Every historic building has a story to tell
Recycling waste items – newspapers, plastic containers, glass and metal – has made inroads in communities across Kentucky. But the recycling of historic buildings just doesn’t seem to catch on – it is an elusive idea that seems downright alien to many towns and property owners. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, long a champion of historic preservation, (read more)
Category: Marion County
There is a handsome, two-story brick building, with an impressive stone facade, in downtown Catlettsburg, Kentucky. From the design and monumental form of the building (even though it is small in scale, details and massing can be monumental!) my guess is that it was a bank. The three bay wide facade has pilasters flanking the (read more)
Category: Boyd County
In 1922, Dr. Prince Albert Hart (commonly referred to by his initials) lived in a late 19th century house in downtown Murray, Kentucky. (I have many questions about his name, but that’s not pertinent right now.) A photograph of the dwelling, a blend of Gothic Revival and Italianate architectural styles, was taken that year and (read more)
Category: Calloway County
In 1911, a new, two-story brick building went up on East 9th Street – home to a movie theater named “Photoplay Place. ” Described as “one of the handsomest theatres in this part of the State,” the theater could seat around 600 people. Disaster struck, however, when the theater burned in 1918, during a showing (read more)
Category: Christian County
Tags: #historicmovietheater, #hopkinsvilleky, #kentuckyarchitecture, #movietheater
The Leonard Cox House stands out among its 19th century neighbors in the Northside Historic District. It’s not because of the hipped red tile roof (which is awesome), but for the Arts and Crafts/Prairie style influence of the 2.5-story dwelling, so clearly “other” from the Federal, Italianate, and Richardsonian Romanesque houses within the same block. (read more)
Category: Fayette County
Tags: #historicdistrict, #kentuckyarchitecture, #leonardcox, #lexingtonky, #prairiestyle
Writing has – ever since I mastered the alphabet and the art of reading – been a solace for me. I can’t always write about what troubles my soul, however, and today finds me with my emotions in a maelstrom. The logical step, other than liberal applications of tea, chocolate, tears, and a good walk, (read more)
Category: Boyd County
Tags: #kentuckyarchitecture, #oldhouses
No one who knows me would characterize me as a quiet person. Nor have I ever been labeled as demure or retiring. Still, when I don my less-than-flattering neon yellow highway safety vest, a liberal coating of mineral sunscreen, (it helps cars see me when my skin glows bright white), my sunglasses, AND my large (read more)
Category: Hickman County
Although I write about houses for a living, most of my daily work does not inspire me to rhapsodize about buildings nor compare them to scrumptious sweet treats. Fortunately, I wander whenever I can, and try to capture historic buildings that do prompt me toward poetry. This delectable delight of a house, built between 1895 (read more)
Category: Bracken County
Tags: #augustaky, #kentuckyarchitecture
Two days before horrific floods devastated parts of Eastern Kentucky in July 2022, I wound my way up some tiny hollows and over bridges in Floyd County for a work project. The road network, like the earlier rail lines, curves to follow the meanders of the Levisa Fork of the Kentucky River, which in (read more)
Category: Floyd County
Tags: #floydcountyky, #kentuckyarchitecture, #vernaculararchitecure
In 1937, a very unique house was constructed of local stone in Flemingsburg, Kentucky. James Cox, the property owner, hauled local redstone from a quarry on Maxey Flats Road, southeast of Flemingsburg. I don’t know whether he was inspired by a design he saw published somewhere, or whether the fanciful dwelling he constructed sprang (read more)
Category: Fleming County
Tags: #flemingsburgky, #kentuckyarchitecture, #tudorrevival, #TudorTuesday
Interested in a specific topic? Check out some popular categories below, or enter your search terms in the box.