Every historic building has a story to tell
The chain link fences have gone up, making visible the divide between what was and what shall be – from tired reminders of former neighborhoods to blank earth, littered by concrete and gravel. And with the demolition of these houses, one of the last vestiges of the Virginia Avenue neighborhood between South Limestone and South (read more)
Categories: Demolition, Fayette County, Historic architecture, Historic Preservation, Kentucky architecture, Lexington Kentucky History, Lexington neighborhoods, Vernacular architecture
Tags: Adamstown, demolition, Lottie Street, Lottie Street Presbyterian Church, Maxwell Street Presbyterian Church, Porter Memorial Baptist Church, University of Kentucky, Virginia Avenue, W.S. Griffing
It’s nearly impossible to stay abreast of all of the changes to Lexington’s historic neighborhoods – demolitions, new construction, and remodelings that transform (for better or worse) the exterior visage of a building – small, minute changes occur everyday that can slowly enhance or erode the character of a place. Dramatic change sometimes happens in (read more)
One of my favorite daydreams – and mental exercises – involves the possibility of time travel. Should I be hurtled back into Kentucky’s history, would I be able to find my way around, using landmarks to chart my path? I always wonder if I would recognize our family farm circa 1860 or so (I never go too far (read more)
Buildings, like people, evolve, grow, and even shrink. Of course, this cycle of change happens to buildings through the actions of people. Inaction, commonly referred to in its final phase as “demolition by neglect” also acts as an agent of change on a historic building. I’ve experienced my share of needless demolitions since entering the (read more)
I went to a lot of museums growing up – but the most compelling exhibits that lingered with me were the streets I traveled down, whether walking around my small hometown, or watching in rapt attention as a traveler in the backseat. One of those memories from the “backseat files” involves the grand historic houses (read more)
The restoration of a historic building is a process of love and labor – one that has been made wildly popular by HGTV and other media outlets. I love watching a historic building come back to life – but the rebirth of the very land upon which that building rests – that is another story (read more)
Categories: Architecture, Historic Preservation, Kentucky, Kentucky architecture, Kentucky Gardens, Lexington Kentucky History, Lexington neighborhoods
Tags: African American history, Dr. Harriett B. Marble, Gardening, Gardens, Jim McKeighen, Kentucky gardens, Lexington gardens, Old Georgetown Street, Western Suburb
A house is much more than just shelter. Historically, homes have functioned as symbols of expression, wealth, and power – for those who could afford such brick and mortar displays – and a house on a corner lot in town commanded maximum exposure. And in the frenzy of the late-19th century, when styles and materials (read more)
Change, I think, is one of the most difficult things to accept in life, yet it is a constant force (just like death and taxes). Change moves and works on the landscape around us like the tide, ceaselessly lapping and ever so slightly shifting, until one day – everything is completely different. In March 2015, (read more)
Categories: Architecture, Bluegrass, Historic Preservation, Kentucky, Kentucky architecture, Lexington, Lexington neighborhoods
Tags: American Foursquare, black rot, burley tobacco, demolition, Dr. Valleau, Man of the Year in Kentucky Agriculture, planning and development, plant pathology, Rodes Addition, South Limestone, University of Kentucky, William Dorney Valleau
One of the things I love most about England is the sense of timelessness you get when hiking somewhere like the Lake District. The landscape seems so permanent and stable, subject only to grazing sheep and the forces of nature. I feel the opposite in the tiny world that forms most of my Monday through (read more)
Interested in a specific topic? Check out some popular categories below, or enter your search terms in the box.