In 1908, an advertisement for the Pineville Hotel promised “first class entertainment” and a “congenial climate in most beautiful mountain section.” The hotel, at the southwest corner of Kentucky Avenue and Oak Street, was a handsome, four-story brick building with a wrap-around metal balcony on the facade and west elevations, a prime spot from which to both gaze at the beautiful mountains and take in the booming town of Pineville. I came across a circa postcard view of the Pineville Hotel earlier this week, and wondering about its fate tipped me tumbling down the proverbial rabbit hole of research.
Circa 1930 image of the Pineville Hotel. Image from the Kentucky Historical Society, Ronald Morgan Kentucky Postcard Collection, Graphic 5
The arrival of the railroad in 1888 dramatically changed Pineville. The present town was laid out that year by the National Coal and Iron Company (NCIC). A Louisville resident, Theodore Harris, president of the Louisville Banking Company, became president of the NCIC after 1896, and helped usher in a wave of development and building in Pineville. The NCIC owned almost all of the land within the Pineville city limits, and built many of the first public buildings, including a hotel – the precursor to the Pineville Hotel.
From the December 22, 1901 edition of the Louisville Courier Journal.
Apparently, Harris directed the construction of a four-story brick building to serve as the “Theodore Harris Institute” at some point between 1894 and 1901.
Section of the 1901 Sanborn map of Pineville, Kentucky.
This structure would, by 1908, be the home of the Pineville Hotel. (My spiral down the rabbit hole did not involve looking into the specifics of this school, but I welcome enlightenment if anyone else would like to take on the task. I think it may have been affiliated with the Baptist Church.)
A menu from 1926.
The Pineville Hotel was, by all accounts, a bustling place in the first half of the twentieth century. On the other end of Kentucky Avenue was the First Methodist Episcopal Church (circa 1908) and parsonage, and the west side of the street was occupied by dwellings (a particularly intriguing one is at 104 Kentucky Avenue, a one-story frame house with a delectable-looking wrap-around porch).
The Pineville Hotel as shown on the 1919 Sanborn Fire Insurance map.
The (former) First Methodist Episcopal Church, which became the Nazarene Church in the late 1960s. Circa 1981 photo from the files of the Kentucky Heritage Council.
Later, the corners opposite the hotel would be occupied by filling stations, as can be seen in the corners of the 1930 postcard.
I wondered for a while if the hotel had been a victim of the disastrous 1977 flood. But it seems that the culprit was more pedestrian and depressing – it was torn down.
From the May 20, 1965 edition of the Pineville Sun.
The only survivors of the block seen on the 1919 Sanborn are the church and its parsonage, and a remnant of the later filling station on the southwest corner of Kentucky and Oak.
The site of the Pineville Hotel today, courtesy of Google streetview.
I suppose I should be glad that some of the material was repurposed…
There was some indication that the hotel was reused as apartments prior to its destruction – and I can’t help but shake my head over the unnecessary loss. What a gem that building might have been to the historic downtown – it could be a boutique hotel today, or housing. The short-sighted actions of the 1960s and 1970s robbed many a community of historic buildings that could have been useful landmarks today.
Thank you for the research! I lived in Pineville a short while and did not remember it.
Yes it’s sad to see the old buildings disappear.just yesterday I was in Lexington looking for a home that was at 5 S. Upper st. In 1824. Looked like a single house number would have started at courthouse sq. Now the first block starts with 100’s .checked at the public library which is close by on Main st. but no info and too early for Sanborn 😞
For many years I have felt the same as you, what a shame they tore that
that great old building down. Yes, I have to believe that it could have been useful in some way? I appreciate your looking into it’s history. I did not know it was brought down in 1965? Thank you.
Trrific