Every historic building has a story to tell
Urban renewal was not kind to many areas of Louisville, Kentucky. The Brown Memorial Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (built 1864-65) weathered the waves of demolition around it, and some 150 years after Gideon Shryock designed the building on West Chestnut Street, its exterior continues to impress. But the design of the church is only one (read more)
Categories: African American History, Churches, Greek Revival Style, Historic architecture, Historic Preservation, Jefferson County, Kentucky architecture, Kentucky churches, Louisville
Tags: Brown Memorial Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Chestnut Street Methodist Church South, Gideon Shryock, Louisville KY churches, Reverend L.H. Brown, West Chestnut Street, William Strickland
My bowling skills are near non-existent. At a nephew’s birthday party a few years ago, I demonstrated a spectacular lack of grace by falling face first onto the slippery bowling lane. Despite my public humiliation (my nephews found it incredibly amusing), I have a great appreciation for both bowling alleys and a very ancient sport. (read more)
Categories: Architecture, Historic Preservation, Kentucky architecture, Louisville
Tags: Bowling, Bowling Alleys, Butchtown, Louisville, St. Joseph Church, Vernon Club
Growing up on a farm influenced me and my interests in many ways, most of which are difficult to explain to anyone who grew up “in town.” The cycle of life and death never recedes into the background on a farm, and while that doesn’t make personal loss any easier, it does shape the way (read more)
Categories: Bluegrass, Farming, Historic Preservation, Kentucky architecture, Louisville
Tags: Bourbon Stockyards, Butchertown, Cattle, Louisville
Kentucky is a state of geographic contradictions. The geographer John Fraser Hart commented that “few if any states have such enormous diversity within such small compass.” I see this as I venture from one side of the state to another – not only in our landscape, but in our buildings. Treasures are to be found (read more)
When most people think of the study of historic architecture, they may first think of architectural styles – the embellishments or ornamentation added to a house, like a Greek Revival portico or Queen Anne spindles. Sometimes, however, the form (the shape) or plan (the layout) of a house is much more interesting and significant. One (read more)
Categories: Historic Preservation, Kentucky architecture, Louisville, Vernacular
Never has plywood seemed so threatening and ominous then when it appears to sign the death warrant of another (usually historic) building in Louisville, Kentucky. I’ve been lucky enough to work in many neighborhoods in the Derby City, and one of highest densities of interesting architecture (and plywood) is located in West Louisville. A few (read more)
I cried piteously on the first day of kindergarten, as my mother left me with a room of strange adults and even stranger children. My mother and the comforts of home were promptly forgotten, however, and I threw myself enthusiastically into, if not academics at that tender age, at least into the new experience. By (read more)
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