do” lists that will languish once winter (read more)
A surprise demolition last Thursday in the Downtown Paris Historic District provides credence to some tired truths.* The circa 1875 W. B. Erringer House, demolished at the behest of its owner, the Catholic Diocese of Lexington, underscores America’s willingness to tear down and destroy. The reason circulated by many for the demolition is the (read more)
Category: Bourbon County
Tags: #historicpreservation, #kentuckyarchitecture, #oldhouses, #parisky, demolition
During July, which slipped away just last week, I reveled in the cool temperatures of Northern Michigan and sagged and sweated in the sultry 95-degree days in Clinton County, Kentucky. I took many photographs in each location, but I failed to write any blog posts last month. Now, with summer camp over, I’m immersed in (read more)
Category: Uncategorized
Tags: #farms, #kentuckyarchitecture, #lighthouses, #michigan
Between 1890 and 1895, a one-story frame house was built on Mulberry Street in Lebanon, Kentucky. It wasn’t very large, maybe three to four rooms, but had a projecting, canted gable on the west side of the facade, and a small porch. It was the only dwelling on that block of Mulberry Street at (read more)
Category: Marion County
Tags: #kentuckyarchitecture, #lebanonky, #oldhouses, #vernaculararchitecure
Interested in a specific topic? Check out some popular categories below, or enter your search terms in the box.