Every historic building has a story to tell
I’ve explored – and daydreamed about – many a rural hamlet, with only a few souls still in residence, while most lie peacefully in the small family cemeteries nearby. Old churches, post offices, feed mills, and schools still stand, in various stages of decay, to testify to a community once bustling with human activity,and tied (read more)
It’s been a exhaustively hot summer in Kentucky this year. Although graced by the technology of central air conditioning, I’ve thought with longing about children’s books I read decades ago that described the decampment from urban cores to shady mountain retreats (I believe the Bobbsey Twins series even had a “fresh air camp for children” (read more)
One of the perks of being a lover of historic architecture is the complete annihilation of boredom. There is always something new to see and appreciate, even in the most modest and humble of buildings (unless I happen to be stranded in sprawl land, surrounded by a sea of asphalt and new construction. Then I (read more)
I’ve never really considered Kentucky to be a purely southern state – one of the things I love most about this Commonwealth, in addition to its geographic contradictions, is its ability to defy categorization and labels. And after spending five days in Mobile, Alabama, I return to the Bluegrass thankful that we are not the (read more)
There are any number of attractions that cause me to pull my car over and hop out with my camera – historic corner gas stations being near the top of the list. I’ve photographed the ones I know of in Lexington (my favorite is in the Woodland Triangle – now Missy’s Pies, during my father’s (read more)
All buildings have stories (that’s my personal philosophy anyway). But some architectural styles are all about the story – such as the aptly-Storybook Style – a short-lived, whimsical flourishing of houses evocative of fairy tales, medieval Europe, and an architect’s fevered imagination. And, it all began in the land of movies – California. Designed by (read more)
Category: Architecture
Tags: #franklonghouse, #harryoliver, #leonstanhope, #oakpark, #spadenahouse, #storybookstyle, #wwdixon
I am always amused by the lists released each year heralding popular baby names, and the origin of some of those choices. The practice of naming babies after famous people isn’t a trend unique to today’s pop culture-obsessed world. In Kentucky, scores of children in the 1820s were christened “Henry Clay” after the Great Compromiser, (read more)
I did not enter into the field of architectural history and historic preservation for the money (I know this comes as a shock). In addition to the oft-paltry salary endured by many of my colleagues, the most interesting projects in our field are usually the least well-funded. Money is always in short supply (at least (read more)
Bell bottoms. Beanie babies. Disco and the Atkins Diet. Fads are curious, strange creatures, and likely to reappear (especially in fashion) when least expected. I am not certain that this truism exists in architecture, for I have yet to spy the fad of octagon houses taking hold again. In mid-19th century America, the octagon house was (read more)
Categories: Architecture, Historic Preservation, Kentucky architecture, Kentucky churches, Kentucky history, National Register of Historic Places, Vernacular
Tags: #benjaminhenrylatrobe, #kentuckyarchitecture, #octagonalhouse, #octagonsinkentucky, #orsonfowler, #poplarforest, #thomasjefferson, #westvirginia
A healthy imagination is a vital part of my profession – that, and a good dose of optimism. Otherwise, I would be inundated by depression from watching countless buildings fall and communities wither. Whenever I visit a new place, I always find a building I would like to adopt – and if I ever won the (read more)
Interested in a specific topic? Check out some popular categories below, or enter your search terms in the box.