Author: thekaintuckeean

Happy Weekend. Kentucky Notes of the Week

Vintage base ball appeared in Georgetown at the historic Ward Hall. [Lexington Herald-Leader]

Second Sunday in Lexington will be celebrated on the airport runway this weekend. Take advantage of this – when else can you play on a runway? [Tom Eblen]

Explore the folklore of burgoo, a traditional and almost exclusively-Kentucky dish. [History Burgoo]

The teahouse of Elmwood Inn in Perryville is profiled by Hometown Tours [WTVQ]

Bourbon tastings might still come to the World Equestrian Games. [Lexington Herald-Leader]

Columbia’s Steakhouse is a 62-year veteran of Lexington’s dining scene. Yum. [Ace Weekly]

The Distillery District in Lexington gets a new roadside historical marker and its history is profiled. [BizLex]

The mixed-use/condo market of Lexington is analyzed with the contrast of recent wins and fails in various greater-downtown projects. [BizLex]

CentrePointe developers are retooling the design, but not enough. Plus there are some serious questions left to be answered. [Lowell’s]

$3 million streetscape project will beautify the Second Street area adjacent to Louisville’s new Yum! Arena. [Courier Journal]

The Governor addresses the convention of the Future Farmers of America; informs the FFA that Kentucky farmers are essential to food, power supplies. [Governor’s Blog]

The Kentucky Hall of Governors at Frankfort’s Kentucky History Center will be getting a $215,000 upgrade with “a more modern approach.” [Bluegrass Politics]

No Destination: Union College

Union College’s Centennial Hall, Barbourville, Ky.

Barbourville’s Union College is one of the state’s smallest. Its campus is 100 acres; its undergraduate student body only counts 600+ and about 1000 graduate students. [*]. Despite its small size, it is a fine campus with several buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. Affiliated with the United Methodist Church, Union College was founded in 1879 by the citizens of Barbourville who believed that “education was the path to leadership.”

Among these is Centennial Hall (originally, the Classroom Building). The structure, pictured above, was completed in 1907. From the College’s 1911-1912 catalogue:

This magnificent and spacious three-story building, constructed of brick and concrete, and trimmed with Tennessee marble. The building is steam-heated and lighted by electricity … and is scientifically ventilated to insure plenty of good fresh air. In is are the classrooms, the library, the President’s office, the chapel, and laboratories. The classrooms are fifteen in number. Each is equipped with single desks and slate blackboards of ample size. From the President’s office are speaking-tubes to each room, and also electrical connections, so that a modern program clock situated in the office rings automatically in each room the bells for the change of classes and other signals. The chapel is commodious and is seated with comfortable opera chairs. There are three laboratories – Chemical, Physical, and Biological. These are equipped throughout with modern apparatus and enable the student to do unusually through work in science.

Union College’s most notable alumnus is Nobel laureate Phillip Allen Sharp who won the 1993 award in physiology/medicine for his research on gene-splicing. Born in Falmouth (Pendleton County), Sharp was also awarded the National Award for Science in 2004.

walkLEX: Centrepointe Proposal 2.0

Rendering of Proposed Centrepointe, Lexington, Ky.

Yesterday, Dudley Webb unveiled his modified proposal for the Centrepointe development (47 page PDF). The modification includes several major changes. Most notably, the “peak and spire” design is gone being replaced with a flat top roof and a 60-foot flag poll. The original proposal was to be about 500 feet tall (35 stories); the modified structure just under 290 feet (23 stories). BizLex has a good summary of the differences in the two proposals, but Herald-Leader columnist Tom Eblen points out the obvious: with the economy in its current state, he doesn’t “expect to see it rise out of the pasture anytime soon.”

The proposal emphasizes the incorporation of and reinterpretation of historical architectural styles. The proposed structure is immensely better than the original proposal, but I’m still not entirely certain how the structure will complement the rest of downtown or how it will be uniquely Lexington. Although the tower doesn’t rise adjacent to the sidewalk, it is close to the Main Street side questioning what shadows it might cast.

Plus, I’ve posted before on my growing fondness of the downtown horse fence. It truly would be a great area for a 1.7 acre downtown park (a real park, with trails, etc.). That said, the proposal does offer the site for use by Spotlight Lexington and other downtown festivities associated with the World Equestrian Games.

Rendering from Kentucky.com as modified from the Centrepointe Application.

No Destination: Three States Cornerstone

Near the Boundary Marker of TN, KY & VA in Cumberland Gap, Tenn.

At the top of Tri-State Peak is the cornerstone of Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. Dr. Thomas Walker and Colonel Richard Henderson first surveyed this site in 1779. A National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark marker notes the Royal Colonial Boundary of 1665. The marker is at an elevation of 1,990 feet.

When Dr. Walker, for Virginia, and Col. Henderson, for North Carolina,  surveyed the land, the two states disputed the rights to lands west of the mountains.  The region was proposed to be part of the never-successful colony of Vandalia and the non-state of Westsylvania. Also, Col. Henderson is the same who purchased the non-state of Transylvania from the Cherokee in 1775, but which purchase was invalidated by Virginia the following year. The present state lines and boundaries were settled by compromise in 1802 and the Supreme Court’s decision, Tennessee v. Virginia, 190 U.S. 64 (1903), finally approved the location.

From the Tennessee roadside marker  pictured above, it is only 1.5 miles to Bell County, Kentucky and the Tri-State Peak.

No Destination: University of the Cumberlands

Bell Tower at the University of the Cumberlands, Williamsburg, Ky.

Originally founded as the Williamsburg Institute in 1889 and renamed to Cumberland College in 1913, the University of the Cumberlands took its present name in 2005. Early benefactors seeking to “provide affordable Christian education for mountain people” included James P. and Thomas B. Mahan, Ancil Gatliff, Edwin S. Moss, John W. Siler, and John D. Rockefeller.

Architecture on the college’s campus is well-considered and substantially uniform red-brick. Many of the buildings, especially those recently constructed, are modeled as replicas of America’s historical structures, e.g., Independence Hall and Monticello. The public restaurant in the Cumberland Inn, the Athanaeum, is listed as a must-stop in Eating Your Way Across Kentucky: 101 Must Places to Eat.

Notable alumni include Rep. Eugene Siler, Governors Bert Combs and Edwin Morrow, military generals, and several university and college presidents. The school’s recent history is complete with some controversy when Kentucky courts ruled that state funding of a pharmacy school at UC would be unconstitutional in light of the forced withdrawal of a gay student at the school.

No Destination: Capitol Mural “Civitas”

I’ve been excited since First Lady Jane Beshear announced that the murals were coming to the Capitol. Part of the Capitol’s original design, plans were set aside after artist Frank Millet (a friend of then-Gov. August E. Willson) died on the maiden voyage of the Titanic. One hundred years later, the Capitol finally has its murals! This is the final of four posts about the murals.

“Civitas” Mural, Capitol, Frankfort, Ky.

This mural, Civitas, represents the “light of progress.” Athena, the Roman goddess of civilization, symbolizes progress and strength. Athena refers to a paper in the hand of the male standing next to, and enlightened by, her looks forward toward the future. The kneeling male holds a lantern to illuminate – a sign of both the future and Kentucky’s coal heritage. In background-right, the Roebling Bridge – the architect’s precursor to the Brooklyn Bridge – links Covington with Cincinnati. In background-left, the Jefferson Davis obelisk and the Lincoln Birthplace Memorial remind us of Kentucky’s historical importance as the birthplace of these two leaders.

I think that the Civitas mural is my favorite as it beckons a continued hope for Kentucky as “the light of progress.” I am also quite fond of the Roebling Bridge which appears in the background. All of the murals, however, are quite beautiful as is the newly painted rotunda.

The other murals are Nature, Industry, and Culture.

No Destination: Capitol Mural “Culture”

I’ve been excited since First Lady Jane Beshear announced that the murals were coming to the Capitol. Part of the Capitol’s original design, plans were set aside after artist Frank Millet (a friend of then-Gov. August E. Willson) died on the maiden voyage of the Titanic. One hundred years later, the Capitol finally has its murals! This is the third of four posts about the murals.

“Culture” Mural, Capitol, Frankfort, Ky.

This mural represents Culture and the fruits of knowledge. In the foreground there are four persons: the male on the left holds a tome and symbolizes the jurist as well as the elements of faith, law and instruction; the genteel woman at center  instructs the young child who holds the Kentucky dulcimer; at right, the Muse of the Arts represents the traditions of music and dance. In the background, one can pick out Natural Bridge, the Old State Capitol, and other famed Kentucky structures.

The four murals cost $225,000 and were paid for by a donation from Mr. and Mrs. Forcht (of Forcht Bank). Apparently, two spots remain for donors to step forward for murals in two lunettes: one each above the entrances to the State Reception Room and the Governor’s Office.

The other murals are Nature, Industry, and Civitas. 

No Destination: Capitol Mural “Industry”

I’ve been excited since First Lady Jane Beshear announced that the murals were coming to the Capitol. Part of the Capitol’s original design, plans were set aside after artist Frank Millet (a friend of then-Gov. August E. Willson) died on the maiden voyage of the Titanic. One hundred years later, the Capitol finally has its murals! This is the second of four posts about the murals.

“Industry” Mural in the Capitol, Frankfort, Ky.

This  mural represents Industry with the paddlewheel boat steaming down the Kentucky River. Mercury, Roman god of commerce, stands behind Vulcan (Roman god of the forge) and a laborer who is moving a bourbon barrel.

The other murals are Nature, Culture, and Civitas. 

No Destination: Capitol Centennial (1910-2010)

Though ground was broken in 1904 and the cornerstone was laid in 1906, Kentucky’s fourth and present capitol building was opened on June 2, 1910. This weekend, the Commonwealth celebrates the centennial of this magnificent building which replaced the Old State Capitol in old Frankfort.

So Happy 100th Birthday to this Beaux Arts gem (I’ll do a post on the building itself soon…)!! As part of the festivities, four murals were unveiled in the rotunda. I’ll be posting on these four murals as bonus posts over the weekend. Suffice it to say, they are gorgeous!

At noon, Gov. and First Lady Beshear hosted former governors and first ladies and other dignitaries for lunch in the Executive Mansion before a ceremony held on the grounds. During the festivities, the capitol grounds also hosted a farmer’s market, a number of Kentucky craft vendors and artisans as well as an antique car show. It was a wonderful birthday party!