January 2014 - Blue Grass Trust for Historic Preservation

Transcription

BGT-PM-Winter-14.without HOW Workshops:Layout 1 1/22/14 3:21 PM Page 1
BGT Staff:
Sheila Omer Ferrell, Executive Director
Jason Sloan, Historic Preservation Specialist
Part-Time Staff:
Becky Eblen, Preservation Associate
Anne E. Wright, Preservation Assistant
Heather Lamplough, Intern, UK Historic
Preservation Graduate Assistant
Ashley Paul, Intern, Transylvania University
e Blue Grass Trust
for Historic Preservation
253 Market Street
Lexington, Kentucky 40507
Non-Profit
Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Permit #850
Lexington, KY
Phone: 859.253.0362
Fax: 859.259.9210
www.bluegrasstrust.org
Spring In for Fine Art, Antiques & Gardens at the BGT’s 2014 Antiques & Garden Show March 7 - 9,
& Gala Preview Party March 6, at the Kenucky Horse Park’s Alltech Arena
Dr. Elvis and Mrs. Geneva Donaldson, honorary co-chairs of the BGT’s 2014 Antiques & Garden Show, cordially invite you to join them at this year’s
show, which includes three keynote speakers who are influential tastemakers, world-class exhibitors of fine antiques, gorgeous gardens and landscapes,
designer vignettes and cool collectibles, vintage silver, prints, jewelry and rugs, artist Marjorie Guyon’s original mixed media artwork Restoration and Trust,
daily complimentary lectures, an a la carte café and bar, vintage car show, silent auctions and so much more!
A highlight of this year’s show is sure to be the Kentucky Treasures Exhibit, featuring the Kentucky Collection of Sharon and Mack Cox. On display daily will be
their outstanding array of high style and vernacular Kentucky furniture dating from 1795 to 1820, as well as antebellum Kentucky portraits from artists such as
Matthew Harris Jouett, Oilver Frazier, and Chester Harding. The Coxes represent Kentucky on the Advisory Board of the MESDA, the Museum of Early Southern
Decorative Arts in Winston Salem, NC. The Coxes collection has been exhibited in museums, featured in national publications, and books including the recent
Collecting Kentucky: 1790 – 1860 by Genevieve Baird Lacer and Libby Turner Howard.
Message from our President:
BGT 2013 - 2014
Board of Directors
Tom Meng, President
Maureen Peters, Vice President
Jessica Winters, Secretary
Randall Miloszewski, CPA, Treasurer
Linda Carroll, Past President
Laura Crume
Beverly Fortune
Andrea Gottler
Marcia Gray
John Hackworth
David Harper
Joseph Hillenmeyer
Mike Meuser
Andrew Moore
Tom Moore
Pamela Perlman
N. Gregory Pettit
W. Gay Reading
Fran Taylor
Barbara Tilghman
Advisory Board
Barbara Hulette, Chair
Clyde Carpenter
Linda Carroll
Richard DeCamp
Ann Garden
Gay Darsie Glenn
John Hackworth
Nancy Iliff
Susan Jackson Keig
Zee Faulkner Kurfees
Gloria Martin
Mike Meuser
Joyce Ockerman
Foster Pettit
W. Gay Reading
Sharon Reed
Daniel Rowland
James Thomas
Vivian Weil
2
Greetings from Market Street
I
t is a great pleasure to report that
BGT has experienced a substantial increase in membership over the last
several years. It evidences we are not alone
in our interest in historic preservation, and
our growing membership hopefully reflects
confidence in our work and a growing community-wide appreciation of the benefits of
historic preservation. Whenever we ask
someone if they would be interested in becoming a member of BGT, we almost invariably get a positive response. A growing
membership strengthens our voice in pursuing our mission, and as a result we are currently developing an organized membership
drive in an effort to reach the countless others who, like you, recognize the importance
of historic preservation. To paraphrase the
POTUS in his State of the Union address,
we are pleased to report that the state of the
Blue Grass Trust is good.
The BGT is blessed with possibly its most
energetic and talented staff in its history.
Your volunteer Board and committees devote time both individually and as a group
in pursuing our mission of education, service and advocacy for historic preservation,
with many tangible and intangible results.
Our committees (and their chairpersons) include the Advisory Board (Barbara
Hulette); Antiques & Garden Show (Andrea Gottler); Community Preservation/Education (Bill Johnston and Maureen Peters);
deTours (Peter Brackney and Linda Carroll); Development (Pamela Perlman); Finance (Randall Miloszewski);
Hunt-Morgan House ( John Hackworth);
Pope Villa (Tom Moore); and Publications
(Linda Carroll and Sheila Omer Ferrell).
The BGT receives no federal, state or local
funding and is wholly dependent on its
members and donors to fund its operations.
Expenses have unavoidably increased over
Tom Meng,
Blue Grass Trust Board President
the last 25 years, while we have consciously
kept membership dues at a minimum to
broaden our membership base and be open
to everyone. As a result, the BGT is dependent on the profits from its annual Antiques and Garden Show (at the Kentucky
Horse Park’s Alltech Arena March 7, 8, 9,
2014, with the Gala Preview Party March 6)
and the donations made by our members in
response to our Annual Fund Drive we
began in September 2013. As of January 16,
2014, more than 250 supporters have responded, and you have our heartfelt thanks.
To others who have not yet responded, our
appeal is to ask your consideration in making a tax-deductible donation to BGT. Our
Fund Drive extends through the end of our
fiscal year on June 30, 2014, and enclosed
with this newsletter is a self-addressed envelope for your convenience. Your dollars will
be well spent, will accomplish a lot, and
you'll be glad you joined the effort.
Best regards,
Tom Meng b
Preservation Matters | Winter 2014 | www.bluegrasstrust.org
A Grateful
Supporter
The Kentucky:
Everybody’s Theatre
Guest Preservation Column by Isabel Yates, Chair,
Friends of the Kentucky eatre
W
hat is one of the most popular places
to go in downtown Lexington? It’s
the old Kentucky eatre on East Main! Civicminded Fred Mills, general manager of the
Kentucky, calls it “everybody’s theatre”. The
Kentucky fits a niche, appeals to young and old,
and has many loyal fans who see every new film
that is shown there.
Because I am a theatregoer and a long-time
advocate for downtown,
the Honorable Jim
Gray, Mayor of Lexington, asked me in 2012
to help the city celebrate
the 20th anniversary of
the Kentucky eatre
Restoration and also the
90th Birthday of this
historic and beloved
downtown treasure.
Since the city owns the
building and the theatre,
some staff help was offered.
After some research, we discovered that yes, we
needed to celebrate, but we also needed to update! Since the last renovation 20 years ago, the
Kentucky has been in operation 365 days a
year, showing movies, but also hosting concerts,
meetings, special presentations, documentaries,
and other events. We all knew that it needed
improvements: seats were broken down and the
sound and lighting were terrible.
We had a Brainstorming Breakfast, inviting
many theatre-goers and others interested in the
preservation of a downtown icon. From that
gathering, a non-profit group was organized
called “Friends of the Kentucky Theatre”. Its
mission was and is to preserve, renovate and
enhance the Kentucky Theatre. A charitable
fund was established with the Blue Grass
Community Foundation to track all donations
and expenditures, assuring transparency and
accountability for each dollar raised.
The Friends
looked into improvements and
costs of all renovations, including replacing the expensive but
essential digital projectors by 2013. Officers
and a Board of Directors were named — all
volunteers — and a campaign goal was set for
1.5 million. The exciting
Kick-Off Campaign and
Birthday Celebration took
place at the theatre on
October 10, 2012, with
more than 300 people in
attendance!
Fund-raising in 2013 was
very successful, and we
want to thank each and
every one of our contributors. e new projectors
have been installed and interior work in the lobby
and auditorium is scheduled to begin on February
17, 2014, with the signature
marquee being restored as well. e State eatre will continue to operate and show movies
while the Kentucky is closed for the construction work.
is community has supported us from the beginning, and “It takes a village” is a truism! We
have not reached our goal yet, but we are close
and appreciate everyone’s continued interest
and support. The Good Giving Challenge,
sponsored by the Blue Grass Community
Foundation, has been wonderful for us and for
our city! e Friends met the first Challenge
and received the matching funds. Although
the Challenge ended on December 31, we
hope citizens will continue to support us online at www.kentuckytheatre.com/friends. We
all love this old theatre so very much! We are
making certain that the Kentucky will be here
to be enjoyed and cherished for future generations to come. With the help of this community, we can make this dream come true. b
It's been great fun
working with Isabel
Yates to raise
money for the
Kentucky Theatre renovation. She got
me involved — deeply involved — and
I'm grateful for the opportunity to do
something meaningful for Lexington. For
me, there could hardly be anything more
meaningful than helping the Kentucky
acquire digital projectors and replace
the worn-out seats. My wife Beverly and I
are regular patrons of the Kentucky,
greatly preferring to see a movie there
rather than at a suburban multiplex. We
supported the 1992 renovation and I
was an easy sell when Isabel asked for
my help this time.
The community support for this fund drive
is gratifying. Since October 2012, in gifts
ranging from a few dollars to $20,000
dollars, the Friends of Kentucky Theatre
has raised more than $750,000 —
enough to buy digital projectors for both
theatres and go ahead with the renovation of the auditorium this February. We
estimate that almost 1000 people have
made gifts — a testament to what the
Kentucky means to Lexington.
To donate, go to
www.kentuckytheatre.com/friends or
https://bluegrass.kimbia.com/kytheatre.
Or you can pay by check; put
“Friends of the Kentucky Theatre” on the
memo line and mail to:
Blue Grass Community Foundation
499 East High Street, Suite 112
Lexington, Kentucky 40507
c/o Friends of the Kentucky Donation
If you would like to sponsor a seat at the
Kentucky Theatre, the cost is $500 and
includes your seat choice and an optional memorial plaque. That payment
can also be made via check or online,
but you will need to go to one of the
websites above to check the availability
of specific seat numbers. Individual
donors can make payments in five installments of $100 if needed. Groups, clubs,
co-workers or churches may pool their
donations and sponsor a seat in the
group name.
Thanks to everyone from a grateful
supporter.
Bill Fortune
3
Design Excellence
for Downtown Lexington
What is the Courthouse Area
Design Review Board?
e Design Excellence Task Force.
Why it is important, what it is, how it came
about, and what has been accomplished.
Why is Good Design Important?
Almost 20 years ago, a leading urban designer
came to Lexington to lead a design charrette.
The culmination of that day was at the
Kentucky Theatre, where a series of 100
pairs of slides showing two side-by-side
pictures of urban settings were each shown
for a brief number of seconds. e audience
members were supplied with left-right electronic selectors they used to select the picture
that was the most appealing to them. e results were then tabulated and shown to the
audience. e overriding characteristic with
all of the “winning” pictures was the presence of people in those urban settings. e
point being if the urban environment created is one that attracts people, it will be a
success that attracts even more people.
While beauty may be in the eye of the
beholder, there are a host of good-design
parameters about which successful designers can and do agree. Many of us are not
able to articulate what constitutes good design. We “know it if we see it” and we
4
express our appreciation by wanting to
be around it. We are also able to look at
unattractive environments and choose to
avoid them, many times subconsciously
and en masse.
In recent years, a consensus seems to be
building among people, including those not
previously interested in the older part of our
fair city, that recognizes the importance of
having a vibrant, active, visually appealing
and unique downtown — if only to help
lure quality talent and employers to Lexington. Over the past 15 or so years, the efforts
of many people have helped Lexington’s
downtown get closer to becoming the downtown its enthusiasts envision. As more people are finding downtown a fun place to
visit, there will be more interest by property
owners in filling the many holes in the
streetscape with new buildings. Buildings
are our most common and most expensive
form of street art. It is important to ensure
that our “street art” — whether it is our old
buildings or new buildings — informs our
current residents, visitors, potential employers and employees that our culture is one
they want to be part of in their daily lives. It
is vital to our future economic prosperity that
Lexington is perceived as a place where people want to visit and to live, work and play.
For the past 13 years, some — but not all —
historic and older buildings that are close to
the Old Fayette County Courthouse have
been protected by the Courthouse Area Design Review Board (CADRB) process. Established by the Urban County Council on
November 9, 2000 (according to the LexingtonKY.gov’s website), about 90 buildings
were included in this zone out of the approximately 500 buildings in the downtown
core. All external changes to these 90
parcels currently have to go before the
CADRB. e CADRB’s major successes
have been saving several important but very
run-down buildings from demolition, and
working with property owners to help ensure a quality rehab of those buildings,
along with other buildings in the inner
downtown area.
Several buildings along South Limestone
and South Upper, and between West Main
and West Vine streets were not included in
the CADRB area. is included Morton’s
Row — dating from 1840 and arguably the
most historic of downtown’s commercial
buildings at the beginning of 2008. Several
of those excluded buildings, including Morton’s Row, were demolished in 2008 as a
part of the just starting CentrePointe project, as were several buildings that were included in the CADRB district.
Among the many lessons gleaned from this
preservationist’s disaster (as it is perceived
by some): 1. It is not a good idea to carve
out important parcels from a protected district if it is desired to keep them from being
destroyed, since there is a good chance they
will not survive over time. (If you want to
keep them, protect them!) and 2. If the protection zone guidelines are to be interpreted
by a lay-board as whether or not to replace
vintage and historic buildings for a new development, these design guidelines also need
to be very clear as to what criteria new construction must meet.
As for the CentrePointe project, the building originally planned to replace the historic
buildings on the parcels that comprise the
now empty CentrePointe property was
viewed by many citizens and design professionals to have significant design deficiencies.
e resulting knock-down, drag-out controversy was a major contributing factor prompting the Urban County Council to form the
Design Excellence Task Force (DETF).
What is the
“Design Excellence Task Force”?
e DETF is composed of the Mayor and
Vice Mayor; five council members; ten citizens including architects, community activists,
neighbors and developers; and seven LFUCG
employees from the Downtown Development Authority, Mayor’s Office,
Historic Preservation, and Planning. Also
included were staff and members of the current CADRB. Headed by then Councilman
Tom Blues, and later taken over by Councilman Steve Kay, the DETF met monthly for
three years. While guidelines for other communities exist, they were viewed as too general, and not specific to what the DETF was
looking to create for the city of Lexington.
e actual creator of the newly proposed
guidelines was the Downtown Development Authority, in conjunction with Urban
County Government employees, and with
the assistance of a consultant with design
and legal experience. e final document —
and the process it proposes — has been reviewed by the Urban County Government’s
Law department along with various designers, attorneys, and others.
How are the new
Design Guidelines different?
e current CADRB guidelines have been
relatively successful in guiding the renovation of existing buildings, but they didn’t
provide a lot of guidance for new building
development. e DETF was determined to
address new construction design issues as
well as continue the successes achieved by
the existing guidelines. e task force has
spent three years developing new guidelines
both for rehabilitation of existing buildings
and for development of new buildings.
e draft DETF design guidelines take in account that parameters which make sense for a
development on a major transportation artery
may not make sense for a development on
one of the secondary connecting streets. And
even along a major artery, what one would
develop along the section of a street that runs
through the center of downtown is not what
one would want for that same street at the
very edge of downtown.
Toward that end, the DETF classified every
street in the targeted area into categories of:
major corridors, local connectors, neighborhood streets, and service streets. In addition,
the targeted area is divided in three district
Design guidelines that are too restrictive
categories: gateway, core, and neighborhood.
can stymie innovation and result in blandEach downtown parcel
ness. (e DETF
then
can be classified as
found examples of this
being
on a specific street
in various form-based
type
and
in a specific disdesign communities
trict
type.
at determines
they examined.)
the
characteristics
of the
Guidelines that are too
buildings
and
accessories
loose can result in a
that would be appropriate
non-predictable cafor a given parcel. Characcophony that may not
teristics determined by the
give the desired results.
street type and district inWhat the DETF
clude: building height,
would like to see
setbacks, fencing, parking
Overhead view of Courthouse area
happen is to have
placement, building orirenovations of existentation,
ground
floor
height, ground floor
ing buildings and new developments (some
transparency,
etc.
Also
included in the DETF
maybe incorporating existing buildings) that
proposed
guidelines
are
descriptions of best
enhance the properties being altered as well
practices
broken
down
into
the following secas the surrounding area, while not stifling
tions:
Site,
Building,
Amenities,
and Street.
innovation. We should always be looking
Reading
these
descriptions
is
a
best-designfor the perfect design for a site and for its
practices education within itself.
surroundings, and one that incorporates
innovative ideas.
In addition, the DETF proposes to expand
the area subject to these guidelines from the
relatively small area surrounding the old
Fayette County Courthouse to include all
(over 1,000) properties in the downtown area
that are zoned specifically for downtown: B-2,
B-2A, and B-2B. e B-2 zone is for the
downtown core; B-2A (which comprises
approximately half of the downtown zoned
properties) is for transitional properties at the
edge of the B-2 zoned properties, and the B2B zone is for properties that are part of — or
heavily influenced by — the Lexington Center/Rupp Arena complex. Roughly, this total
area includes the area several blocks to the
North and South of Main Street from Midland to Old Georgetown Streets.
ese guidelines are a unique approach to
design guidelines, as well as customized to
today’s downtown Lexington. ey follow
an innovative format that if implemented
will allow future development in Lexington’s
downtown to be measured with the best.
What happens next?
The proposed design guidelines have
recently been presented to the Urban
County Council’s Planning Committee.
After another review session with the
Planning Committee, the guidelines will
be sent to the Urban County Council,
then to the Planning Commission for
their sign-off. Finally, the proposal will
be brought back to Council for a final
vote to approve or disapprove. b
5
Neighborhood Unites to Halt Open Pit Quarry in Clark County
Guest Column by Harry G. Enoch and M. Clare Sipple
R
ural Clark County residents recently
found themselves battling a large
corporation that threatened their peaceful
existence by proposing to site an open pit
quarry in their midst. e neighborhood
united to protect their way of life by becoming educated as to
the county’s planning
and zoning process. is
is a cautionary tale about
their efforts.
Two years ago, a small
100-acre farm went on
the auction block after
the Shearer family that
had lived and worked
there for many years
passed away, leaving
heirs with no desire or
ability to farm. The
Shearer farm is located
in southern Clark
County on state highway 627 just north of
the Kentucky River.
This scenic corridor provides the first
image of our county for many visitors.
is lovely tract of land has been continuously farmed for more than 200 years. e
farm has an 1832 frame house, two vernacular tobacco and stock barns, a historic
spring and Maury silt loam soil. To the
alarm of the neighbors, the tract was purchased by one of the largest crushed stone
and paving companies in the state, which
soon filed plans to convert the farm into an
open pit mine. One of the dirtiest, noisiest
and most intrusive of heavy industries
wanted to locate on a farm that was surrounded by residential development.
To appreciate the incongruity of this proposal, it is necessary to understand the
present character of this rural neighborhood.
Taking a drive from Winchester toward
Boonesborough on Highway 627, one
passes through a productive agricultural
area crisscrossed by iconic stone fences.
The farms are used for raising cattle and
6
producing soybeans, corn and hay. Interspersed with the farms are houses inhabited
by people who have chosen to live in this
rural neighborhood because of its quiet
beauty. Many of the farms are owned by
families who have been here for genera-
e Shearer Farm
tions and have a sense of place that extends beyond casual affection — their
ancestors came here when Daniel Boone
established Fort Boonesborough in 1775.
The scenic countryside within two miles
of the Shearer farm is alive with historic
resources unrivaled in the region. Here
Richard Callaway established Kentucky’s
first ferry; William Bush raised the first
corn crop north of the Kentucky River;
Boonesborough settlers traveled the Salt
Spring Trace to the Lower Blue Licks to
hunt buffalo and make salt; the Boone and
Callaway girls were kidnapped by Native
Americans; the Baptists established one of
the earliest churches in Kentucky; and
Boone began his prolific surveying career.
The area boasts a Civil War Fort once
manned by African-American troops, the
remnants of a major lumber milling center
at Ford, and the Lower Howard’s Creek
Nature and Heritage Preserve, site of one
of the state’s earliest industrial centers.
Two African-American communities —
Lisletown and Hootentown — were established here by freed slaves after the
Civil War. Several farms in this area are
protected by conservation easements as
a protection against future development.
On the drive down
Highway 627, you will
ultimately reach the
Kentucky River, one of
the Commonwealth’s
finest natural resources.
e Palisades of the
Kentucky begin in
this pool of the river
and extend downstream to Frankfort.
Gov. Steve Beshear
designated the Kentucky River Water
Trail for the National
Park Service’s
“America’s Great
Outdoors” initiative.
Efforts are underway
to develop a “blue
water trail” on the river. This initiative by
the Kentucky River Water Trail Alliance
seeks to promote stewardship of the river
while encouraging recreational and
tourism opportunities along the entire
river corridor.
It was obvious to most that placing an open
pit mine at the very edge of Highway 627
would be an unwelcome intrusion into an
agricultural area, a threat to our tourism industry and a nightmare for residents, some
of whom live only a few hundred feet from
the proposed strip mine. But the question
was how to stop a powerful corporation
with nearly unlimited financial backing.
Two factors made that effort possible.
First, Clark County has had strong planning
and zoning ordinances in place since 1975.
Development is guided by a comprehensive
plan that is revised every five years. is plan
was written by a group of citizens, developers
and local officials and was formally adopted
by the county’s legislative bodies. Commu-
The Blue Grass Trust
Heritage Society
nities with strong planning commissions are
more likely than those without to have wellmanaged growth and a high quality of life.
Compatible uses are protected through zoning classifications, so if the comprehensive
plans are upheld, then the citizens of a community can be confident that their property
will be safe from the intrusion of incompatible uses, such as heavy industry in a residential or agricultural neighborhood.
The second essential element was an active
neighborhood group that came together to
fight the quarry. The group held several
meetings to discuss their options. They
adopted the acronym S.T.O.P. (Stop The
Open Pit) and hired an attorney to design
their legal strategy. Individuals educated
themselves about the planning-zoning
process, then wrote letters to elected officials
and newspapers, and developed a website.
Reporters from two newspapers and a news
team from a Lexington television station
covered the group’s efforts, raising regional
awareness about the controversy.
The public hearing took place before the
planning commission in August 2013. The
hearing concerned the
company’s request for a
zone change
from A-1
Agriculture to
I-2 Heavy Industry, which
would allow it to transform the Shearer farm
into an open pit quarry. The planning ordinance requires one of two conditions for rezoning. The company was required to show
that either (a) the agricultural zoning was inappropriate and heavy industry zoning was
appropriate or (b) that there had been major
changes altering the character of the area not
anticipated in the comprehensive plan. It
was clear that there had been no major
changes in the area since the plan was
adopted in 2012. The planning commission
spent nearly nine hours listening to company
witnesses explain why the Shearer farm was a
good place for a strip mine. e argument focused on the fact that the site has good rock very
close to the surface that can be cheaply and
profitably mined, but ignored the issue of
whether an open pit mine was appropriate given
the 30 homes surrounding the farm. ey then
argued that agricultural zoning was inappropriate because the farm was “only” good for
raising cattle and hay, ignoring the fact that
these are two of Clark County’s leading agricultural products. The planning commission
voted 6 to 1 not to approve the zone change.
e company then appealed the planning
commission’s decision to the Clark Fiscal
Court, but failed there as well.
e mine would have destroyed the Shearer
farm and subjected the residents to dust, noise,
vibration, light pollution and threatened their
water supply. e negative impact on surrounding property values could have been extreme.
Snuggled into the woods behind the Shearer
farm are the current Lisletown residents, a diverse group of artisans and professional people
who would have been required to drive through
the quarry to get to their homes.
If the quarry
had been approved it would
have set a dangerous precedent. The
comprehensive
plan has meaning. To allow it
to be altered
under these
circumstances would have left no property
safe from rezoning efforts.
The mine would have destroyed
the Shearer farm and subjected
the residents to dust, noise,
vibration, light pollution and
threatened their water supply.
In closing, it should be noted that this battle
may not be over. e company has purchased
an adjoining farm and may try some other
approach to opening their mine. Members
of S.T.O.P. will remain vigilant and active.
eir way of life is at stake, and they must do
the real work of preserving this historic neighborhood rather than see it hauled away, one
truckload at a time. B
e Heritage Society is a special
group of individuals who made
a commitment to the future of the
Blue Grass Trust for Historic
Preservation by naming the Trust
as a beneficiary in their wills or
whose estates include gifts, revocable or irrevocable, to the Trust. All
too often such gifts go unrecognized because they come at the
end of the donors’ lives. e Heritage Society was created to honor
these individuals for their generosity and support. eir patronage
enables the Trust to continue its
mission of education, service and
advocacy. Please consider including the BGT in your estate planning and join the growing number
of those whose legacies benefit the
Trust. For more information
please call us at (859)253-0362.
Dr. and Mrs. Gayle V. Alexander
Ms. Jane Hamilton Blachly
Mrs. Hazel Bush
Ms. Rose Jewell Collier
Mr. and Mrs. Richard DeCamp
Ms. Linda A. Carroll
Dr. and Mrs. Elvis Donaldson, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph G. Floyd
Mr. and Mrs. John Hackworth
Ms. Liz Harper
Mrs. Gail Hendrickson Hart
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Hulette
Ms. Norma Jean Gibson
Mr. Charles Jones
Mr. and Mrs. William Johnston
Mrs. Zee Faulkner Kurfees
Mr. James McKeighen
Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Milward
Mr. Tom Moore
Dr. and Mrs. William N. Offutt IV
Mr. and Mrs. H. Foster Pettit
Mr. W. Gay Reading
Dr. and Mrs. Daniel Rowland
Mr. Jeff Ritzler
Mr. David Stuart
Prof. and Mrs. John R. Thelin
Ms. Joyce Vanlandingham
Mr. and Mrs. Arlyn Wagner
Mr. E.M. "Jack" Webster
Ms. Vivian M. Weil
Mr. and Mrs. William T. Young, Jr.
7
Preservation at the Crossroads:
2013 National Preservation Conference in Indianapolis
by Jason Sloan, BGT Historic Preservation Specialist
I
n late October last year, I packed my
bags for the National Preservation
Conference, held in Indianapolis, Indiana
during Halloween week. e nationwide
conference is organized by the National
Trust for Historic Preservation, of which
the Blue Grass Trust is a local partner. As
the BGT’s Historic Preservation Specialist,
I was interested in seeing what the Trust
Monument Circle
could learn from national trends and other
preservation organizations, as well as explore Indianapolis, a city I had never visited
(although I admittedly entered a bit distrustful as a lifelong Titans fan who had seen
his team lose too many games
to the Colts).
The title of the 2013 Conference was “Preservation at
the Crossroads,” a reference
to Indianapolis’ nickname as
the “Crossroads of America”
because of the multiple interstates that run through
the city and state. The title
was also an emblematic reference to crossroads at which
historic preservation now
stands, having moved from
its nascent stages of houses
museums and reaction to urban renewal
to a professional practice and key part of
federal and urban design. The goal of the
Conference was to reflect on the history
of preservation, and discuss and discover
ways to continue evolving the way historic
8
preservation is practiced and utilized.
Indianapolis is a
wonderful city for
preservationists for
multiple reasons.
Foremost, it has
more monuments
than any other
American city save
Washington, D.C.
e very city,
mapped and laid out
by Alexander Ralston (who assisted
Pierre L'Enfant in
mapping Washington, D.C.), centers
on Monument Circle (nee Circle Street),
the city’s newest historic district and the
location of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument, Indiana’s towering memorial to Civil
War Veterans. It is just one of dozens of
monuments found throughout the city.
Indianapolis Streetscape
share of demolition and preservation struggles. For instance, the historic home of
President Benjamin Harrison now has a
major highway next to it that runs through
the site of where another historic home once
stood. Yet many historic buildings were
adaptively reused and many others have influenced the surrounding infill.
e metropolis was a great location
to meet and network with other
preservationists and listen to leading
preservation professionals discuss
problems facing today’s organizations, communities and cities.
While wide-ranging, some topics
and discussions were particularly
prescient for the Blue Grass Trust
and Lexington. Listed below are a
few of the issues presented and
how the BGT has adopted some
of these suggestions.
e President Benjamin Harrison House
The focus on history is not restricted to
erecting monuments. The original layout
of the city is largely intact and, while traversing the very walkable city, the pride
Indianapolis has in its architectural history was obvious. The city has seen its
1. During the opening plenary,
Stephanie Meeks, President of the
National Trust, focused on the need
to expand our traditional view of the house
museum. e model for the historic house
museum has been floundering for years.
Stephanie and the National Trust are
thinking about alternative and diverse
methods for operating house museums and
to best preserve and protect our cities.
While every city has its unique set of problems, each must decide how best to develop
and grow while maintaining the core of what
makes it special. From the adaptive reuse of
Union Station as a
conference center
to its spectacularly
re-invented City
Market to the
very map of the
city, Indianapolis
was a great place
to experience a
city steeped in
preserved history.
urging preservationists to strongly consider
different ways of saving a house other than
the house museum model.
rently under restoration; and the Willis
Green House is for sale for the auction
price of $87,200.)
In its stewardship of four historic houses,
the BGT has found multiple solutions to
these issues. ese range from renting out
the Hunt-Morgan House as an events
space to utilizing a revolving fund for purchasing houses to then sell with restrictive
easements. e BGT uses both the HuntMorgan House and Latrobe’s Pope Villa as
community spaces when possible. Of the
two houses the BGT owns that are not
house museums, one serves as an incomeproducing rental property and the other is
for sale as the second of two houses the
Trust has purchased, placed easements on,
and put back on the market. (543 West
ird in Lexington was sold and is cur-
2. One of the more recurrent conversations of the Conference was how to
involve a younger,
more diverse generation in historic
preservation. Many
attendees noted that
the concern of
younger individuals’
lack of involvement is
partially misplaced:
people that may not
Lexington, too,
consider themselves
Adaptive Reuse
has done a great
“historic preservajob of preserving what makes it unique.
tionists” are often involved in the preservaMore than once, I heard enthusiastic comtion of buildings and
ments about Lexington upon telling people
sites. Preservation’s
where I lived and worked. As a city that early
evolution, then,
recognized the need to preserve, Lexington
should be towards
historically has been ahead of the national
better representation
curve. Just to give a few examples: the BGT
of all demographics
is the fourteenth oldest preservation group
(to put it more colloin the United States; Lexington’s first local
quially: “build it and
historic district (Gratz Park, 1958) predates
they will come”).
the National Historic Preservation Act
(1966) which established the National Rege Blue Grass Trust,
ister of Historic Places. e city has three
as with many organiNational Historic Landmarks, the most
zations, has long
prestigious Federal designation for historic
worked to keep itself
sites: Old Morrison, Keeneland, and Ashrelevant along many
land, the Henry Clay Estate. Finally Lexinglines. e BGT’s deton is home to one of three surviving houses
Tours program has
designed by the influential early American
been one major recent
architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe.
step toward growing a
younger diversified
Lexington and Indianapolis are cities that
audience. e goal of
have, in some way or another, recognized
deTours is not just to
the inherent value in their history and
involve younger peosought ways to preserve what makes them
ple in preservation,
unique. Possibly the most important factor
but also to bring atin the revitalization of both cities is that
tention to many diftheir respective communities are always
ferent facets of
looking for ways to better where they live.
Lexington’s heritage
Whether through the continued designawith the hope of
tion of local historic districts (each city
opening the city’s
added a preservation district in 2013) or
unique and complex
through the personal investment of resihistory.
dents, both Lexington and Indianapolis are
on visible upward trajectories that involve
3. Of course, the
many stakeholders. B
major thread running
through the entire
conference was how
Union Station
Indianapolis Walk/Bike Path
9
BGT deTours:
Opening Doors Everywhere We Go
B
egun in January 2011, the BGT’s deTours is now in the beginning of its
fourth year. Free and open to the public, the deTours program has steadily grown each month
and has brought to the BGT an increased level
of interest from many who may not otherwise
have been aware of the Trust’s critical mission.
Doors of deTours:
Limited Editions
& Posters
Featuring the photography
of historic preservation
photographer/artist Carol Peachee,
deTours Committee Member
Whitney Rhorer designed a lovely
poster depicting selections from
twelve of the deTours from the first
three years. Each of the literal doors
represents the varied and diverse
experiences of deTours.
Signed, limited editions of
Doors of DeTours
are available for $50.
Each limited edition is 15” x 24”,
dry-mounted, signed and numbered
by artist Carol Peachee.
(Edition #1 of 25 was
auctioned for $550 at the
BGT’s Holiday Party.)
11” x 17” prints of
Doors of DeTours are
available for $10.
You can purchase the prints
at each BGT deTour or by
contacting the BGT office at
859-253-0362.
10
Bell Court Historic District
In May 2013, the deTours committee was
recognized by the Kentucky Heritage
Council with an Ida Lee Willis Service
to Preservation Award.
e nomination form for that award said that
“e deTours are literally opening doors to
unique locations and providing a social venue
to encourage residents to become more familiar
with local history and the process and benefits
of adaptive reuse.”
by Peter Brackney
lective past. Here are some highlights from the
past few months.
August 7 deTour:
First African Baptist Church;
AfterHour @ e Jax
It is unusual for the massive front doors of the
First African Baptist Church at Short
and DeWeese to be opened, but it was
a beautiful sight when they were swung
wide last August. Our guide for the
evening was the knowledgeable Yvonne
Giles who emphasized the importance
of interpreting the church within the
neighborhood. She often remarks that
FABC was “not just a church, but a
community center.” e black congregation began in 1790 with the building
erected in the mid-1800s. e FABC
congregation moved from the site in
1986 and efforts are being made to restore this East End landmark to its
role as a center of the community.
September 4 deTour:
Bell Court Neighborhood;
AfterHour @
oroughbred Antique Gallery
On a lovely September evening, a crowd gathered at the Bell House for a brief lesson on the
neighborhood from the now-retired curator of
rare books at UK, Jim Birchfield, who has written extensively on the neighborhood. e ensuing walking tour through the tree-lined streets
Since the last issue of Preservation Matters,
deTours has opened more doors on its continued mission to seek out, explore, and share the
hidden gems of central Kentucky. Our deTours
“Afterhour” social gatherings have also congregated at great local restaurants and bars. Our
sincere thanks to all who have participated in
deTours’ first three years.
Whether it is a cold, rainy night or a warm,
sunny evening for a walking tour, scores of interested Kentuckians yearn to learn of our col-
e Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd
of the Bell Court neighborhood (a local Historic District, H-1, since 1990) marked by
homes of varied architectural styles opened
eyes to this little community off East Main
Street. From the Gothic Revival style of the
Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd to
architect omas Lewinski’s Italianate Clay
Villa (the oldest extant residence in the
neighborhood), Bell Court has it all.
October 2 deTour:
UK’s Davis Marksbury Building/Center for
Visualization &
Virtual Environments;
AfterHour @ Sav’s Grill
The October deTour was quite different
as the site we visited was not historic. Of
course, that made this deTour historic!
The University of Kentucky’s Center for
Visualization & Virtual Environments
(the VisCenter) is located in the LEED
Gold certified Davis Marksbury Building.
The VisCenter opened many eyes to a dif-
VisCenter illustrating a stage in the photogrammetric
3D reconstruction process
ferent way of seeing the world around us
and the applications to historic preservation were both real and promising.
November 6 deTour:
Central Kentucky Blue Grass Seed Co.
Building, home of
BC Wood Properties;
AfterHour @
Blue Stallion Brewery
e Central Kentucky Blue Grass Seed Co.
(aka Elmendorf Seed Building) at 321 Henry
Street was the site of the November deTour
and was once part of the great business empire of James Ben Ali Haggin. Today, the
structure is the corporate home of BC Wood
Properties which rehabilitates and manages
commercial shopping centers throughout the
southeast and Midwest. e offices incorporate many of the original architectural features and we were all pleased to see the
BGT Plaque application framed and
hanging in the lobby.
December 4 deTour:
Abraham Barton House, home of DelCotto
Law Group: AfterHour @
Lexington Beerworks
In December 2013, the DelCotto Law
Group opened up their offices at the
historic Abraham Barton House at the
northeast corner of Upper and Second
streets. Portions of the Barton House date
to 1795 and its owners and occupants are
closely linked to the most influential in
our state and nation’s history. B
e Davis
Marksbury
Building
Offices at BC Wood
In May 2013,
the deTours
committee was
recognized by the
Kentucky
Heritage Council
with an
Ida Lee Willis
Service to
Preservation Award.
e Central KY
Blue Grass Seed
Company
11
The Willis Green House:
Historic Home for Sale
R
enowned architect Frank Gehry said
“Architecture should speak of its
time and place, but yearn for timelessness.”
One look at the historic Wills Green
house and you know this tenant holds true.
The rich history of
the Willis Green
House, originally
named Waveland, a
circa 1800 building
located in Danville,
Kentucky led the
Blue Grass Trust to
build a consortium
of entities to purchase the property
for $87, 200. The
consortium included The Blue
Grass Trust, First Southern Funding,
LLC (the property’s new owner), e
Crutcher Family Foundation and e
James Harrod Trust. e team bought the
property at public auction and closing occurred in the office of Tom Meng, BGT
Board President, on July 8, 2013.
Two serious parties have come forward
to view the house. One family drove
from Southern Illinois on two consecutive weekends. Another family viewed
the house, first through the eyes of
friends living in Lancaster, Ky; and then
drove in themselves from the
Detroit, Michigan area.
e second set of
visitors were
joined by Garlan
VanHook, architect to the many
restoration projects undertaken
by Angela and
Jess Correll of
Stanford, KY. Garlan invited the visitors,
Linda Carroll and Bill Johnston, to get an
inside look at the Correll projects with an
additional tour of Stanford. Further in the
newsletter, you can see another newsletter
article showcasing the remarkable building
stock the Correll’s revived in Stanford, KY.
Architect VanHook is working closely with
the latest interested party to build a financial profile for the restoration.
e Blue Grass Trust established a team
of interested parties to continue the
marketing and sale of the Willis Green
House in Danville, Kentucky. Members
include Barbara Huelette, David Downey,
Jim McKeighen, John Rhorer, Peter
Brackney, Linda Carroll, Chair and
Sheila Ferrell, Executive Director.
The team’s first step was to build a marketing website, which can be viewed at
http://willisgreenhouse.com. The site cost
was paid by a donation from a team member
and features current and historical photos
of the house, a statement of the history
and future deed restriction intentions.
Interested, qualified buyers may call
(859)221-1514 for information or to
schedule a tour. B
12
Jessamine County’s Camp Nelson:
A National Historic Landmark
Adapted from a column by Peter Brackney that first appeared on January 9, 2014.
Used with permission of the Jessamine Journal.
January 4, 2014, for the Celebration of History
and Archaeology at Camp Nelson. e main
event was the unveiling of the plaque identifying the Camp Nelson Historic and Archeological District as possessing “national significance
as one of the nation’s largest recruitment and
training centers for African-American soldiers
during the American Civil War and as the
site of a large refugee camp for women and
children who were escaping slavery and seeking freedom.”
e designation as a National Historic Landmark (NHL) is greatly significant. National
Historic Landmark status recognizes a site’s
national importance and its contribution to
American history.
O
n March 3, 1865, Congress emancipated all the wives and children of the
United States Colored Troops who had not
been previously released from the bondage of
slavery. is occurred following a public outcry when, in November 1864, hundreds of
family members of African-American soldiers
were expelled from Camp Nelson into harsh
winter conditions and 102 died from exposure and other illnesses.
Slaves had sought asylum at Camp Nelson,
where men hoped to join the Union army and
find temporary refuge for their families. Federal
policy only allowed free blacks or those with
their owners’ permission to enlist. Following
Federal policy changes, nearly 24,000 African
Americans enlisted at Camp Nelson to join
the army and, if they survived, attain their
freedom. is made Camp Nelson the largest
(and most important) U.S. Colored Troops
(U.S.C.T.) in Kentucky and the third-largest
in the United States.
ese two stories are significant to our national
historic fabric. ey contribute to what makes
our nation the land of the free and the home of
the brave. And they were the focus, along with
historic archeology, of the listing of Camp Nelson as a National Historic Landmark.
Dr. Stephen McBride, Director of Interpretation and Archeology at Camp Nelson, told
these stories to those assembled on Saturday,
Nationwide, there are only about 2,500 NHLs
representing fewer than 3% of properties
included in the National Register of Historic Places. (The National Register is an
honorary designation listing a property as
worthy of preservation.)
Kentucky is a leader in listing its historic sites
on the National Register. Only New York,
Massachusetts, and Ohio have more listings.
Of the 3,300 Kentucky sites included on the
National Register, only 32 are designated as
National Historic Landmarks.
Jessamine County has 72 sites included on
the National Register, but Camp Nelson is
the county’s only National Historic Landmark.
An unnamed sergeant in the U.S. Colored
Troops best told the significance of Camp
Nelson and of this designation: “It used to be
five hundred miles to get to Canada from
Lexington, but now it is only eighteen miles!
Camp Nelson is now our Canada.”
Camp Nelson has long been recognized as
a Kentucky landmark and as a Jessamine
County treasure. The designation of Camp
Nelson as a National Historic Landmark is
recognition of its importance to our nation’s
history. It is an American treasure. B
BGT Event Calendar:
February – August 2014
February 5, 2014: BGT deTour of Colored
Orphan Industrial Home, 644 Georgetown Street
AfterHour: Smithtown Seafood and
West Sixth Brewery, 501 West Sixth Street
Note: All BGT deTours begin at 5:30pm and are free
and open to the public.
March 5, 2014: BGT deTour to Alumni Gym,
Stoll Field and Memorial Coliseum (meet at
Alumni Gym, 102 Avenue of Champions)
AfterHour: Two Keys Tavern, 333 South Limestone
March 6, 2014: Gala Preview Party to the BGT’s
Antiques & Garden Show, KY Horse Park Alltech
Arena, Reservations required: $130 p/p; $95 p/p
35 and under; (859)253-0362
March 7, 8, 9, 2014: The Blue Grass Trust’s Antiques & Garden Show at Ky Horse Park’s Alltech
Arena, $15 Daily Ticket, $20 Run of Show —
Available at the Door. (See pages 24 – 26 for
more details)
March 27, 2014: Thursday Matters, Dine @
Nick Ryan’s Saloon, 157 Jefferson St to benefit
the BGT, + Special Beer Dinner, pairing
Sweetwater beers & food, featuring
Guest Chef from Charleston’s Snob Restaurant
and Rep from Sweetwater Brewing.
For reservations & info, call Nick Ryan’s
(859)233-7900
April 2, 2014: BGT deTour to
National Boulangerie, 264 Walton Avenue;
AfterHour: on-site
May 1, 2014: Benjamin Henry Latrobe’s
250th Birthday Party Celebration @ Pope Villa,
326 Grosvenor Avenue,
5 to 7 pm, Free and open to the public
May 7, 2014: BGT deTour of AU Associates,
159 Old Georgetown Street
AfterHour: TBD
June 4, 2014: BGT deTour of Cross Gate
Gallery and Win Morris’ House
(meet at Cross Gate Gallery, 509 E Main Street)
AfterHour: The Julep Cup, 111 Woodland Avenue
June 22, 2014: BGT Historic Preservation Awards
Presentation, Annual Membership Meeting & Summer Supper at Hunt-Morgan House, 5 pm; Reservations required for Summer Supper at Hunt
Morgan House, $35 p/p
July 2, 2014: BGT deTour of Fayette Park;
AfterHour: TBD
July 12, 2014: BGT Founders Day Party, with
Dorothy Crutcher Award presentation , 6 to 9 pm
at the Hunt-Morgan House,
Reservations needed, Free for current
BGT members, $50 for non-members
(includes 1-year BGT membership)
August 6, 2014: BGT deTour of Colby Tavern,
5121 Colby Road, Winchester, KY
AfterHour: TBD
13
BGT’s “Eleven in Their Eleventh Hour” for 2014
e Blue Grass Trust for Historic Preservation is a non-profit advocate
for historic preservation that strives to protect, revitalize and promote
the special historic places in our Central Kentucky communities to enhance the quality of life for future generations. e Blue Grass Trust is
guided by three tenets – education, service and advocacy.
Since saving the Hunt-Morgan House from demolition in 1955, the
Blue Grass Trust has sought to bring awareness to historic properties
that are under threat. In 1999, the Blue Grass Trust initiated its firstever “Eleven in eir Eleventh Hour,” a list that brings attention to
important properties with threatened or uncertain futures. Spotlighting
these endangered properties is one of two major preservation-awareness programs the BGT conducts. e “Eleventh in eir Eleventh
Hour” list is released in January; and in June, the Trust presents historic
preservation awards in concert with its annual membership meeting.
e awards recognize leading preservationists and their projects. e
purpose of both of these vital programs is to fulfill the Blue Grass
Trust’s mission of education, service and advocacy in preservation by
bringing attention to Central Kentucky’s historic resources.
T
e “Eleven in eir Eleventh Hour” list highlights specific properties
and how their situations speak to larger preservation issues in the Bluegrass. e goal of the list is to create a progressive dialogue that creates
positive long-term solutions. e criteria used for selecting the properties
include historic significance, proximity to proposed or current development, lack of protection from demolition, condition of structure, or architectural significance.
Of the eleven endangered properties listed in 2013, four have been saved:
the houses at 412 West ird Street, 151 Constitution Street, and 601
Boonesboro Avenue are all under renovation; the Willis Green House
in Danville has been purchased by a consortium that includes the BGT
and will receive preservation covenants upon being sold to an appropriate
buyer. An additional three of the 2013 endangered properties are in various states of conservation: talks continue on ways to renovate and reuse
the Old Fayette County Courthouse; LexTran has decided to move their
headquarters to another location and not demolish the Greyhound Station on Loudon Avenue; and the Section 106 consultation process continues to shape the proposed I-75
Connector Corridor in ways that avoid
historic resources.
he Blue Grass Trust’s 2014
“Eleven in eir Eleventh
Hour” identifies eleven historic resources on the University of Kentucky’s campus, and recognizes the
importance of these structures to
UK’s history and future. At the current rate of demolition and construction at UK, the campus will
soon look little like it does currently,
having major visual impacts on
Lexington. With the molding of
the University’s new Master Plan
in 2013, there exists the opportuUK’s Maxwell Place
nity to strategically utilize architecturally and historically significant
BGT believes are worth saving. As evidenced
structures as part of its blueprint. As the
by the four properties from the 2013 endanCommonwealth’s premier institution of
gered list that have been saved, the Blue
higher education and one of Lexington’s
Grass Trust is dedicated to working with the
largest landowners and employers, the
University of Kentucky and other stakeholdUniversity of Kentucky and its centrally
located campus are major visual, economic ers to find positive, long-term solutions for
these properties. e BGT is a resource, atand historic components of the city. Their
tending meetings and events to stay informed
decisions can dramatically affect the city
about discussions and decisions that may imon many levels.
pact the historic fabric of the city and county.
is is an opportunity for the University to
Over the course of 2013, the University held
ensure that its plans are the best for UK and
numerous meetings with surrounding neighLexington. The 2014 “Eleven in Their
borhoods and other stakeholders during the
Eleventh Hour” is not just a list of properties
formation of its most recent Master Plan, UK
that will be revisited or replaced in 2015, but
acknowledged that the Master Plan would
a compilation of important buildings the
14
impact Lexington. Stakeholders, such
as the BGT, the Hollywood Neighborhood Association, the South Hill
Neighborhood Association, Lexington Downtown Development Authority and others, regularly attended
meetings and shared their thoughts
with the hope that UK was sincere
in recognizing that public input
was one of the best ways to mold
the Master Plan.
Having listed UK’s Ligon House
(658 South Limestone) and Mathews House and Garden (660 South
Limestone) on the 2013 “Eleven in
eir Eleventh Hour,” the Trust watched
closely to see if there would be a plan to preserve those structures. We also started a list of
significant historic resources on campus based
on research from neighbors, UK professors,
local experts and the University’s own website. e intent was to track how the Master
Plan would affect historic structures and share
with UK the significant support for creating a
plan that would preserve sites important to
both the University and the city.
In specific instances, the University of Kentucky has shown an interest in preserving its
history. UK often points to the 1882 Administration Building, which burned in 2001 and
was restored soon thereafter, and the restoration of Miller Hall in 1993, both at a cost
likely greater than bulldozing them and starting anew. Maxwell Place, the UK President’s
home, is a pristinely preserved 1871 Italianate
villa located off of Rose Street; the house was
purchased and renovated by the University in
1917, and in June 2011 was the first (of two)
featured sites the BGT’s award-winning deTours has held on UK’s campus – the other
being the Davis Marksbury Building, UK’s
first LEED certified building (Gold), at Rose
and Maxwell, in October 2013. Another fine
preservation project was the Gaines Center
for the Humanities, which is located in three
historic houses. Using renovated spaces in the
Betts House, the Bingham-Davis House
and the Commonwealth House on Maxwell
Street, the Gaines Center was created in
1984 with a gift from John and Joan Gaines
and, according to the Center’s website,
“functions as a laboratory for imaginative
and innovative education on the University of Kentucky's campus.”
By restoring and adaptively using these
structures, UK is preserving parts of its built
heritage that contribute to the beauty of its
campus and to the fabric of Lexington. At the
heart of the BGT’s 2014 “Eleven in eir
Eleventh Hour,” however, is concern with the
University’s lack of clarity when it comes to
preservation, particularly after the unveiling
of their most recent Master Plan.
This year’s endangered list is an attempt
to shed light on additional historic resources
the University should strongly consider incorporating into its future campus plans. Structures listed are endangered to varying
degrees: some are slated to be demolished (as
with the Wenner-Gren Aeronautical Research Laboratory, scheduled to come
down later this year), while others (e
Quadrangle, for example) are not directly in
the bulldozer’s path, but have no use per the
Master Plan, calling into question the future
of these structures and their presence on campus. Lastly, one building, the Carnahan
House, is not located on UK’s primary campus, yet stands on UK’s rapidly growing
Coldstream Campus.
UK’s rich and emblematic legacy are the
focus of the BGT’s 2014 “Eleven in Their
Eleventh Hour.” They are also a vital part
of the city and state’s historic fabric, sites
that contribute to the visual aesthetic of
Lexington and Kentucky.
Ligon House
Kirwan-Blanding Towers
Mathews House
ered threatened early in the Master Plan
process and UK has still not confirmed the
buildings will be saved. Stone was a preeminent American architect, important to the
early stages of the Modernist movement. e
1967 Kirwan-Blanding Residence Hall Complex includes two 23-story towers and surrounds, as described by Lexington-Herald
Leader columnist Tom Eblen, “lower buildings in a park- like setting connected by tall
canopies” (“Architecture of UK's modernist
buildings not for everyone — but they're
worth saving anyway”, Lexington-Herald
Leader, 27 April 2013).
1. Ligon House (658 South Limestone)
and 2. Mathews House and Garden
(660 South Limestone)
Carried over from the BGT’s 2013 Endangered List, the Ligon House and Mathews
House and Garden were threatened by expansion of the College of Law and were catalysts for the creation of the 2014 Endangered
List. While plans for the Law School’s expansion have stalled, the University has not
clarified plans for either house. e Ligon
House was built in 1920 for Moses Ligon,
professor emeritus of the College of Education. The ca 1900 Mathews House was
built by the school’s first dean of agriculture, Clarence Wentworth Mathews; the
garden was created by Dean Mathews, continued by his daughter, Ruth Mathews, and,
until recently, used as a learning space for the
Biology Department. Due to lack of maintenance and visible deterioration, both structures are under the additional threat of
demolition by neglect.
3. Kirwan-Blanding Towers (University
Drive/Complex Drive, south campus)
Designed by architect Edward Durell Stone,
the Kirwan-Blanding Towers were consid-
Carnahan House
4. Carnahan House
(1550 Aristides Boulevard,
visible from Newtown Pike) at
UK’s Coldstream Campus
ough the circa 1920s Carnahan House is
not located on the University’s main campus,
the house does rest on UK’s Coldstream
Campus – land being rapidly developed by
the University. e beautiful house is clearly
visible from Newtown Pike, one of the main
entrances to Lexington. Originally a horse
farm residence, the property has been used by
UK as an alumni clubhouse and conference
center. To date, no clear use has been articulated for the property. (continued on page 16)
15
tories form e Quadrangle: Bowman Hall
(1949), Breckenridge Hall (1930), Bradley
Hall (1921) and Kinkead Hall (1930). ey
are located within the boundary formed by
Washington Avenue, Rose Street and
Funkhouser Drive. Although Bob Wiseman,
Vice President for Facilities Management
and Chief Facilities Officer, has stated that
e Quadrangle is not under threat of demolition, no clear use has been articulated for
this important site that forms one of the
most unique spaces on campus. As the space
relies on all four structures, the loss of any one
of these buildings would compromise e
Quadrangle’s historic integrity.
Patterson Hall
5. Patterson Hall (120 Campus Drive)
Patterson Hall (not to be confused with the
Patterson Office Tower) is the oldest residence hall on campus and is an important
emblem of the evolution of women’s rights at
UK. Kentucky Historical Marker #2106,
dedicated by the class of 2003, reads:
“Women first enrolled at UK in 1880. In
1888, Belle Clement Gunn became the first
woman awarded a degree. Women students
finally obtained campus housing in 1904,
when this hall opened. Built specifically as a
women's dormitory, it became the first building constructed off the main campus.” e
Marker also notes that the residence hall is
named for UK’s first president, James K. Patterson, and that the university’s second president, Henry Stites, lived there during his
presidency.
Bowman Hall
Breckenridge Hall
8 – 11: Ernst Johnson Buildings
(Wenner-Gren Laboratory, Holmes Hall,
Jewell Hall and Donovan Hall)
From 1938 through 1950, Ernst Johnson, a
noted Lexington architect, designed thirteen
buildings for the University. Johnson was a
well-known Modernist architect with direct
ties to Eero Saarinen, one of the most important American architects of the 20th Century.
While some of Johnson’s buildings, such as
Memorial Coliseum, the Student Center and
Funkhouser (the original, Ernst Johnson section dating to the 1930s), look to be incorporated according to the Master Plan, several
either lack a clear use or have already been
slated for demolition.
e Trust has selected four of Johnson’s
exemplary works:
Hamilton House
6. Hamilton House
(342 South Limestone Street)
Located across from the McDonald’s
Restaurant on South Limestone, the former
home of the nonprofit Hospitality House,
the historic Hamilton House might best be
known as the former site of the Ronald McDonald House. Currently, the building sits
empty with no clear use per the campus
Master Plan. It is bounded by South Limestone, a parking garage, Keeneland Drive
and the Samaritan Chiller Building – a
prime location for development.
7. e Quadrangle (Bowman Hall,
Breckenridge Hall, Bradley Hall, and
Kinkead Hall)
Four historic buildings constructed as dormi-
16
Wenner-Gren Laboratory
Bradley Hall
8. Wenner-Gren Laboratory
(600 Rose Street)
Originally built in 1941 to house WennerGren Aeronautical Research Laboratory, the
Wenner-Grenn Laboratory now houses the
Center for Biomedical Engineering. The
building is scheduled for demolition at the
end of the 2013-2014 school year.
Kinkead Hall
Preservation Matters | Winter 2014 |
9. Holmes Hall (101 Avenue of Champions)
Named for Sarah B. Holmes, former Dean of Women, Holmes Hall was
dedicated in 1958 and has no clear use per UK’s Master Plan. With the University of Kentucky’s contract with Education Realty Trust (EdR) of Memphis, TN to privatize student residences on campus (and the oft-stated fact
that the average age of UK’s dorms is 46 years, nearing the 50-year mark used
by preservationists to denote a building as “historic”), many of their historic
dormitories can be considered under the threat of demolition.
Holmes Hall
10. Jewell Hall (103 Avenue of Champions)
Built in 1939, Jewell Hall is one of the oldest residence halls on campus. e
dormitory was named for a former Dean of Women, Mary Frances Jewell. It
is scheduled to be demolished this year.
Jewell Hall
11. Donovan Hall (680 Rose Street)
University President Herman Donovan was honored with the naming of Donovan
Hall in 1955. Located on the corner of Rose Street and Huguelet Avenue,
the building will soon be replaced by a new $100 million science building.
Donovan Hall
There are many historic preservation resources available to the University, local and statewide. e University has, at times, made use of these
resources, most recently with the decision to list Spindletop Hall on the National Register of Historic Places in May 2012. Professors and
students from the College of Design’s Historic Preservation Graduate Program at UK did much of the work for listing Spindletop Hall on
the National Register; during the work, the professors and students regularly consulted with the Kentucky Heritage Council (also
known as the State Historic Preservation Office) as well as the staff of Spindletop in order to create a nomination that best reflects
the history of the farm.
e University has also shown the ability to get preservation professionals from across the Commonwealth into one room. On October 22,
2013, the Blue Grass Trust attended a ceremony at Spindletop Hall as UK celebrated this momentous occasion with preservationists from
around Kentucky. Lexington Mayor Jim Gray and representatives from the Kentucky Heritage Council/State Historic Preservation Office,
Preservation Kentucky, the Blue Grass Trust, the University’s own Historic Preservation Program, and staff and family members of the original
owner of Spindletop Hall spoke to the importance and foresight of listing the property on the National Register, the nation’s list of places
deemed worthy of preserving.
As citizens and preservationists, alumni and neighbors, we care about the history and future of UK’s campus, its affect across the state,
as well as its reflection on Lexington, a great American city. As a step in the right direction in its stewardship, the BGT applauds the
University of Kentucky’s confidence in and recognition of these experts in listing Spindletop Hall on the National Register of Historic
Places. The Blue Grass Trust encourages the University to increase its utilization of preservation resources and professionals, from
those that teach historic preservation on campus to state-level experts that recognize the uniqueness of UK, in order to designate on
its Master Plan sections of its campus worthy of preservation. B
17
Nationwide, Universities Demolishing Their Built Heritage
G
oogling the phrase “university plans
to demolish historic” brings up
dozens of articles describing the destruction
of historic buildings and sites by many of
our nation’s institutions of higher learning.
Currently, you can read about Indiana University’s plans to demolish six historic
homes for a fraternity house; Western
Michigan University’s demolition of its East
campus despite a written plea from the National Trust for Historic Preservation asking
for reconsideration; the University of
Michigan’s plans to demolish the century
old North Hall, home to the ROTC Program for more than 50
years and its admission
that it had no future
plans for the site once
demolition is complete;
and Georgia State University’s announcement in
early October of its plans
to tear down 80-year-old
Kell Hall and replace it
with a green corridor.
have departments devoted to the education
and training of historic preservation students and scholars. All of them certainly
have departments where history, ancient
cultures and classic languages are taught.
Yet, they think nothing of destroying their
own history.
as a state institution, is not required to give
any notice to state or local government when
demolition is ordered. It does not need a
demolition permit and is legally free to
demolish whatever it sees fit to demolish.
Also locally, we recently saw the Bluegrass
Community and Technical College demolis has also happened in our own backyard.
ish the CHR Building (and other structures
located at Eastern State Hospital). Being
Situated on historic Spindletop Hall Farm,
the hospital portion of the former Eastern
now owned and operated by the University
State Hospital campus, the CHR Building
of Kentucky, sat the Cooper house. Clay
was home to thousands of Kentucky’s citiLancaster wrote in Ante Bellum Houses of the zens who found themselves in voluntary and
involuntary long-term
confinement. Governor
John Adair had purchased the old Fayette
Hospital and nine acres
in 1824 in order to establish Eastern State Hospital. It is one of the oldest
state-funded mental institutions in the country.
Its earliest medical directors were graduates of
ese reports represent
Transylvania College.
only a few of the vast
The hospital and its
number of incidents inmedical leaders were
volving universities who
among the nation’s foredemolish their own built
most advocates for the
heritage in order to procompassionate care of
vide more contemporary
the mentally ill. While
housing, green buildings,
The Bluegrass Community and Technical College demolition of the CHR Building (and other methods of treating
green space, new technol- structures located at Eastern State Hospital).
mental illness changed
ogy or parking. Universiover time and history
ties or colleges often can act independently
Blue Grass that the Cooper house provided may view prior practices as abhorrent, the
within the framework of their own unregua prime example of a typical belt course or treatments and practices followed at Eastern
lated master plan with little to no public
stringer situated at the second story of an
State were appropriate for that time. Longinput. With regularly changing governing
18th century structure. e belt course existed term care of the mentally ill in sometimes
bodies and new master plans every five to
as an architectural feature which persisted in overcrowded conditions constituted the best
eight years, concerned citizens are often left
Kentucky architecture and construction only that many families could hope for for their
exhausted and confused when attempting to until 1815, according to Lancaster. Having a loved ones.
keep up with changes at local universities
belt course signifies that the Cooper house
and/or colleges that are often one of the
pre-dated 1815 and was likely built in the
Because Eastern State was placed on the Nalargest landowners in their hometown.
late 1700s.
tional Register for Historic Places, Section
106 of the National Historic Preservation Act
It is ironic that colleges and universities,
e Cooper house was demolished sometime applied and a number of entities were invited
which are believed to be the bastions of cul- this summer. One day it was there in all of its
to serve as Consulting Parties to review the
ture and intelligence, appear to regularly
historic glory. e next day it was a pile of
changes proposed by BCTC. e Blue Grass
disregard the importance of preserving their rubble. ere was no announcement. No noTrust served as one of the Consulting Parties
historic fabric. Many of these institutions
tice. No warning. e University of Kentucky, and filed a dissenting opinion to the final
18
development plan and argued for retaining
a sample of the CHR building as a physical
and moral reminder of this place and the history it represented. In this occasion, the Blue
Grass Trust had an opportunity to give input
to a state institution, and even though our
proposal was not accepted, we were at least
provided with the opportunity to participate
in the process. Tours of Eastern State were
offered to a wide variety of people and officials from the Kentucky Heritage Council
were given an opportunity to document the
details of the buildings.
Transylvania University desired to demolish
the structure at 443 West Fourth Street, circa
mid to late 19th century. e Kentucky Historic Resources Inventory reports that the
property was drastically but superficially altered as a double house with two entrances.
Circa 1887, the property served as an early
home to Transylvania Professor of Sacred
Literature, Reverend
Isaiah B. Grubbs.
Transylvania wanted
parking or green space
near its Bourbon Street
playing fields and ignored any institutional
heritage the building
might have for its campus. Fortunately, Lexington ordinances
prevented this private
institution from demolishing the building
without obtaining a
demolition permit. e
demolition permit
process provided the
LFUCG Office of Historic Preservation with
the authority to stay the
demolition for 30 days
while they documented
the interior and exterior
of the house. While the
physical heritage is
gone, the details of construction techniques
and assembled history will be retained for
study by future generations.
South Martin Luther King Dorms at UK
The University of
Kentucky, as a state
institution, is not
required to give any
notice to state or
local government
when demolition is
ordered. It does not
need a demolition
permit and is legally
free to demolish
whatever it sees fit
to demolish.
Local architect Graham Pohl recently contacted the BGT about the significance of
Ernst Johnson’s architectural legacy at
the University of
Kentucky. e UK
Master Plan makes
no secret about its
demolition plans
and several of Mr.
Johnson’s buildings
are seriously threatened. Pohl said,
“Johnson's works
are not just significant because of the
era in which they
were created - they
are [also] significant because the architect is directly
tied to one of the
most important architects of the 20th
century, Eero
Saarinen. Johnson
and Saarinen were colleagues, fellow students, and friends at Yale in the early 1930s.
In fact, as a student, Johnson was the more
outstanding of the two, receiving more design
awards than Saarinen. e two remained
friends and a custom set of fire tools
designed by Saarinen and made as a gift for
Johnson remains in the Ashwood Road
home Johnson designed for himself in 1949
(now belonging to BGT Members Tom
and Lisa Fryman).”
Pohl further noted, “the Wenner-Gren
building is one example of Johnson's gems,
a wonderful and very rare example of the
Streamline Moderne style. In addition to its
architectural heritage Wenner-Gren has a
remarkable history tied to the research that
took place in the building.” e University
plans to demolish the Wenner-Gren at the
end of the 2013-14 school year.
e Blue Grass Trust has previously expressed concerns about specific demolition
plans revealed (or implied) in the University
of Kentucky Master Plan. e University
was gracious in inviting us to tour the campus and discuss our concerns. Nevertheless,
UK made no commitments to develop an
official preservation plan. With that in
mind, we hope the public will appreciate
the decision to devote our “Eleven in
Their Eleventh Hour” endangered list for
2014 to the University of Kentucky Campus.
e Blue Grass Trust wants our constituency
to be fully aware of historic buildings endangered by the University’s plans. B
19
Honorariums and
Memorial Gifts
New Members in 2013
A.G. Campbell Advisory, LLC – Mr. Alex Campbell, III
Mr. Evan Adams
Mr. and Mrs. William Adams
Mr. Cyrus Alexander
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Applegate
Mr. and Mrs. William Baldwin
Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Barrett
Bluegrass Auction and Appraisal – Mr. Filson Graham
Mr. Thomas Bond
Ms. Elizabeth V. Boone
Ms. Jennifer Braddock
Mr. Andrew Brown
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas and Gail Bunch
Mr. David Burg
Mr. and Mrs. William Cammack
Mr. Paul Carpenter
Mr. James Carroll
Mr. and Mrs. Peter Cassidy
Mr. Michael Chambers
Ms. Mary Woodford Clay
Mr. Ken Clevidence
Ms. Barbara Clifton
Mr. and Mrs. Kip Cornett
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Cravens
Mr. Markus Cross
Mr. and Mrs. Pat Dalbey
Mr. and Mrs. James Dawahare
Ms. Lois DeSimone
Mr. Colin Doherty
Ms. Penny Dolan
Ms. Susan Durant
Ms. Ann Evans
Mr. Tom Evans
Dr. and Mrs. Edward Fallon
Ms. Elloree Findley
Mr. and Mrs. David Fisher
Mr. and Mrs. Tim Fisher
Mr. Alan Garrett
Mr. Gerard Gerhard
Ms. Theresa Gilbert
Mr. Austin Green
Mr. and Mrs. Larry Griffey
Ms. Ashley Grigsby
Mr. and Mrs. Jock Gum
Ms. Anna Hall
Mr. and Mrs. Dave Harper
Ms. Jean Harper
Ms. Fay Wathen Haupt
Mr. E. Stephen Hein
Heritage Antiques – Mr. Dean Gogel
Mr. and Mrs. Tim Hites
Mr. and Mrs. David Jaquith
Ms. Anne Evans Jeffries
Mr. and Mrs. Eric Johnson
Ms. Audrey Jones
Mr. Steve Kay
Ms. Martha Kenton
Mr. Burk Kessinger
Ms. Krista Kimmel
Ms. Debbie Kirklighter
Mr. Roger Kirkpatrick
Mr. and Mrs. Ronnie Large
Mr. Michael Lauer
Ms. Jennie Leavell
Mr. and Mrs. John Matheus
20
Ms. Mary Anne McKee
Ms. Betsy Meredith
Mr. Charles Milward
Mr. Nobuaki Mitsuhiro
Mr. John Molla, Jr.
Mr. Robert Morgan
Ms. Susan Milward Neal
Dr. Maury Offutt
Ms. M. Carroll Orr
Dr. Eric Ostertag and Dr. Zary Tavakoli
Dr. James Owen
Ms. Julie Pauly
Mr. Warren Payne
Ms. Carol Peachee
Mr. Estill Curtis Pennington
Mr. Stanley D. Petter, Jr.
Mr. J. Kyle Plomin
Mr. and Mrs. John Plomin
Prajna Design and Construction, LLC –
Mr. Garry Murphy and Mr. Dave Wittmer
Ms. Whitney Rhorer
Mr. and Mrs. Brent Rice
Mr. Gary Ridge
Mr. Jim Ringo
Ms. Rona Roberts
Dr. Howard Roberts
Ms. Nancy Roe
Ms. Audrey Rooney
Mr. Chad Rudzik
Ms. Kate Savage
Mr. and Mrs. Cameron Schaeffer
Mr. Marc Schlackman and Ms. Joan Rue
Mr. and Mrs. Sam Shipley
Ms. Josephine Shoop
Mr. Jerry Shrout
Mr. and Mrs. Jerry T. Shrout
Ms. Ruth Sills
Mr. Brandl Skirvin
Ms. Julie Smith
Mr. Richard Snowden
Mr. Maury Sparrow
Spindletop Hall – Gerald Marvel
Mr. and Mrs. John Stites
Mr. David Stubbs
Mr. Neil Sulier
Mr. Newton Taluskie
Ms. Amy Taylor
Ms. Jessica Chadwell Turner
Dr. and Mrs. Henry Tutt
Mr. Billy Van Pelt
Dr. Wilma Walker
Mr. and Mrs. Don Wathen
Ms. Judy Wells
Ms. Deborah Westerfield
Ms. Clara Wieland
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Wigginton
Mr. Norman Williams
Mr. and Mrs. William Witt
Woman's Club of
Central Kentucky
Ms. Miki Wright
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Young
Mr. and Mrs. Ray Yozwiak
Our Gratitude for Gifts Given in Honor of:
The Joe Ferrell Family, by
Mr. and Mrs. Don Waggener
Our Heartfelt Thanks for
Gifts Given in Memory of:
Harry G. Gamage,
UK head football coach 1927-33, by
Phyllis Gamage
Dr. John Garden, by
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Beach
Ms. Nancy Bishop
Mr. and Mrs. Mike Buchart
Ms. Linda Carroll and Mr. John Morgan
Mr. and Mrs. Bill Chapman
Mr. and Mrs. James Cleveland
Dr. and Mrs. Melvin Coolidge
Ms. Susan Cowden
Mr. and Mrs. William Curlin
Ms. Sarah Davis
Mr. Zach Davis, Kirkpatrick and Company
Mrs. Ann Todd Dupree
Mr. and Mrs. Jerold Friesen
Dr. and Mrs. James Gay
Mr. Ambrose Givens
Mr. and Mrs. James Host
Mrs. Barbara Hulette
Mr. and Mrs. Lindsey Ingram
Ms. Evelyn Kemper
Mr. Samuel Kinkead
Ms. Zee Faulkner Kurfees
Ms. Monnie Gay Long
Ms. Bettye Lee Mastin
Mr. and Mrs. Foster Ockerman
Ms. Laura Parrish
Mr. W. Gay Reading
Mr. and Mrs. George
Dale Robinson
Ms. Diana Ross
Dr. and Mrs. John Stewart
Mr. and Mrs. James Sutton
Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Tierney
Mr. and Mrs. David Tramontin
Mr. and Mrs. Gardner Turner
Mr. and Mrs. Bob Weant
Ms. Liz Wheeler
Dr. John Garden
The BGT mourns the passing of Dr. John Garden
on December 24, 2013. He is survived by his loving
wife, Mrs. Ann Garden.
The Gardens have been active, long-time members
and good neighbors of the BGT.
Our thanks to the Gardens for their thoughtful choice
to designate the Trust as a recipient of memorial gifts
in John’s memory.
The Blue Grass Trust thanks these 2013 Annual Fund Donors*
for their partnership in preserving the places that tell the stories of our past.
The BGT’s Annual Fund Drive is open for your donations through June 30, 2014, in hopes of meeting our $100,00 goal.
Action Court Reporters (Ms. Judy Sellars)
Mr. and Mrs. Steve Albert
Dr. and Mrs. John Allen
Anonymous
Anonymous – Community Foundation
of Louisville
Dr. Douglas Appler
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Arensberg
Dr. Richard Arnold
AU Associates (Holly Wiedemann)
Dr. and Mrs. Joe Bark
Ms. Nancy Barnett
Mr. and Mrs. W.B. Rogers Beasley
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Binford
Mrs. Edith Bingham
Dr. and Mrs. Cary Blaydes
Dr. Mary Chandler Bolin
Mr. and Mrs. Philip Boyd
Mr. and Mrs. Jim Brackney
Ms. Jennifer Braddock
Mr. and Mrs. Guy Bradley
Mr. and Mrs. George Brooks
Mr. and Mrs. Darrell Brown
Mr. Willy Brown and Mr. Eddie Woods
Mr. and Mrs. John Burkhard
Ms. Hazel Bush
Mrs. Anne Cammack
Mr. and Mrs. Alex G. Campbell, Jr.
Micah Campbell Insurance Services
Mr. and Mrs. Rutheford Campbell
Mr. Jon Carloftis and Mr. Dale Fisher
Mr. Clyde Carpenter
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Carpenter
Ms. Linda Carroll and Mr. John Morgan
Matthew Carter Interiors
Mr. Jason Chadwell
Mr. Clayton G. Chamblis
Dr. and Mrs. Mark Cheney
Ms. Donna Childers
Dr. and Mrs. Shailendra Chopra
Clay Ingels Co., LLC (Bill Chapman)
Judge Jennifer Coffman and
Mr. Wes Coffman
Ms. Anne M. Combs
Ms. Robin Fishback Combs
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Comley
Community Trust Bank
Mr. and Mrs. Tim Cone
Ms. Faye Cooper
Dr. and Mrs. Emmett Costich
Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Cotton
Ms. Linde Couch
Mr. and Mrs. Mack Cox
Crowe Horwath Foundation in honor of
Randall Miloszewski
Mr. and Mrs. Barry Crume
Crutcher Family Foundation
Dr. and Mrs. Douglas Cunningham
Mr. and Mrs. Bill Curlin. Jr.
Dr. and Mrs. Greg D’Angelo
Mr. and Mrs. John Darnell, III
Ms. Gay Darsie
Ms. Mary Davis
Ms. Anna Dearinger
Mr. Dick DeCamp
Ms. Karen Deprey
Dr. and Mrs. Elvis Donaldson
Ms. Kitty Dougoud
Mr. and Mrs. David Downey
Mr. and Mrs. Tom Eblen
Mr. Dave Elbon
Mrs. Virginia Elliott
Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Ezzell
Ms. Jean Ezzell
Dr. and Mrs. Edward Fallon
Mr. and Mrs. Darius Fatemi
Mr. and Mrs. Howard Feasby
Mr. and Mrs. Joe Ferrell
Ms. Jane Fields and Mr. Graham Pohl
Ms. Dee Fizdale
Representative Kelly Flood and
Mr. Neil Chethik
Ms. Jan Foody
Mr. and Mrs. Bill Fortune
Ms. Betty Freedman
Mr. and Mrs. Al Gajda, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Hank Galbraith
Ms Phyllis Gamage
Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Garrett
Dr. and Mrs. James G. Gay
Mr. Richard Getty
Ms. Theresa Gilbert
Mr. Ambrose Givens
Ms. Andrea Gottler
Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Graham
Mr. and Mrs. Guy Graves, Sr.
Ms. Marcia Gray and Mr. Bill Lussky
Mr. Roy Griggs
Mr. and Mrs. Ben Haggin
Mr. and Mrs. Dean Hammond
Mr. Dave Harper
Ms. Liz Harper
Ms. Phyllis Hasbrouck
Ms. Barbara Hausman-Smith
Mr. Price Headley, Jr.
Mrs. Nathan Vanmeter Hendricks
Ms. Georgia Henkel and Mr. John Long
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Henry, II
Hilary Boone Foundation by
Alyce B. Hoskins
Mr and Mrs Joseph Hillenmeyer
Mr. Robert Hillenmeyer, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Jim Hites
Ms. Marie E. Hochstrasser
Mr. Paul Evans Holbrook
Ms. Randolph Hollingsworth
Mr. and Mrs. Phil Holoubek
Betty Hoopes Antiques
Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Hoopes
Mr. and Mrs. Larry Hopkins
Mr. and Mrs. Jim Host
Mr. Lennie G. House
Ms. Linda Hovermale
Mrs. Barbara Hulette
Mr. and Mrs. Chris Jackson
Ms. Anne Evans Jeffries
Mrs. Elizabeth Jett
Mr. and Mrs. Bill Johnston
Mr. Bill Justice
Drs. Magdalene Karon and John Stewart
Mr. Ben Kaufmann
Mr. and Mrs. DB Kazee
Keeneland Foundation
Ms. Laurie Keller and Mr. Bill Schweri
Mr. and Mrs. Dana Kelly
Ms. Evelyn B. Kemper
Mr. James G. Kenan – Spray Foundation
Ms. Elizabeth Kennan and
Mr. Michael Burns
Mr. Sidney Kinkead, Jr.
Mrs. Zee Faulkner Kurfees
Mr. Timothy Kuryla
Ms. C. Charlotte Lakers
Dr. Philip Latham
Ms. Bonnie Laudan
Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Leveridge
Mr. Richard Levine
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Lindquist
Dr. Priscilla Lynd
Mr. Robert Magrish
Mr. Bart Mahan
Mr. Greg Martelli
Dr. and Mrs. Charles Martin
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Masson
Ms. Lynda Matusek and
Mr. Dwight Kelley
Ms. Joan P. Mayer
Dr. and Mrs. Willis McKee, Jr.
Mr. Jim McKeighen
Mr. Richard McKenzie and
Mr. Victor Attard
Ms. Kit McKinley
Mr. and Mrs. William Meade
Ms. Winifred Meeker
Mr. and Mrs. Tom Meng
Mr. and Mrs. Hub Metry
Mr. Michael Meuser
Ms. Elise Meyer
Ms. Jennifer B. Miller
Ms. Judith S. Miller
Mr. Miles Miller
Mr. and Mrs. Randy Miloszewski
Mr. and Mrs. William Montague
Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Moore
Ms. Jean Robinson Moore
Mr. Tom Moore
Morgan Worldwide
Mrs. Betty Muntz
Mr. Wesley Murry
Mrs. Megan Naylor
Mr. C. Wesley Newkirk
Ms. Shirley Noel
Col. and Mrs. Doug Noll
Dr. Jacqueline Noonan
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Ochenkoski
Mr. and Mrs. Ted Oldham
Ms. Sandra Oppegard
Mr. Tom Padgett, Padgett Construction
Ms. Ridgely Park
Dr. and Mrs. Eugene Parr
Mr. Tom Parrish
Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Paulson. Jr.
Ms. Julie Pauley
Ms. Beanie Pederson
Ms. Pamela Perlman
Mr. and Mrs. Peter Perlman
Ms. Maureen Peters and Mr. Joe Turley
Mr. and Mrs. Foster Pettit
Mr. N. Gregory Pettit
Ms. Jane E. Phillips
Mr. Charles C. Pittinger
Ms. Lois Anne Polan
Mr. and Mrs. Louis Prichard
Dr. and Mrs. George Privett
Mr. and Mrs. Rick Queen
Mr. and Mrs. Randy Raine
Mr. W. Gay Reading
Mr. and Mrs. Reese Reinhold
Ms. Ann Render
Mr. and Mrs. John Rhorer
Mr. and Mrs. Brent Rice
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Robinson
Dr. and Mrs. Dan Rowland
Mr. and Mrs. John Sartini
Mr. and Mrs. George Saufley, II
Dr. and Mrs. Barry Schumer
Dr. and Mrs. E.I. Scrivner, Jr.
The Rev. and Mrs. Robert Sessum
Mr. James Sherwood
Ms. Jo Shoop
Dr. Robert Slaton
Mr. and Mrs. Jason Sloan
Dr. Clifton Smith
Snowy Owl Foundation
Mrs. Beverley Spears
Ms. Rebecca Spencer
Mr. Gordon Stacy
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Stanley
Mrs. Julia Stanton
Mr. and Mrs. John H. Stites
Ms. Kay Rucker Strohl
Mr. and Mrs. James Sutton
Ms. Nancy Talbott
Dr. and Mrs. Ted Tauchert
Taylor-Cheek Fund at
Blue Grass Community Foundation
(Fran Taylor and Tom Cheek)
Mr. and Mrs. Darren Taylor
Dr. and Mrs. John Thelin
Mr. and Mrs. Jim Thomas
Dr. and Mrs. John Thomas
Ms. Barbara Tilghman
Ms. Joyce Toth
Dr. and Mrs. Henry Tutt
Drs. Woodford and Dorothy Van Meter
Mrs. Joyce Vanlandingham
Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Waddell
Dr. and Mrs. Gary Wallace
Ms. Susan Ware
Dr. and Mrs. J. Sloane Warner, Jr.
Mr. Brandon Warren
Mr. and Mrs. Don Wathen
Ms. Vivian Weil
Ms. Judy Wells
Jessica and John Winters
Mr. and Mrs. William Witt
Mr. and Mrs. Bryan Lewis Wolfe
Dr. and Mrs. Glenn Womack
Mr. and Mrs. William T. Young, Jr.
Dr. and Mrs. Raymond Yozwiak
Mr. J.R. Zerkowski and Mr. Brad Yelvington
Ms. Ann L. Zimmer
*Donations received as of press date of
January 14, 2014.
Donors list as of press time.
Additional donors will be listed in the
next issue of Preservation Matters.
21
BGT’s Heritage Society
Visits Cave Hill Place
I
n early October, a visit to Cave Hill
Place was organized as a special outing exclusively for the BGT Heritage Society members. Clay Lancaster referred to
the Federal style 1821 home as Cave
Place: “It is called Cave Place from the
cavern that runs under the house back
into the hillside” (Antebellum Houses of
the Bluegrass, p. 51). David Bryan, a prominent early settler and nephew of Patrick
Henry, built the original house. It was a simple style seen in 19th century Kentucky
farmhouses (central hall with recessed twostory wings). e Lexington architectural
firm of N. Warfield Gratz designed the 1916
additions in the neo-Federal and Georgian
Revival manner, transforming the overall
appearance of the house without obliterating the original structure. Among the
additions were the dramatic Tuscan portico and the beautiful “great room” with
its 17th century Jacobean fireplace, decorated by barley twist oak carvings and
brought to Cave Hill Place from an English manor. John Y. Brown, Jr. purchased
the 7500 sq. ft. residence in 1979, and he
established it as the governor’s home during his term in office while the mansion
in Frankfort was being renovated. Cave Hill
Place was entered on the National Register of Historic Places in December 1980.
The former governor sold the 17-acre
estate in 2006 to a couple from Washington, D.C., who never lived there. The residence experienced severe deterioration
during a three-year period of vacancy and
neglect with vandalism, squatters, and
thieves doing great damage and leaving
it denuded of almost everything of any
value. Finally in 2009, the estate was sold
to Dr. and Mrs. James Owen, who have
spent the last four years restoring this
historic treasure to its former glory, and
that was what the BGT’s Heritage Society had the privilege to see firsthand.
The plaster was in terrible shape when
Jim and Lucy purchased the property.
22
Cave Hill Place on a bright fall day
Jim said they had a plasterer on the job
for a full year. One treasure that thieves
did not (could not?) remove was the previously mentioned massive oak mantel
brought from Seven Oaks, England. Even
though the Owens have photos of the
state of the property at the beginning of
their saga, it is still difficult to imagine all
the work that had to be done. Although
Lucy, who sometimes refers to the property as “Cave Hell,” says that the restoration
project is not complete (are they ever?),
today the home is truly exquisite with attention given to all the details. The dedication that Jim and Lucy have given to
this project cannot be overstated, and it is
their hope that they will be able to leave
the home in a status that will keep it supported in perpetuity. They hope to realize
a profit stream (no pun intended) from
the rapidly flowing pure stream of water
that flows behind their home at a constant eight gallons a second. They are exploring possibilities with the bourbon
industry or any other entity that could
use such a stream as a part of its business.
e aspirations of the Owens to see if they
can leave their newly renovated Kentucky
and Fayette County treasure with a sustainable income to keep the property from ever
again falling into neglect compliments
the Heritage Society’s purpose, which is
to ensure the future of historic preservation advocacy in Central Kentucky. The
BGT’s Heritage Society is a special group
of individuals who have made a commitment to the future of the Blue Grass Trust
by naming the Trust as a beneficiary in
their wills or estate plans. All too often,
such gifts have gone unrecognized because they have come at the end of the
donors’ lives. The Heritage Society has
been created to honor these individuals
now for their generosity and support.
Please consider joining the BGT’s Heritage Society and plan to join us on our
next visit to a special location like Cave
Hill Place. More details regarding the
Heritage Society can be obtained by calling the Trust at 859.253.0362 or by visiting Sheila Ferrell at the BGT offices at
253 Market Street. B
Stellar Line-Up for BGT’s 2014
Antiques & Garden Show March 7, 8, 9,
with Gala Preview Party March 6, at Ky Horse Park
I
nfluential tastemakers P. Allen
the keynote speaker events (prices vary).
Smith, Thomas Jayne, and Renny
For reservations, please call the BGT at
Reynolds will share their sense of history,
859.253.0362, or visit us online at
home and place at the BGT’s 2014 Anwww.bluegrasstrust.org
tiques & Garden Show at the Kentucky
Horse Park’s Alltech Arena March 6, 7,
The BGT’s show has become a major reand 8. Hosted
gional attraction
by 2014 Honeach Spring thanks
orary Co-chairs
to its stellar line-up
Dr. Elvis and
of three keynote
Mrs. Geneva
speakers (sponsored
Donaldson, the
by Wood Art By
festivities will
Eli), fine antiques,
begin with a
gorgeous gardens,
Gala Preview
designer vignettes,
Party on Thursstunning jewelry,
day evening,
collectibles and
March 6, from
vintage silver, floral
6:00 to 9:00
designs, a vintage
p.m., which incar show (sponcludes a delisored by Audi of
cious array of
Lexington), comExhibit by Matthew Carter from the
food and drinks, 2013 Antiques and Garden Show
plimentary daily
valet parking,
lectures, a Kenand first-look shopping opportunities
tucky Treasures exhibit featuring the
with more than eighty world-class exKentucky Collection of Sharon and Mack
hibitors. Reservations are required for the
Cox, a “Kentucky” long rifles and powGala ($130 p/p, $95 35 & under) and to
derhorn collection, and a la carte café and
bar. Other highlights include a silent auction
and a raffle for a Box for
6 to the 2014 Ky Derby.
Daily show tickets are
$15 p/p, $20 for run of
show and are available at
the door. The BGT
thanks its patrons, board
and committee members, and lead sponsors
including TravelHost,
Wood Art By Eli, Audi
of Lexington, flower
Magazine, WLEX-TV
18, the Lexington Herald-Leader, Stites &
Kentucky Treasure,
Harbison, and Morgan Calk Clock
Worldwide for helping
to make this show possible. B
BGT 2014 AGS
Complimentary Lecture Schedule
Friday, March 7, 2014, 2:00 pm
Thomas Birkman (Kimbrell-Birkman Interiors) Lecture:
On Interior Design
Restoration and Trust
by Marjorie Guyon
Saturday, March 8, 2014
10:30 am | Patrick Snadon (Associate Professor, School of Architecture and
Interior Design, University of Cincinnati) Lecture: Accidental Avant-Garde: The Rise
and Fall of Cincinnati Modernism
4:00 pm | Charlotte Ward (President, Classic Garden Ornaments, Ltd., manufacturer
and supplier of LONGSHADOW) Lecture: Gardening in Planters
Antique Car Exhibit from the
2013 Antiques and Garden Show
Sunday, March 9, 2014
11:30 am | Ann Evans, Executive Director of Kentucky Governor’s Mansion & Lecture
1:30 pm | Karl Raitz (Department of Geography, University of Kentucky)
Lecture: Kentucky's Frontier Highway: Historical Landscapes Along the Maysville Road
3:00 pm | Mel Hankla (American Historic Services) Lecture: Evolution of the "Kentucky"
Longrifle with an overview of Scott County's "Tansel Family" of Powderhorn Artists
23
Three Influential Tastemakers Share their Sense of History, Home and Place
as Keynote Speakers at BGT’s 2014 Antiques & Garden Show:
omas Jayne, Renny Reynolds, and P. Allen Smith
Tri-Lecture Exposition Hall Sponsored by Wood Art By Eli
Learn more at http://www.pallensmith.com.
Inspired by a childhood spent on the farm raising and showing livestock and poultry Allen
has led a life of promoting good stewardship of
the earth. In 2009 Smith founded the Heritage
Poultry Conservancy, an organization dedicated to the preservation and support of all
threatened breeds of domestic poultry.
P. Allen Smith:
Garden Lecture
Afternoon Aperitif,
Amuse-Bouche,
Lecture and Q & A
Saturday, March 8 at 1:00 pm,
$60 per person,
Reservations Required,
Enjoy all three keynote speakers
for $150
P. Allen Smith is an award-winning designer,
gardening and lifestyle expert. He is the host of
two public television programs, P. Allen Smith's
Garden Home, P. Allen Smith's Garden to Table
and the syndicated 30-minute show P. Allen
Smith Gardens. He is a Certified Fellow of the
Royal Horticultural Society, and a Board
member of the Royal Oak Foundation, the
United States affiliate of the National Trust of
England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Smith is one of America's most recognized
and respected garden and design experts, providing ideas and inspiration through multiple
media venues. He is the author of the best-selling Garden Home series of books published by
Clarkson Potter/Random House, including
Bringing the Garden Indoors: Container, Crafts
and Bouquets for Every Room and the recently
published cookbook, Seasonal Recipes from the
Garden inspired by the abundance of food
from his farm and a family of great cooks.
Allen is very active on social media such as
Twitter, Facebook, Allen's Blog and YouTube.
Smith also hosts his own radio program the "P.
Allen Smith Show". His design and lifestyle
advice is featured in several national magazines.
P. Allen Smith's Garden Home, located in Little Rock's historic Quapaw Quarter, is a 1904
Colonial Revival cottage surrounded by a series
of garden rooms designed by Smith. is garden was created to illustrate his 12 principles of
design, the basis of his first book in the Garden
Home series. His Garden Home Retreat overlooks the Arkansas River Valley and encompasses more than 500 acres of a farm dating
back to 1840. e centerpiece is the cottage,
built in the American Greek Revival style and
constructed in an earth-friendly manner. Directly behind the cottage is the croquet lawn,
which is framed by a summer kitchen and art
studio. e surrounding garden includes a
fountain garden that separates two wings of
garden rooms filled with a mix of annuals,
herbs, perennials, roses, shrubs and ornamental
grasses. Beyond the flower gardens are orchards filled with heritage apple trees, stone
fruit and blueberries, acre vegetable gardens, a
bluebird trail, wildflower fields and a daffodil
hill, which overflows with more than 275,000
daffodils blooming each spring. Various outbuildings, from barns to mobile chicken
homes, are located throughout the grounds and
surrounding pastures.
P. Allen Smith and his work have been featured in national publications including Southern Living, Cottage Living, Southern Accents,
Gardening Deck and Design, Fine Gardening,
Garden Gate, Hobby Farm Home, Sustainable
Home, Gardening How-To, Woman's Day, All
You, Home, House Beautiful, Elle Décor and e
New York Times.
P. Allen Smith's Awards and Recognitions include the 2011 4H Celebration of Excellence
Award, 2009 Arkansas Cultural Enrichment
Award from the Hot Springs Documentary
Film Festival, Medal of Honor and Honorary
Member of e Garden Club of America,
Garden Communicator Award from the
American Nursery and Landscape Association
(ANLA), Horticultural Communicator Award
from the American Horticultural Society
(AHS) and many others. B
Thomas Jayne:
“How to Decorate with Antiques„
Spring Luncheon & Lecture,
Friday, March 7 at 12 noon,
$60 per person, Reservations Required,
for $150
Rooms by Thomas Jayne always reflect a
strong connection to history and place.
Drawing upon their past for inspiration,
he seeks details that will deepen and enliven
their decoration. Whether the locale is a
Soho loft in a late 19th century industrial
building or a historic Federal house built by
a New England whaling merchant, the settings become part of the narrative, their history providing the impetus for the design.
omas Jayne reflects, “I have always been attracted to history and to objects linked with it.
I find their connections and evolution fascinating”. For him, the emphasis is on discovering relationships and associations that add
texture, richness and depth, the elements that
lend a room its spirit and character.
While that is the cornerstone of his philosophy, it filters through a clear eyed view of
present day expectations. “I like old things,
but I want them to look fresh – and that
often comes from looking again at the old
source and rethinking it in color, shape and
juxtaposition” In practice, that means translating engaging ideas into tailored, comfortable houses or apartments that suit the
current needs of the client, whether they be
L – R: Kentucky
Treasures:
Campbell desk
bookcase; Painting
of Rebecca Redd by
Matthew Jouett;
Blanket Chest
omas Jayne, continued.
young families or advanced collectors.
Hence, the catch words for Jayne Design
Studio: Decoration: Ancient and Modern.
e firm’s founder, omas Jayne, brings a
varied and extensive educational background
to his work. He studied architecture and art
history at the University of Oregon where he
received a Bachelor of Architecture, and
then continued on to Winterthur Museum,
earning a Master’s degree in their graduate
fellows program in American Material Culture. After his academic work, he pursued
fellowships at the American Wing of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Historic
Deerfield and J. Paul Getty Museum before
finding his way to Christie’s Estates and Appraisal Department. From there, his exposure to architecture and the decorative arts
naturally led him into interior design. He
was fortunate to have his start in the field at
two influential design firms in America,
Parish-Hadley & Associates and Kevin McNamara, Inc., before setting up his own
firm, Jayne Design Studio, in 1990.
Over the past 20 years, omas Jayne and
the Studio’s work has been widely published
and recognized for its unique approach and
quality of design. e firm has been featured
on many of the most important lists of
prominent American designers, including
most recently Architectural Digest’s AD100
and Elle Décor’s A List.
In addition to his well regarded practice,
omas Jayne is a noted author, frequently
writing on historical themes in art, architecture and decoration. His highly successful
book, e Finest Rooms in America, was published in November 2010 by Monacelli Press
to great acclaim. His new book, American
Decoration – A Sense of Place, is a monograph
of his own work, released by Monacelli
Press. He also prepares a weekly post for his
blog, www.decorationancientandmodern.com.
Jayne Design Studio has a diverse portfolio
of projects, a sampling of which can be seen
at jaynedesignstudio.com. B
seasons of the twenty-two gardens that have
been created on the eighteenth century farmstead that he bought in 1979. It includes
woodland gardens, a birch walk, perennial
borders, fruit and vegetable gardens, summer
borders, an arboretum, a Mediterranean garden, as well as pictures from the nursery where
they grow specimen plants in rather classical
horticultural ways. You can see more about
these gardens on their website www.hortulusfarm.com
Renny Reynolds:
“Listening to the Land”
Afternoon Tea & Lecture,
Friday, March 7, 4:00 pm,
$45 per person
for $150
Respect for architectural and horticultural
vernacular, a love of native and naturalizing
plants, a vast knowledge of gardening history
and style, and a keen interest in unusual foliage and plant combination are just some
of the hallmarks of Renny Reynolds works.
Renny draws from his own home and gardens in Bucks County, Pennsylvania for his
wonderfully compelling "Listening To e
Land" lecture.
"Listening To e Land" includes gorgeous
photos taken over the years and different
Reynolds moved to New York City with a
degree in landscape architecture from the
University of Wisconsin in 1973. For the
next five years, he designed Manhattan penthouse, terrace, and backyard gardens, most
notably for fashion designer Bill Blass in
1975. His career then took an unexpected
turn when he was tapped by Yves St. Laurent to design the launch of his Opium fragrance on a ship in New York harbor, then
by Diana Vreeland to design the first of
many of her famous Costume Exhibition
openings at the Metropolitan Museum of
Art. Soon after, he was hired by Studio 54
to design all their nightly events. us, the
RENNY: Design for Entertaining business,
which carried him to the White House and
many celebrated events around the world,
was born.
In 2002, he handed the reins of RENNY
Design business into the capable hands of
his nephew and partner Reed McIlvaine,
and returned to his first love, garden design.
Since then, he has been responsible for the
design of some of the most spectacular private gardens in America. B
25
Preservation Matters is
a bi-annual newsletter
published by the
Blue Grass Trust for
Historic Preservation
for its membership.
Latrobe’s Pope Villa: What’s Next?
Community Workshop Held on November 23
Preservation Matters
Newsletter Committee:
Linda Carroll, Bill Johnston,
John Rhorer, Peter Brackney,
Jason Sloan
Editor: Sheila Omer Ferrell
Graphic Designer:
Miki Wright, Egg Design
www.scrambledegg.com
859.338.2432
Volume 35/Issue 1, Winter 2014
Contributing Writers:
Peter Brackney, Linda Carroll,
Sheila Omer Ferrell,
Bill Johnston, John Rhorer,
Jason Sloan, Bill Fortune,
John Hackworth, Harry G. Enoch,
M. Claire Sipple, Isabel Yates
Photographers:
Neil Sulier
Patrick Morgan
Lee P. Thomas
Linda Carroll
Jason Sloan
Sheila Ferrell
Tom Eblen
Peter Brackney
Ashley Paul
Heather Lamplough
Carol Peachee
26
Latrobe’s Pope Villa
In 2013, the Blue Grass Trust’s Pope Villa turned
200 years old. Completed in 1813, the Pope Villa is
one of the last standing houses designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe. ough Latrobe is best
known for his design of public and commercial
buildings, including the United States Capitol
Building and the Baltimore Basilica, he was also a
master of residential architecture, designing nearly
60 houses in the United States. e exact number of
houses that were designed by Latrobe and built remains unclear, and only three exist today: the Pope
Villa in Lexington, KY; Adena in Chillicothe, OH;
and the Stephen Decatur House in Washington,
DC. Of the three, Pope Villa might yield the most
evidence of Latrobe’s architectural philosophy, regarded today as ahead of its time.
Noted Latrobe historian, Dr. Patrick Snadon
writes in his essay “Benjamin Henry Latrobe
and Neoclassical Lexington” that “[T]he Pope
Villa … is the most avant-garde house designed
in America in the federal period” and that
“[The Pope Villa] is … a building of international signif icance” (Bluegrass Renaissance:
The History and Culture of Central Kentucky, 1792-1852). Designed for Senator John
Pope and his wife, Eliza, the house was built from
1810-1813 as an exemplar of Latrobe’s “rational
house,” a form he believed would help usher in
America’s own distinct form of architecture.
As the careful steward of Latrobe’s Pope Villa for
nearly 30 years, the BGT has regularly opened the
important Federal era house for as many visitors as
possible. e BGT sees the house as a community
asset and each May 1st, Latrobe’s birthday and the
beginning of National Preservation Month, the
BGT celebrates by opening the house for free to the
public, with more than 150 visitors arriving in
2013 to commemorate the house’s 200th and Latrobe’s 249th; further, the Trust developed an audio
tour for the house during the 2010 World Equestrian Games as a way for international visitors to
interact with the house; and the BGT often uses the
house as a “learning lab,” using the space for work-
Mayor Jim Gray and group tour upstairs @ Pope Villa
shops and lectures. ese are just a few of the ways
the organization has shared this special place with
the Lexington community and visitors to our great
American city.
e exciting next potential phase
for Pope Villa was explored on
November 23, 2013, when the
Blue Grass Trust hosted and participated in a “What’s Next?”
workshop to explore the possibility of turning Latrobe’s Pope Villa
into a world-class arts space. Engaging leaders in art and design,
architecture, historic preservation,
the Downtown Development Authority, Kentucky Heritage Society, Lexington-Fayette Urban
County Government, Lexington
Art League, UK and many others,
the workshop focused on ways to
develop the house as a place to
show art.
discussion was how to best create a
space that conserves, interprets and
complements Latrobe’s avantgarde design, and types of art for
which the space would be designed. While only an exploratory conversation, many
important topics were covered, including funding, project prioritization, decision-making processes,
community partnerships, design
competitions, and long-term viability of an arts space.
Mike Meuser shares PV history
Although temperatures were near freezing,
there were 30 attendees to the workshop,
which started at 8:30 a.m. at Pope Villa with
an excellent history of the house given by
Jose Kozan shares visuals
Mike Meuser, BGT Board Member and
past chairman of the Pope Villa committee.
Next up was a tour of the building was lead
by Tom Moore, BGT Board member and
current chair of the PV before moving to the
beautiful (and much warmer) UK Gaines
Center for the Humanities, to continue the
discussions. e “What’s Next?” arts space
workshop was led by UK Professor Dan
Rowland, a longtime BGT member and past
chair of the Pope Villa committee, and Tom
Moore. Also in attendance representing the
Blue Grass Trust were Board President Tom
Meng, Board members W. Gay Reading and
Gregory Pettit, PV Committee member
Sharon Reed, as well as BGT staff Jason
Sloan and Sheila Omer Ferrell.
Patrick Snadon began the session with a
brief synopsis of the house’s importance to
architectural history. ere were also presentations by Haviland Argo, architect and
artist, who discussed cutting-edge art gallery
designs that incorporated historic structures,
and Jose Kozan, CEO of Virtual Grounds
Interactive, LLC, a company that specializes
in digital interpretation of historic sites.
ese presentations were followed by an indepth roundtable with guests that included
Lexington Mayor Jim Gray, Kentucky Heritage Council’s Executive Director and State
Historic Preservation Officer Craig Potts,
Clyde Carpenter and David Mohney, Architects with UK’s College of Design, and Architect Graham Pohl. At the forefront of the
As the Pope Villa enters its third
century, many exciting opportunities exist to continue telling the
story of this important house. In
addition to exploring the prospect of turning
the Pope Villa into an arts space, the Blue
David Mohney, Patrick Snadon and Graham Pohl
in discussion
Grass Trust is seeking National Historic
Landmark status for the building. Becoming
a National Historic Landmark is one of the
most (possibly the most) prestigious designations for an historic structure or site.
Examples include the White House,
Keeneland, and Henry Clay’s Ashland.
e Blue Grass Trust looks forward to having more to tell over the coming months as
we investigate how to develop the Pope Villa
into a space as stimulating and groundbreaking as Latrobe’s design. B
Dan Rowland leading the way @ Gaines Center
27
Vacant
Properties
O
lder, settled neighborhoods have
often had a vacant home or two
within their boundaries that created a potential negative for a neighborhood.
Neighborhoods that were in decline had
many more such properties than other
neighborhoods. That brings up the question of which happened first — the decline or the vacant properties — probably
a little of both.
In 2000, the Lexington-Fayette Urban
County Council enacted an ordinance to
create a Vacant Property Review Board. is
board was supposed to focus on vacant
properties that are blighted and pose a nuisance and/or danger to the neighborhood
— even to the point of purchasing those
properties
through eminent domain. It
is not clear why
this board
never really got
off the ground,
but it didn’t —
although other
communities
(including
some in Kentucky) did form
successful vaExample of vacant property
cant property
review boards. In
2004, the provisions for local vacant property review boards were put into
Kentucky state law (KRS 99.700).
Example of vacant property
communities like Detroit, Las Vegas, and
Cleveland have, any increase in vacant properties is important for a community to notice; and Lexington did.
In 2009, the Lexington-Fayette Urban
County Council
again enacted
an ordinance “to
clarify and further define the
purpose of the
Vacant Property
Review Commission…” A
Vacant Property
Review Commission was appointed, but
they apparently
never met. The
perception
seemed to be
that Lexington had other problems, and vacant properties — while existing — were not
the problem they were in other larger cities.
The current Lexington-Fayette Urban
County Government administration, led
by Mayor Jim Gray, is taking a more proactive stance with vacant properties. Not
only has a new Vacant Property Review
Commission been appointed, the commission has actually met and plans to meet
every month for the indefinite future. So,
stay tuned while the newly constituted Vacant Property Review Commission works
to get a handle on the extent of the vacant
property issue in Fayette County, and examines ways to address Lexington’s vacant
property problem. The idea is to ensure
that its effects on Lexington’s neighborhoods
are minimized. Please report any problems
regarding vacant properties in your neighborhood by calling LexCall at 311. B
Enter the Great Recession! Officially beginning in December 2007, the housing foreclosure crisis actually began in mid-2006,
and became a full-blown, world-wide mess
in 2008. e resulting chaos resulted in
many mortgage loan foreclosures, causing
many vacant homes in areas that never before had such a problem. While Lexington
has not been affected to the extent that
Example of vacant property
28
Carriage House Project at the Hunt-Morgan House
I
n 2014, the Blue Grass Trust will be raising funds in order to polish a gem in
downtown Lexington: the Hunt-Morgan
House’s circa 1830s carriage house. At an estimated cost of between $70,000 – $80,000,
the BGT is looking to fundraise enough to
fund the entire project. One of the few (and
very likely one of the oldest) of these structures left in downtown, the BGT board of directors and Hunt-Morgan House committee
plan to reinterpret the carriage house as part
of the Hunt-Morgan House Museum,
adding it to the tour of the house.
ough long-loved, the historically utilitarian
carriage house has seldom been the center of
attention, primarily because of the Trust’s
focus on ensuring proper stewardship of the
Hunt-Morgan House Museum. Over the
past three years, the BGT has completed construction of an ADA accessible entrance and
restroom, repaired the sleeping porch and the
Second Street entrance to John Wesley
Hunt’s office, and restored six museum portraits. ese projects were all possible with
help from donations and
grants to the
organization.
e Trust maintains a running
list of possible
projects and,
concurrently
with completion of those
projects, we
L – R: J. Sloan, J. Hackworth evaluated mainwith Kentucky Colonel’s
tenance needs for
Trustee, Kevin Doyle
the property. Because of visible deterioration to the carriage
house shell, the BGT contacted architects,
professional tradespeople, and a structural
engineer to help form an estimated figure
for exterior restoration of the building. is
figure was used to apply for multiple grants,
with the goal of restoring the carriage house
in 2014.
A $2,000 donation from the Morgan’s Men
Association helped initiate the important first
phase of the project: installing a pier system
to stabilize a corner of the structure that had
settled, causing multiple significant cracks to
Exterior from West Second Street
appear. Phase one was completed the last
week of November 2013.
On October 1, 2013, John Hackworth,
Hunt-Morgan House Committee Chair,
and Jason Sloan, BGT Historic Preservation Specialist, attended a grants cereEastern side of Carriage House
mony held by the Honorable Order of
Kentucky Colonels. At that ceremony, the
hayloft door, rebuilding a subsidiary wall, and
Trust was informed that the Colonels were
a full tuck-pointing of the structure, along
committing $24,999.00 to the carriage house
with minor other repairs.
project for exterior masonry work. ough
ese grants
and donations
are significant
steps toward
restoring a
unique piece of
the Hunt-Morgan House’s and
Lexington’s history. e Blue
Foundation Work
Grass Trust
hopes to continue raising
the grant does not cover the entire restoramoney to fund the exterior restoration and
tion, it does help make the project more ecointerior interpretation of the carriage house.
nomically feasible for the Trust. A portion of
Our efforts will include multiple fundraiswork funded by the Kentucky Colonels will
ing initiatives this year and we hope you will
help us restore the shine to this nearly 180begin early this Spring and will involve
year-old jewel. B
rebuilding a section of the wall around the
29
Stanford, Kentucky:
A Model to Be Echoed roughout the Bluegrass
I
n 1992, the community of Stanford
received a grant for the rehabilitation
of its old railroad depot. Once a bustling
depot on the L&N Railroad, the small
Lincoln County community had become
nothing less than unremarkable. Bill Miracle, Stanford’s current mayor, advised that
his community was “dilapidated and half
our buildings were empty.”
Eighty years earlier, the depot was constructed and it served the community until
1986 when it was closed. e depot was
rededicated in 1996 and serves as a museum
hub for Lincoln County which was one of
three original counties created by Virginia
when Kentucky County was divided by three
in 1780. e depot also hosts space for event
rentals and
public meetings.
It is worth noting that city
council meetings are held in
this historic
structure.
by Peter Brackney
“Stanford was
dilapidated and half
our buildings were
empty. en Jess [Correll]
came in and invested in
the community. He and
others really turned things
around.”
Jesse Correll, and his wife
Angela, have been the
leading force behind
many of the projects
which have brought Stanford another chapter in
e Blue Bird Cafe
life. e local newspaper,
e Interior Journal, designated Mr. Correll as their 2007 Person of
the Year by saying that the founding
member of First Southern Bancorp
and 20-year resident of Stanford
had “been, first and foremost, a
shareholder in the future of this city
and county.”
Architect Garland Vanhook said that
“Jess’ three interests of history, busiBut Stanford
ness, and community” have come toRehabilitated L&N Railroad Depot
didn’t rest on
gether in Stanford. It is all part of the
its laurels. InCorrells’ belief that we should “leave
stead, the project served as a catalyst for
things better than we found them.”
the community’s increased interest in
downtown history.
Mr. Vanhook grew up in the Rockcastle
County community of Brodhead. Returning
e second project was the Willis Oberlin
from childhood trips visiting family in
Building - formerly a car dealership — that
Cincinnati took him from the skyscrapers
was converted
of the Queen City through the anteinto a parking
bellum architecture of central Kengarage. In rainy
tucky. ese experiences helped
weather, the
develop his passion for architecture.
space is made
available for
He shared both
the farmer’s
his passion for
market and
architecture and
other commu- Willis Oberlin Building
for Stanford.
nity events. It is
a model for reuse
e First
that could be echoed in communities
Southern Bancorp
throughout the Bluegrass.
offices were rehabilitated in the mid-1990s.
Mayor Bill Miracle said that before 1992,
Interior walls were bro-
ken through to create sufficient space for this
financial institution all while maintaining the
streetscape of Main Street.
A walk down Main Street revealed several
active businesses. e Stanford Upholstery
shop doubles as an antique shop that is a
worthy destination in its own right.
e Blue Bird Cafe, currently open only for
breakfast and lunch, has become a landmark
drawing people to Stanford for its natural, locally produced food. e menu varies with
what is produced by local farmers and meats
come from Marksbury Farm. e well-appointed restaurant cafe sits on the historic
Main Street and also acts as a rotating art
gallery. Permanent fixtures include the glass
lamps from Danville’s Stephen Rolfe Powell.
Stanford’s Mill Street project began in
2011. Recently completed, the street now
features several guest houses which are
available for rent. Four of these houses
were constructed in the
1920s and have been restored through the Mill
Street project. But the Mill
Street project was much
larger than these four
structures. Utility work
and other public improvements were necessary at
the time.
Mill Street Guest Houses
30
Baughman’s Mill on left in 2009, and on right, in 2013
A private-public-utility partnership was
formed to rehabilitate Mill Street. It was a
messy project, but it allowed all significant
construction to occur at one time rather
than being done piecemeal. It is another
model project.
At the top of the Mill Street hill is the old
Brickwork of Baughman Mill
Preservation Matters | Winter 2014 |
the Courthouse steeple, it is one of the
first landmarks you recognize when approaching Stanford.
Vanhook in Baughman’s Mill
About fifteen years ago, Mr. Correll purchased the old mill. It is currently undergoing
significant structural repairs so that its future
use can be on a firm foundation. at future
use remains to be determined.
Baughman’s Mill. e mill was located close
to the railroad tracks that once passed
Back on Main Street, the fourth Lincoln
through and it is across the street from the
County Courthouse stands as it has since
old depot. e mill
1809. Inside its genealogical
building measures 40 by
office are documents dating
35 feet and is three and
to 1781. Main Street itself
one-half stories in height.
was once a portion of the
According to the NaWilderness Road.
tional Register Application, “the mill and its
Without a doubt, Stanford is
adjoining sections remain
a historic community. And
as a typical example of
thanks to the preservation
late 19th century indusefforts of her citizens, that
Lincoln County Courthouse
trial architecture in
history will be enjoyed by
America.” Other than
future generations.B
31

January 2014 - Blue Grass Trust for Historic Preservation

Transcription

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