Every historic building has a story to tell
I’ve been playing catch up at work this year, which means my ability to channel energy and time into my blog is limited. Snow days, sick children, work – life has intervened. But it’s a constant struggle to rein in my wondering grey cells, especially when I spy interesting buildings while out and about. It (read more)
Category: Kenton County
While the snow and ice delayed the daffodils this year (and we missed two weeks of school), the subsequent plunge into summer temperatures in March meant that their reign over the landscape was truncated. The bright blooms of the narcissus do not fare well in 80-degree heat, nor do they enjoy sharp variations in (read more)
Category: Gardens
Tags: #kentuckygarden, #kentuckygardener
Eight years ago I caught a glimpse of a stone school building, nestled against a rising hillside across a creek. Of course, I turned around and went back to get a picture, and wrote about the one-story former school, which appeared to be the work of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Last week, I heard (read more)
Category: Clay County
Tags: #claycountyky, #kentuckyarchitecture, #worksprogressadministration, #WPABuilds
Prior to the age of the bypass and the supremacy of automobiles, neighborhood stores were commonplace. Much like their rural cousins, the country store, neighborhood groceries served the folks who lived and worked in the immediate area. Both types of stores are increasingly vanishing. Rarely do I find a neighborhood store still in operation (read more)
Category: Clark County
Tags: #callowaymarket, #historicstore, #kentuckyarchitecture, #winchesterky
One of the many delights of historic architecture is that a utilitarian use for a building does not mean that building must be devoid of character, charm, or style. Take, for instance, this striking front gable building, built around 1880 as storage for the James M. Thomas Lumber Company. Although modified over the years, there (read more)
Category: Bourbon County
Familiarity may breed contempt, especially in the context of standstill traffic, but for years I’ve sat at the corner of South Ashland Avenue and East High Street, stopped by a red light or an endless line of cars. My familiarity with this location has only increased my appreciation of the late 19th century house that (read more)
Category: Fayette County
Tags: #kentuckyarchitecture, #lexingtonky, #oldhouselove, #southashlandavenue
Welcome to 2026! It may be eight days into the year, but I feel that a New Year post is still relevant – Christmas break ended just two days ago, the minions went back to school, and I returned to work. While I do not subscribe to New Year resolutions, I do confess to a (read more)
Category: 1901 Farmhouse
Tags: #2026, #kentuckyarchitecture, #newyear
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
Interested in a specific topic? Check out some popular categories below, or enter your search terms in the box.