Every historic building has a story to tell
Prior to my first trip to Great Britain, I knew little about the architecture of the British Isles beyond…castles. How much more do you need to know when you are a 14-year old girl? My mental catalog has expanded over the years, (as has my interest in how “real” people lived) but any mention of a quintessential British architectural (read more)
Category: England
Tags: Hampton Court Palace, Queen Elizabeth I, Richard III, Thames Town China, Tudor architecture
Architecture is more than just shelter – and to those of us who love historic buildings – architecture is more than just ornament. Architecture is imbued with symbolism by the people that create and shape it, and historic buildings serve as artifacts of the time in which they were built. In that way, historic buildings represent (read more)
I’m fascinated by mid-century American motels – complete with motor court, a fun name, and ideally, an appealing neon sign. These standalone motor courts are cool, but what’s really intriguing are the few examples I’ve seen of mid-century motels built around a historic 19th century house. Maybe it’s the juxtaposition between the large single family (read more)
As any regular reader of this blog will know, I grew up with a love of history and of old buildings. I believe strongly that our communities are stronger when historic buildings are preserved and utilized. But one of the few tools we have to save historic buildings in this country is under attack. It’s (read more)
Category: Historic Preservation
I’ll likely never help forge a community out of a wilderness in quite the same manner as the first EuroAmerican settlers in Kentucky. (Spending hour after sweaty hour ridding the land of invasive honeysuckle is satisfying work, but…not the same.) The sheer magnitude of building everything from scratch always amazes me, and never more when (read more)
When I was around eight years old, I fantasized about living in an apartment. Just me and my mother (and maybe a dog or two). Apartment buildings seemed so foreign and exotic to me – and as the youngest child, the idea of having my mother all to myself was appealing. I shared this memory (read more)
Categories: Kentucky architecture, Mason County
Years before a farm on the northern side of Lexington, Kentucky, was billed as the University of Kentucky’s “premier business location in the heart of the world-famous Kentucky Bluegrass Region,” it was a storied horse farm “where thoroughbred Derby winners were raised for many years.” In between these two seemingly disparate roles, Coldstream Farm served the (read more)
I played a little hooky on Monday. My work schedule has been pretty overwhelming lately, and although my mind dances with subjects I want to write about, I can’t seem to find the time for this blog. But on Monday, I took the time – around 20 minutes – and visited an old, old friend. (read more)
Categories: Farming, Kentucky history, Montgomery County
Tags: bur oaks, farming, Venerable trees
The Lexington builder/architect John McMurtry, who popularized the Gothic Revival style in Kentucky, died in 1890. His surviving buildings include the house he designed in 1887 for his daughter, Anne, and her husband, Thomas B. Watkins. The late Italianate brick T-plan is a “fine and handsome example of the work of one of the major (read more)
What makes place so important to some people? And what is it about some places in Kentucky that draw former residents home, again and again? Learning about the connection between people and communities, people and place is one of the perks of my job, and one that I will be exercising soon during an oral (read more)
Categories: Architecture, Harlan County, Historic architecture, Kentucky architecture, Kentucky history, Oral History
Tags: Appalachia, Coal mining, Lynch, oral history
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