Every historic building has a story to tell
On a hot sultry Saturday afternoon in May, we welcomed a very special visitor to our home – well, it may be more accurate to say that our visitor returned home. For the first time in over 45 years (since the house and farm were sold out of the immediate family), my cousin Peggy came (read more)
Category: Kentucky architecture
The original bathroom in our 1901 farmhouse bears little resemblance to what it must have looked like 118 years ago. Subsequent remodelings resulted in a laminate floor, no tub, and a toilet precariously perched on top of a step leading to the attic stairs (which is a challenge for a toddler just learning the life (read more)
Category: Kentucky architecture
Tags: Historic bathroom, home remodeling, old house bathrooms
There’s something about a mansard roof. The Addams Family house, in both the 1960s sitcom and movies – the Bates house/motel from Aldred Hitchcock’s Pyscho – and numerous representations in art, pop culture, and music (I was ecstatic when Vampire Weekend released “Mansard Roof” in 2007). The mansard roof (basically, a dual-hipped roof) is the (read more)
Category: Kentucky architecture
Tags: #kentuckyarchitecture, #mansardroof, #SecondEmpirestyle, mansard
I visited some old friends yesterday. Some were still standing, prompting a visceral thrill of recognition and delight at their survival – while others eluded me as I scoured in vain small hollows and gravel roads. The sun was out, the air was sweet, and the hunt for historic houses to tell the story of (read more)
Categories: Books, Kentucky architecture
Sometimes, work gets in the way of life – and definitely intrudes upon my blog writing time. Given my lack of mental acuity at this time, I thought I would share some details about three historic properties I recently nominated to the National Register of Historic Places. These nominations were approved on Monday, December 17, (read more)
I enjoy words – and the field of architectural history provides a plethora of interesting terminology and vocabulary to tickle my fancy. Although there are some terms that are set in stone (the classical order of columns, for example), there are so many regional variations – not the least being house types, forms, and plans. (read more)
Mysteries are the heart of loving and documenting historic buildings. Whenever I visit a place, camera in hand, I inevitably take my leave with more questions than answers. Paintsville, Kentucky, named the county seat of Johnson County in 1834, developed quickly in the early 20th century as the region’s coal mining operations boomed – and (read more)
Categories: Johnson County, Kentucky architecture
Tags: John C.C. Mayo, John R. Gieske, Judge James W. Turner, Paintsville
In 1935, the economy of Paducah, Kentucky, hummed along – and if there was a soundtrack playing in the background, it would have been the noise of train engines. The Illinois Central Railroad operated one of the nation’s largest locomotive repair shops in Paducah, spread out over 110 acres on the south side of Kentucky (read more)
Let’s talk about water. It’s been on my mind a great deal over the few days, as we saw the water in our cellar rise and the rain gauge overflow at six inches plus of precipitation in 24 hours. But besides my rain barrel (and the basement, sadly), we weren’t collecting any of that water, (read more)
Categories: Kentucky architecture, Outbuildings
Tags: cisterns, pump houses, springhouses, wells
I’ve been on the road quite a bit in the last two weeks, from Harlan County to McCracken County – and my blog has suffered as a result. Most of my posts require some bit of research, and even if I am able to accomplish that online, the time required to write something that satisfies (read more)
Categories: Kentucky architecture, Kentucky history
Tags: #kentuckyarchitecture, #topomaps, #USGS, #USGStopographicmaps
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