Every historic building has a story to tell
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
It’s a busy Monday, and amid the bustle of work and life, I don’t know when I will be able to write a blog post. But I have determined to steal 15 minutes and share this lovely historic house, in hopes that it brings some joy to your day. Built in 1901 for an (read more)
Category: Louisville
Tags: #historicdistrict, #kentuckyarchitecture, #louisvilleky, #oldlouisville, #stjamesbelgravia
While sifting through historic images for a project in Louisville, Kentucky, this morning, I came across this fabulous mid-20th century photograph of the Arcade Barbershop on Taylor Boulevard. The caption for the image didn’t provide a street number, so I considered posting the image and letting the hive mind tell me if the brick building (read more)
Category: Louisville
Tags: #louisvilleky, archives
There’s nothing quite as striking as a historic, corner commercial building – one that catches the eye from multiple directions and enlivens its site with architectural detail and a balanced mass and scale. The Clifton Historic District is home to many outstanding historic buildings, but the E.P. Thomas Store and House, with its diagonal (read more)
January is usually a hard month, and the weather so far has not helped – Kentucky has been wet and cold, and then cold and wet. Thankfully, it is Whimsical Wednesday, so I shall lift my spirits (and hopefully yours?) with the fabulous J.N. Struck House. Built in 1893 by J.N. Struck, a contractor and (read more)
Categories: Jefferson County, Louisville
Tags: #highlandshistoricdistrict, #jnstruck, #kentuckyarchitecture, #louisvilleky
Louisville in the 1920s brimmed with energy and optimism. The horrors of the Great War were receding, and the economy, building projects, and the city boundaries all expanded. In 1922, nearly 12 square miles of suburban land to the east and south of Louisville (some 40,000 people) were added to the city’s tax rolls. Developers (read more)
Category: Louisville
Tags: #historicarchitecture, #historichouse, #kentuckyarchitecture, #louisvilleky, #oldhouses
The best example of Tudor Revival architecture I’ve seen recently wasn’t the typical 1930s house – but a former carriage house. The two-story brick structure has every embellishment one could wish for in this style of architecture: arches, faux half-timbering, mullioned windows, sharp gables and a steep roofline. When the Caulfield & Shook studio documented (read more)
Categories: Jefferson County, Louisville, Tudor Revival
Tags: #TudorTuesday, Amelia Place, Cherokee Triangle, Tudor Revival
What’s the best thing for historic houses? To be a home, to be occupied, to be a place of life and energy. For that to happen, houses that may need a little love and affection must be purchased by someone who loves old houses. Here are some listings for historic houses for under $100,000 that (read more)
A historic building is so much more than its form, materials, or decorative accents that catch the eye. Buildings hold and tell the stories of people, a community, and even an industry. I shared an image of a sign from the 1930s advertising Oertel’s Beer the other day, and a reader’s question: “what was Oertel’s?” (read more)
Categories: Jefferson County, Louisville
Tags: #kentuckyarchitecture, #louisvilleky, #oertelsbeer, beer, breweries
Vital Sites bought this distinctive, wood frame corner store in 2019 to save it from demolition. If you look past the plywood boards and mismatched paint scheme, you’ll find one of the last remaining wood frame corner stores in the Portland neighborhood – perhaps in Louisville – with many of its Queen Anne architectural features (read more)
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