Every historic building has a story to tell
One of the best parts of my Gardens to Gables endeavor is the freedom to research and write about whatever I wish. Sometimes though, I am left with only my imagination to fill in the multitude of unknowns about a historic place or building. This late-19th (or turn-of-the-century) house I spied from the road last (read more)
Category: Fulton County
Tag: Fulton County
The porch may be my favorite feature on a historic house. I fell in love with the porch on our 1901 farmhouse long before I committed myself to the rest of the structure. At 11 feet deep and 32 feet long, there is plenty of space about which to be passionate. Alas, my ardor does (read more)
Categories: Historic Preservation, Kentucky architecture
Tags: Farmhouse, porch light
Holidays can be very hard (warning: this is not my typical post about buildings or places). I wish I could be researching and writing about one of the topics on my ever-expanding list of cool things I’ve found or discovered, but life intervenes at times. My personal stress level is high, I am worried about (read more)
Category: Uncategorized
Tag: Thanksgiving
When I was in graduate school, I wrote a very bad paper about the changes wrought on one block of East Main Street. Every time I walk past what was once known as the “Ben Snyder Block,” I cringe at the memory of my poor research skills, lack of engagement with the assignment, and procrastination (read more)
Categories: Fayette County, Historic architecture
Tags: #adaptivereuse, #artdeco, #kentuckyarchitecture, #lexingtonky
On the north side of Hazard, a large goose holds court along the road, a nest she has maintained for almost 80 years. The Mother Goose House, built by George D. Stacy between 1935 and 1940, is one of my favorite pieces of roadside architecture in Kentucky. Words fail to express how excited I am (read more)
Last week, I shared an article on Gardens to Gables Facebook page about Parker’s Dairy Palace in New Castle, Delaware, recently listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The 1954 building, with its tilted ice cream cone neon sign, not only made me consider having ice cream for lunch, but piqued my curiosity about (read more)
Chances are, when you feel a little achy or sniffly, you have some remedies to which you turn. Sleep, ibuprofen, a hot toddy and a good book – or a perhaps you quaff a tall glass of water from your local mineral springs, or visit the mineral springs resort itself! Well, probably not the latter. (read more)
Ten years ago, I wrote my first National Register of Historic Places nomination. Since then, I’ve authored dozens – and to the best of my knowledge, not one of those buildings has been torn down. Until now. Last week, I heard that a small Gothic Revival house in Frankfort, Kentucky, once part of a large (read more)
Category: Franklin County
Tags: Gothic Revival, Orlando Brown, summer homes
Although houses from the Victorian period are popular with large numbers of people now, there was a time in America when styles like the Queen Anne were loathed. Noted architectural historian Clay Lancaster, with his slightly acerbic wit, noted that the architecture of the period and its “escape to exotic modes indicates unrest, and it (read more)
Category: Jefferson County
Tags: #louisvilleky, #queenannestyle, #virginiaavenue, #westviewbuildingcompany, Parkland
Chances are, last time you needed an onion or potato, or perhaps some canned green beans, you did not head outside and descend into your root cellar. Once a staple of most farms and rural properties, root cellars provided storage year-round for root crops (for both human and livestock consumption) and other fruits and vegetables. (read more)
Categories: Kentucky architecture, Outbuildings
Tags: cellar house, historic outbuildings, root cellar, warmhouse
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