Fayette – Page 11 – The Kaintuckeean

The Vogt Reel House is Home to Engine Co. 4 and the Phantom

The next time you walk the increasingly popular Jefferson Street corridor, be sure to pause about midway between Main Street and West Sixth. At 246 Jefferson Street, you’ll see in action the oldest continuously operated firehouse in Lexington.

The Vogt Reel House was built in 1904 at a cost of $9,763. The appears of this 2-1/2 story brick structure is dominated by the two central brick tourelles each topped with “small domed ‘pepperpot’ tops” beneath the styled parapet. Together, it is described as being in the neo-Jacobean style.

Henry Vogt, for whom the firehouse is named, lived nearby at 534 Maryland Avenue when he donated the land for the firehouse which now hosts Engine Company No. 4. Vogt was a high end grocer who sold his goods from his shop at West Short and Broadway. At the time of his donation, he had also served on the city council for 16 years and was the Chairman of the Fire Committee.

When it opened to much fanfare, it housed “horses in stalls, five firemen and occasional neighborhood visitors, and it had a hay loft and a pot bellied stove. And later, Dalmations.”

In 2005, the center bay entry was widened so that a modern fire truck could continue to serve Downtown,Transylvania, Manchester, and Rupp Arena. The ubiquitous fire pole brings firefighters from the upper level’s living quarters to the engine level quickly. There is also an antique red spiral staircase which was originally located in the old Fayette County courthouse which burned in the late 1800s.

The emblem on the engine for Company No. 4 depicts a skull wearing a fireman’s hat: it is the Phantom. The Phantom honors the Vogt Reel House’s ghost.

Oh, yeah. This firehouse is haunted!

Sources: Don Edwards; Firehistory; Lexington; Northside NA;

Old Southeast Greyhound Line Building Nominated for National Register Inclusion

Southeast Greyhound Line Building on Loudon Ave. – Lexington, Ky.
Photo: National Register Application.

The Kentucky Historic Preservation Review Board has recommended a number of sites for inclusion onto the National Register of Historic Places. Among them is the old Greyhound Bus Terminal on Lexington’s Loudon Avenue. The immense structure – nearly 104,000 square feet – features a “muted Art Deco style” façade divided into three distinct units. The mammoth structure at 101 West Loudon Avenue was constructed in 1928 for the Consolidated Coach Corporation.

“The taller central portion contains 2 garage doors and is framed by slightly-projecting brick pilasters that terminate with narrow limestone caps. Two units flank that central portion. Historically these were symmetrical: a three-bay unit with each bay indicated by a flush pilaster with narrow limestone cap, above which sits the parapet.”

In 1914, the Greyhound bus lines began in Minnesota as a method of transporting large numbers of workers. In 1931, the Consolidated Coach Corporation which owned 101 West Loudon renamed itself Southeast Greyhound Lines. By 1950, Southeast Greyhound Lines merged into the larger Greyhound entity and the Loudon Ave. structure was closed as an office in 1960. It was acquired by the Transit Authority of Lexington (LexTran) in 1972.

The application describes the structure’s improving neighborhood as follows:

Much of the recent development along the North Limestone corridor fills in where historic structures once stood, creating a lively new district which still retains much of its historic character. This includes turning the old Spalding’s Donuts building at 5th and Limestone into an arcade bar, and Urban Wildlife, a public art installation created at Luigart Studios, which was a former brewery. Across the street facing the opposite direction is a new company, Bullhorn Creative, and other retail shops, including an antique furniture store, a thrift store, an art gallery and a restaurant. The building is also near a railway, constructed in the late 19th century, which transports industrial and manufacturing goods throughout the state and country.

The transformation of the NoLi neighborhood is nothing short of amazing. Hopefully, the old Southeast Greyhound Lines building will find a next chapter in its life and continue to contribute to the vitality of the city and the region.

Source: H-L (B. Fortune); National Register Application.

Rally Unites Artist Against the ‘Vampire Road’

Marquee for the historic Lyric Theater – Lexington, Ky.

The seats at the historic Lyric Theatre in downtown Lexington were filled with people concerned and opposed to the “Vampire Road,” a nickname for the proposed I-75 Connector between Nicholasville and the interstate in Madison County. “Off the Road!” was a fantastic rally featuring an incredible collection of Kentucky artists united “to celebrate Kentucky and oppose a proposed I-75 Connector road.”

Barbara Kingsolver at the Lyric
Theatre, Sept. 19, 2013.

Barbara Kingsolver, author and Nicholas County native, explained why she was there. “I’m such an advocate of the little wild places. The little places you can go again and again. They help you become stronger, truer, better people.”

She juxtaposed these “little wild places” as being as critical to our national psyche just like the bigger wild places such as the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone that we’ve made efforted so hard to protect.

Perhaps this is because, as poet Eric Scott Sutherland remarked: “We find the muse in nature.”

A collection of Guy Mendes photographs opened earlier in the evening at the Ann Tower Gallery at the Downtown Arts Center. Mendes’ photography captures the essence and emotion of “Marble Creek Endangered Watershed” which is one of these “little wild places” which would be forever destroyed by the construction of the Vampire Road. The Mendes collection will remain on display until November 3.

The Vampire Road exists because this proposed road has been proposed on multiple occasions, but “the plan just couldn’t be killed” according to the lyrics of the Steve Broderson and Twist of Fate song, The Vampire Road. The music video was first shown at last night’s event. And you can watch it here on the Kaintuckeean!

Legendary Kentucky author Wendell Berry delivered a delightful resolution from the fictitious Buzzard General Assembly which gave a humorous yet serious sense of what is at stake. Berry stated that the Assembly “unanimously concluded and instructed me to tell you that they foreswear all rights and claims to the carrion, with the giblets and gravy thereof, that would be produced by said connector.” The buzzards seem to prefer the more diverse palate offered in nature rather than on pavement.

Richard Taylor, a former Kentucky poet laureate remarked on Kentucky’s pioneer spirit which helped us forge into the wilderness in centuries past only to suggest that “it is time to give up our pioneer mindset to conquer and to consume.”

Professor Maurice Manning took a different, more spiritual tone: “I believe God made the world we live in. And destroying it is a sin.”

Skuller’s Clock to Be Reset Tomorrow #TBT

No guessing necessary today, as the #ThrowbackThursday shows three photo of the same location and there’s no hiding the location of the old Skuller’s clock. In the comments, please share your memories of Skuller’s and its memorable clock.

Near the northwest corner of Main and Limestone stood the old Skuller’s clock which was originally manufactured by the Brown Street Clock Company in Pennsylvania in 1913.

It arrived at the location in the 100 block of West Main Street first in 1931 when Skuller’s relocated to what is now the downstairs ballroom of Bellini’s restaurant. Evidence of Skuller’s remains with the inlaid tile at the old entrance; the store closed in 1984.

But the clock hung on.

Skuller’s Clock (2013)
Photo by the Author

At fourteen feet in height, the two-faced clock is fixed upon a fluted iron column. It is, in its own right, a Lexington landmark.

The clock originally featured (and does again) a lit neon sign bearing the Skuller’s name. The jeweler also sold eyeglasses for a time which explains the eyewear (and painted eyes) appearing below the face of the clock.

Yet by 2010, the clock was inoperable and was removed as part of a streetscape beautification project in anticipation of that year’s World Equestrian Games. The promise was made that the Skuller’s clock would be restored. Estimates for rehabilitation of the clock were about $25,000. Private funds were secured and tomorrow, at 7:15 p.m., the clock will once again tell time for those downtown.

Saw-toothed Roofline Beckons a Bygone Era in Lexington Architectural History

1960s era Peoples Bank Branch – Lexington, Ky.
Photo: Rachel Alexander

This awesome retro bank is located in downtown Lexington on a high
traffic throughway. It is sandwiched between a highrise apartment
building and a parking garage, and is a half block from Rupp Arena. As
long as I’ve lived in Lexington, this Peoples Bank branch has been
vacant, which is pretty incredible to believe since it’s sitting on a
very expensive piece of property. After looking at the PVA records for
the parcel, I have to say I’m honestly shocked that it hasn’t been
demolished. But I’m so glad it hasn’t!

Spacious interior with original light fixtures!
Photo: Rachel Alexander

This place is incredible! It’s full of light and is so spacious. My
brain immediately started firing on all cylinders imagining what kind of
business would be perfect fit for this funky little building. It would
be a great photography studio or creative commons. It would also make an
incredible coffee shop! It has ample parking in the back as well as
space that could be used for sidewalk seating – AND it still has the
drive thru window.

How cool would it be if it could be used for
drive-thru coffee?! It think it would also be a really cool diner type
restaurant or cafe. The name could even be retained “Peoples Coffee
Shop” “Peoples Cafe” … Or maybe even a sweet retro bar?


The brick is glazed a brilliant blue! Imagine the uses for the original teller window! (Photo: Rachel Alexander)

What do you think this space would be great for? Is there a vacant
building in your city that you just can’t believe is empty? Share below!

For more photos visit Bricks + Mortar!

[ed. note – PB]: And welcome to the Kaintuckeean to our newest contributor, Rachel Alexander. Rachel is a graduate of the University of Kentucky’s Masters of Historic Preservation program and an alumna of Eastern Kentucky University where she studied just about everything, but especially history, political science, and French. She has a love/hate relationship with the Oxford comma. Her blog, Bricks+Mortar, is awesome!

White Hall Dormitory was an Iconic Building at the University of Kentucky #TBT

Whitehall Classroom Building at the University of Kentucky – Lexington, Ky.
(Photo: Library of Congress)

The answer to last week’s #TBT puzzler* is, of course, the White Hall Dormitory which stood on the grounds of the University of Kentucky from 1882 to 1967. When it was demolished, it made way for the Patterson Office Tower (the POT) and the Whitehall Classroom Building.

The University of Kentucky, originally State College, was established in 1865. The land for UK’s main campus was donated in order that the College might settle in Lexington as opposed to a vying offer in Bowling Green.

Plans involved three original buildings on which construction began in 1881: White Hall, the Main Building, and the Patterson House. Of these, only the Main Building survives.

White Hall and the Patterson House were both demolished in 1967 for the new Whitehall Classroom Building and Patterson Office Tower. Bricks from the old White Hall were reused as pavers in the new pavilion between the new structures and the Main Building.

Nav130 got the answer almost there, but the Streetsweeper pulled through with all the details we were looking for. Nav130 mentioned that a lot of graffiti was, not surprisingly, painted along the plywood walls outside the demolition zone. He remarked:

My recollection is that it was mostly frats and sororities painting over each other’s most recent and the usual “Go ‘Kats!” sort of thing. The most impressive thing – again, going back 46 years – was that it was such a long wall of plywood that became quite colorful. Maybe the folks at the Kentucky Kernel might have something archived.

He’s right … maybe someone has institutional memory and photographs of the graffiti? I’ve always thought of graffiti as a form of public art (in certain places and when well done) … anyone have a collection of old photographs of Kentucky located graffiti they might want to share?

*@CatclawTheatre suggests, rightly so, that we should always say “puzzler” with the voice of the Magliozzi brothers (the guys from NPR’s CarTalk).

Lexington’s First Synagogue was Ohavey Zion; Moving the Scrolls From Original Site Answers Last Week’s #TBT

Joe Bologna’s Restaurant once housed Lexington’s First Synagogue

Transfer of the Torahs
Photo: Herald-Leader/Steven Nickerson

The Streetsweeper answered last week’s puzzler in person at the Cheapside Pavilion last Thursday when he accurately recalled the news of May 1987 when the Torahs were relocated from Maxwell Street to the new synagogue on Edgewater Court. Carrying the Torahs were Charlie Rosenberg and Sidney Gall. It was a four mile sojourn on foot between the old and the new synagogue.

The old synagogue got its start nearly a century before, as a Presbyterian mission.

In March 1890, the front page of the Lexington Leader declared that the city’s First Presbyterian Church would start “Another Mission”in a “handsome building at Maxwell and Upper Streets” on land known as the Morris property. With “appropriate exercises,” the new Mission Chapel of the First Presbyterian Church was dedicated in the spring of 1891. Construction had cost $7,000.

Inside the old Maxwell St.
Presbyterian Church

In the early 1910s, the Maxwell Street Presbyterian Church had outgrown its facilities and relocated further east. The Presbyterians sold the old church to the Jewish community which here established the first synagogue in Lexington, Ohavey Zion Synagogue. Prior to the establishment of a permanent synagogue, the Jewish community in Lexington would celebrate wherever space could be found, most typically in the ballrooms of hotels or fraternal lodges.

When Ohavey Zion looked to build a new facility for itself in the 1980s, the question arose as to what would become of the old synagogue. Restrictions as a former synagogue prohibited certain uses: it could be used neither as a public urinal or as a slaughterhouse.

Stained glass window and
chandeliers remain.

Ultimately, the old synagogue was auctioned and purchased by Joe Bologna who owned a pizza parlor dive across the street. He turned his dive into a restaurant. (The old location did not have stained glass windows or original chandeliers.)

The old church/synagogue/pizza parlor has a Romanesque feeling with modern additions on both the rear and on its western side. The original entrance, off Jersey Street, is utilized only as an emergency exit with the primary point of ingress and egress being through the western addition.

The iconic symbol of the building, which has been adopted by the pizza parlor in its logo, is the “triple window framed by flat brick pilasters with acorn-shaped stone finials and horizontal stone bands that is crowned by a large arched window articulated with stonework.”

It is a spectacular structure with a storied and sacred past.

First African Baptist Church: A Historic Structure, a Historic Faith, and a Determined Future

First African Baptist Church at Short & DeWeese – Lexington, Ky.

At the southwest corner of East Short and DeWeese Streets stands the oldest African-American church in Kentucky and the third oldest African American Baptist church in the nation. The strong edifice of the First African Baptist Church anchors this once residential block and seeks to once again anchor the East End community.

Labeled in the 1890 Sanborn insurance map as the First Baptist Church (Colored), its parenthetical used to differentiate between it and the anglo First Baptist Church on West Main. It is unlikely, however, that such a parenthetical would have been needed for any Lexingtonian then looking at the map for First African’s location in the East End suggested the racial identity of her members living in this southern city.

First African Baptist Church is, without a doubt, a Historic Structure representing a Historic Faith. And though the Baptists abandoned the building decades ago, those who love this structure have for it a Determined Future.

Front Doors of the First African
Baptist Church – Lexington, Ky.

A Historic Structure

Constructed in 1856 with the slave labor of its own membership, the significant architectural detail leaves no doubt that the structure’s design was prepared with great thought and attention. First African is described in the National Register as a “good example of a mid-nineteenth century Italianate style Protestant chapel,” though the windows on the eastern façade (when uncovered) are said to have a Gothic appearance.

In 1926, the Parish House was added in the Collegiate Tudor style on the western side of the old church. Also added to the façade of the church in the 1920s was the “colossal stone portico with four widely spaced Tuscan columns … across the front with a flat entablature.”

The interior’s description in its National Register application predates its conversion to the daycare center of Central Christian Church. This present use has converted the sanctuary into a gymnasium with basketball goals, toys, and cots. The description from 1986:

A well-proportioned rectangular hall, it is distinguished by a classical Georgian cornice. The most striking feature is the large mural of Jesus christ as a shepherd rescuing a stray lamb from the precarious edge of a cliff high over a river (presumably Jordan). It is flanked by red draperies and tall unfluted Corinthian columns. Similar red curtains protect the baptismal pool at the southwest corner of the sanctuary, where the sacred ceremony of total immersion takes place. In the opposite corner is the raised seating of the choir, whose musical participation is of paramount importance in the services. The walls are painted to resemble stone in soft beige tones, and the opalescent-glass windows cast pleasing soft colors over them.

Many of these interior features were removed when the FABC departed the location for Price Road in 1987.

A Historic Faith

Though the building itself was erected in the mid-19th century, the history of the congregation dates back to the prior century. Peter Durrett, a slave who came across the mountains from Virginia in 1781 with his master and the Traveling Church. Known as “Uncle Peter” or “Old Captain,” Durrett was an able preacher just like his master Lewis Craig,

In fact, Durrett had previously scouted the path and destinations the Travelling Church would take into Kentucky. This assigned task by his master revealed a great deal about Durrett’s character and intelligence, and the respect he garnered from all those – black and white – in that group of sojourners.

In 1790, Durrett established his own congregation in Lexington in what was easily the first black congregation west of the Alleghenies. When Durrett died in 1823, he left behind a strong church and a historic legacy.

London Ferrill, the second minister, assumed the pastorate upon the death of Durrett and remained as leader of the flock until his own death in 1854. During the time, he would baptize over 5,000 souls to Jesus Christ. He brought his church into the fold of the Elkhorn Baptist Association in 1824.

Ferrill was highly respected by all races, much like his predecessor. When some in the church sought to have him removed over a churchly matter, they attempted to utilize a state law requiring slaves freed from other states to stay no longer than 90 days in Kentucky. Ferrill’s friends in Frankfort passed special legislation granting him the permission to stay here permanently.

During the 1833 cholera epidemic, Ferrill stayed in Lexington (one of only three ministers to do so during the epidemic) to pastor his congregation, administer medicine, and bury the dead.

He was so well respected by all peoples of Lexington that his funeral was the largest attended in the city’s history, a claim not to be eclipsed until the 1852 funeral of Henry Clay.*

* This funeral factoid is told in one of two ways, with the runner-up to Clay being either Durrett or London Ferrill, the second minister of First African. Either way, it evinces the significant role this church played in the community.

A Determined Future

Rendering of Restored FABC with Addition
Photo: First African Foundation

Yvonne Giles, a local historian and expert on the East End, emphasized the importance of interpreting First African within the neighborhood as she repeated that it was “not just a church, but a community center.” It was the gathering place for generations of the East End and African-American communities of Lexington.

When the congregation departed in 1986, Central Christian purchased the structure and found utility in it. It is altogether possible that the historic church could have been demolished in the late 1980s in favor of a surface parking lot were it not for Central’s intervention. In the 2010s, Central Christian has sought to unload some of its surplus property and for a time the First African Foundation was under contract to acquire the old church at Short and DeWeese and convert it back into a community center. The Foundation intended to restore the old sanctuary as well as the circa 1926 Collegiate Tudor addition. The complex would “include a theater space with 300 to 350 seats, conference rooms, exhibit areas and space for music education.” Unfortunately, this worthy cause failed due to a want of funds.

But a different future for the historic structure emerged in October 2017, with the announcement that Zeff Maloney was purchasing the structure from Central Christian with the intent of redeveloping it into a commercial space. Maloney has previously turned around the old Protestant Infirmary just a block away.

Maloney plans to “bring [First African] back to its former glory” according to his interview with the Herald-Leader. I, for one, can’t wait to see it!

Sources
Bio of London Ferrill; First African Foundation; Lexington Herald-Leader; NRHP; Owenton News Herald

This post was updated on October 6, 2017, to revise the “Determined Future” section to reflect changes to the First African Foundation’s progress and the acquisition of the property by Mr. Maloney

Ashland Dedicated as a Historic House Museum in 1950

Vice President Barkley Addresses Crowd at Ashland – Lexington, Ky.
Photo: History of a House Museum

The large crowd photographed in last week’s #TBT made for some interesting guesses, including the Cane Ridge revivals. But in what is becoming a weekly tradition, Michael Chambers was the first to accurately guess the answer to last week’s puzzler.

On April 12, 1950, Vice President Alben Barkley addressed the thousands gathered on the lawn of Ashland: the home of Henry Clay for its dedication as a historic house museum open to the public.

Then-mayor Tom Mooney proclaimed the day “Henry Clay Day” in the city where festivities kicked off at Cheapside Park before the parade processional down main street to Ashland.

Barkley declared: “This fine mansion now will rank alongside Mount Vernon, Monticello, the Hermitage, and other public memorials to great men of this nation….generations to come will thank you for preserving this shrine.”

Only a historic marker remains of Main Street Christian Church

Historic Marker #19 – Lexington, Ky.

On Main Street in downtown Lexington, in front of the police station, stands a historic marker recalling the Main Street Christian Church which once stood on the site.

Historic Marker #19 reads:

Built on this site in 1842. The 12-day Campbell-Rice debate on Christian Baptism, etc., was held here Nov. 1843, Hon. Henry Clay presiding.

The grand church once located here became too small for the congregation which ultimately became Central Christian Church.

The only physical vestige remaining of the historic church is this marker on Main Street.