There are so many historic buildings and stories across our wonderful Commonwealth than one person can possibly discover and relate their stories to a wider audience. I am always delighted when I have a chance to learn more about a cool building, and in the process, introduce another voice to this platform. Stay tuned tomorrow for a guest post from Louisville resident and architectural historian Jessica Jewell McCarron, and below, read a little bit of her story.
Jessica Jewell McCarron, giving a squeeze to some architectural artifacts at City Museum in St. Louis, Missouri.
Jessica Jewell McCarron
I was born and raised in and around Louisville, Kentucky. After spending many years away in Dayton, Ohio at college, and then in Atlanta working for state government, starting a family, and completing graduate school, I finally returned to my home state in 2016, with my husband and two children. I have German roots in the Louisville area that pre-date the Civil War!
McCarron’s great-great-grandfather managed the Tyler Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky.
I consider preservation to be a second career. My undergraduate degree was in chemical engineering, and I worked as an environmental engineer for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources for about nine years. I had always loved old buildings, research, and genealogy, so after some career discovery, I decided to work towards a Master’s degree in Heritage Preservation at Georgia State University. I was probably a decade older than most of my classmates, but the class material was right up my alley.
McCarron sharing some love on Museum Row for Vital Sites’ heart bomb campaign.
Connections through the Preservation Green Lab (now the Research and Policy Lab) at the National Trust for Historic Preservation led me to a coordinator position with a new revolving fund set up in Louisville. Now known as the nonprofit Vital Sites, the organization is focused on encouraging investment in and redevelopment of historic properties in order to create value in Louisville’s neighborhoods.
A before-and-after photograph of historic shotgun houses renovated by Vital Sites in the Phoenix Hill Neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky. Image from @VitalSites on Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/B0RCWuaFB-O/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
The first project was East Broadway Row, the rehabilitation of five donated shotgun houses in Phoenix Hill, and now we’re working on a corner store building in Portland. Vital Sites is headquartered at the historic Brennan House downtown. I recently authored the National Register nomination for the Hertel Pharmacy (Schweitzer Pharmacy), which Vital Sites owns.
I love reading, crafting, baking, and going on adventures with my family. I enjoy personal genealogy and am toying with the idea of a book project based on the life of another great-great-grandfather, a Danish immigrant who moved his family all over the eastern United States, taking photos as he went.
Editor’s Note:
We’ll have a fascinating post about the Schweitzer Pharmacy building on the blog tomorrow. You can find Jessica on social media @jeswith1s (Instagram) and @JLJMcCarron (Twitter).
Jessica, thank you for all you’re doing with preservation! I applaud every effort to save the past.