Every historic building has a story to tell
Last spring I spent a lovely sunny afternoon exploring the town of Augusta – and the breadth and quality of the historic architecture just took my breath away. A large Federal-style house set within a lawn gleaming blue with violets caught my fancy, and I lingered there several minutes, drinking in the beautiful sight. The 2.5 (read more)
Abandoned architecture is a hot item on social media – and serious business for some photographers and urban explorers. The ruins of this country, though, are much more recent than those of England (as are most things), with many fewer centuries of history and stories. I adore the historic architecture of America- but comparing the (read more)
The recent spate of rain drenching the Bluegrass has not only made my backyard soggy, but reminded me how frustrating rain can be when you are out in a downpour, trying to photograph historic resources. (Not that I will ever complain about the rain – as a farmer’s daughter, I know better.) Spring rains a (read more)
The ache that engulfs me when a historic building is needlessly demolished pales in comparison to the visceral pain of seeing farmland chopped, desecrated, and turned into to miles of pavement. Lexington provides the perfect backdrop to examine this transition, but occasionally a vestige of those long-ago pastures and fields can be found along a busy road (read more)
The second story porch was what got me. That, and the roofline – gable on hip, with these curious gable attic dormers, festooned with brackets. Those elements and my penchant for deliberately getting lost – or wandering down side streets – led me past this imposing late-19th century brick house in Campton, Kentucky. The allure of the (read more)
The R.H. Wilson House in Greensburg, Kentucky, is a perfect example of one of the historic house forms I adore: a compact, brick, 1.5 story central passage dwelling – usually built during the Federal period. The Federal style is generally considered to be from around 1790 to 1825 in Kentucky, though certain elements of the (read more)
My reading time these days is…limited – as is my time to scout for new additions to my library. I missed my favorite book sale of the year, held by the Friends of the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library (housed in a lovely early 20th century Neoclassical building, built as the Post Office and Federal Building) in (read more)
It’s nearly impossible to stay abreast of all of the changes to Lexington’s historic neighborhoods – demolitions, new construction, and remodelings that transform (for better or worse) the exterior visage of a building – small, minute changes occur everyday that can slowly enhance or erode the character of a place. Dramatic change sometimes happens in (read more)
I’ve written many times about my love of history and how my own personal family history, stemming from deep roots in central Kentucky, has inspired, influenced, and shaped me. Sometimes, the familial connections that stretch across this region have felt confining – anyone who has grown up in a small town will know exactly what (read more)
Category: Writing
A giant silver coffee pot on the side of the road possesses a certain sort of magic, almost certainly the power to encourage drivers to conduct a hasty U-turn to make sure that what they saw was, yes – a building shaped like an enormous coffee pot. The metal clad, round building, with an attached (read more)
Interested in a specific topic? Check out some popular categories below, or enter your search terms in the box.