Every historic building has a story to tell
I’ve often found myself hiking along creeks for several miles to reach a historic house site, far removed from the current road network. Invariably, these hikes have been at the height of summer, with all the joy that entails in Kentucky’s humidity… My temporary discomfort, however, forces me to consider historic transportation routes, and how (read more)
Old photographs for sale in antique or second-hand stores always give me pause. I wonder about the unknown names associated with those forgotten faces, and also – who buys these photographs? Someone in search of insta-ancestor? Historic photographs not only provide a glimpse into the past at faces familiar and dear (and sometimes comical), but (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)
Bourbon whiskey – “the sweetest of the brown liquors.” I heard that phrase often while in college and though my personal experience with bourbon was one of quantity rather than quality, I’ve watched with awe and pride over the last ten years as the bourbon industry has not only bolstered Kentucky’s economy, but become a (read more)
When I was a student at Centre College, I focused more on English literature (and some other less noble and spirited pursuits) than the landscape around me. But I remember a stark two-story brick house, near Duke’s Laundry on South Fourth Street (for $5, they would wash, dry, and fold an overflowing basket of laundry). (read more)
There is a small wooden chair in the front hall of my childhood home. Made of cherry or walnut, it is a nice little chair, but unremarkable except for its story. From an early age, I knew the chair traveled strapped to a horse through the Cumberland Gap in the 18th century. I fervently wanted (read more)
Romance never goes out of style. Your views on the subject may change, depending on age and experience, but romance figures large in the human condition – and in architecture. The Romantic movement in America roughly spans the period from 1820 to 1880 – a time of great change in our young country. Even as (read more)
Too often, historic buildings are lost to the siren song of redevelopment, bulldozers sending dust and debris flying so quickly that it is hard to believe that generations of people used and occupied the structures so quickly tumbled to the ground. When I read in the paper this morning that the building at the corner (read more)
It’s been years since anxiety gripped me about getting lost in Kentucky. Back when I succumbed to those fears, it was my driving skills that should have caused nervousness, not the likelihood that a wrong turn would result in me getting hopelessly lost for days. County roads meander like a crop of morning glories across (read more)
A recent article on Facebook listing 12 beautiful barns in the Bluegrass caught my eye the other day. Excited, I clicked, scrolled, and then I sighed. While I am always happy to see articles extolling Kentucky’s amazing buildings, I didn’t think this list was…all that great. I am in a different position than many when (read more)
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