Tag: Fayette

Kinkead House, home of Living Arts and Science Center, ready for contemporary architecture addition

Artistic Rendition of LASC Addition
The Martin Luther King neighborhood is the planned home for what is to be one of Lexington’s most contemporary pieces of architecture. On November 16, 2011 the Living Arts and Science Center (LASC) began a campaign to raise nearly $5 million for the construction of an 11,000-square-foot addition that will more than double the size of its current structure, the historic George B. Kinkead House. Designed by Louisville’s award-winning De Leon & Primmer Architecture Workshop, the project is not the first to change the antebellum building – though arguably it is the most drastic in scale and design.

LASC Jan 2012 (Photo by Jason Sloan)
Built in 1847, the Kinkead House was initially – and still recognizably – designed in the Greek Revival form. Dick DeCamp suggested that popular local architect Thomas Lewinski (responsible for the extensive Italianate alterations to Latrobe’s Pope Villa) designed the mansion for Kinkead, as well as the Italianate changes incorporated sometime after 1853. George Kinkead, lawyer to Abraham Lincoln and family, was one of Lexington’s most forward-thinking citizens.

Kinkead was pro-Union and anti-slavery. His action spoke loudly on his beliefs: he provided 11 acres of land around his home to freed slaves. The area became known as Kinkeadtown and was almost exclusively African-American for nearly 100 years. Today, Kinkeadtown comprises the heart of the East End, though there is scant evidence other than the expansive mansion of the old community.

Location of New Addition
(Photo by Jason Sloan)

The Kinkead family owned the house for 134 years prior to donating it in 1981 to the LASC which had been leasing the property since 1970. The mission of the Living Arts and Science Center is to encourage “participation in art and science by engaging the community through discovery, exploration and creativity.” This mission should be advanced by the extensive addition that will include a planetarium, arts gallery, and recording studio, among others.

The Kinkead House is among Lexington’s most historically significant buildings. And not just for its architecture, but for its associated history and its current owner-occupany, the Living Arts and Science Center. With the new LASC addition, the architects have respected of the height and scale of the current structure, though Herald-Leader columnist Tom Eblen notes that it “is really a separate building, tucked along the south side and back of the Kinkead House.” Hopefully, the new addition provides a clear link between the building’s past and help progress the nonprofit’s mission as place of progressive and creative education.

Eatocracy in Action! A Kentuckian is in running for People’s Best New Pastry Chef! VOTE!

Dad and the lil’ Kaintuck excited to cut into
a German Chocoloate Cake-inspired creation
by Stella Parks.

My wife and are in complete agreement. If we can escape the kids for an evening and either is suffering from a sweet tooth, our destination is Table 310. Their self-described “pasty chef” is from Lexington, but trained at New York’s Culinary Institute. Everything she creates is simply incredible.

Allow me to ignore the fact that I haven’t previously covered the historic building in which Table 310 is housed. And I’ll ignore the delicious food – charcuterie and cheese plates – that make the restaurant Lexington more cosmopolitan.

The “pastry girl” is Stella Parks, aka @Bravetart, and her simple creations capture my generation’s youth but with high-quality ingredients and an amazing attention to detail. Her creations have been featured in Food+Wine magazine. She’s received numerous local and regional accolades, but here is one that you can help this Kentucky girl win:


Help Stella win and VOTE! It is a vote for all of Kentucky as she’s all alone among pastry chefs in that she hails from the best state in the Union. Cast in the east region of voting (there’s also a west and a central), Stella is up against a bunch of New York City types. In her region, she’s the only candidate from this side of the Appalachians.

UPDATE (2-15-12): Stella didn’t win People’s Best New Pastry Chef. Instead, the editors of Food and Wine magazine named our favorite Kentuckian pastry chef one of five Best New Pastry Chefs in America. But kind of like Hollywood, there are multiple awards. It’s the equivalent of saying that she lost the People’s Choice Awards, but won the Academy Awards. CONGRATULATIONS, STELLA!

Lexington’s Bond House has tragic story hidden in its past

Bond House - Lexington, Ky.
Bond House at 209/211 North Limestone Street – Lexington, Ky.

Nestled between Columbia’s Steakhouse and the Lexington Beerworks sits the Bond House. Of Georgian Revival design, it was constructed in 1909 by owner C.E. Bond of Lawrenceburg with architectural design being possibly attributed to John V. Moore. In the early twentieth century, Mr. Bond acquired several landholdings in Lexington including this parcel as well as parcels on both East and West Main Street. Like many of the buildings in the area, the Bond House typifies urban mixed-use architecture with first-floor commercial and upper-story residential occupancies.

Bond was well-known in his Lawrenceburg home as he was a builder and the president of the Lawrenceburg National Bank. The third Anderson County Courthouse, built in 1861, was remodeled in 1905 by Bond; it, however, burned to the ground in 1915. The fourth and present Anderson County Courthouse was constructed using stones from the earlier courthouse. C.E. Bond sold this Lexington parcel in 1913 to brothers James E. and John P. Slavin.

As is often the case, little is known of James E. Slavin. But I discovered a most emotional tale when querying John P. Slavin.

In January 1906, “combined fortune and misfortune of death, a joy mingled with grief, fell upon the home of Fireman John P. Slavin and wife Saturday. During the early morning hours Mrs. Slavin gave birth to a fine boy, but Friday afternoon their son, Thomas Lyons Slavin, aged five years, died.” Lexington Leader, Jan. 7, 1906 (sec. 2, p. 7 col. 4). It was scarlet fever that had taken the life of the young five year old. Then on January 16, 1906, this was printed in the Lexington Herald: “John Joseph Slavin, infant son of Fireman J.P. Slavin, died at the home of Mr. Slavin on Georgetown street, Sunday night at 9:30 o’clock. This is the second death in Mr. Slavin’s family in the last ten days, he having lost his five-year-old son Wednesday a week ago.”

What a tragedy. I cannot imagine the grief that family suffered. This story reminded me of the humanity and the importance of the owners, common or otherwise, of the buildings that I’ve profiled on this site.

“The Bond House” ca. 1920/21. Photo: Asa Chinn (KDL)

With prohibition repealed at the end of 1933 by virtue of the 21st amendment, the Bond House became a storeroom for the Kentucky Distillers’ Products, Inc. On a Tuesday night in April 1935, eighty-eight cases of whiskey were stolen from the storeroom at 211 North Limestone Street. The loss was valued at $2,000 according to a police report.

In 1983, the Bond House was added to the National Register of Historic Places by virtue of its location in the North Limestone Commercial District. Proudly, the owners bear signage indicating both its National Register and Blue Grass Trust listings.

A half million dollar renovation in 1988 converted what was then a fireworks store and warehouse back to its mixed-use origins: four loft apartments and two commercial first-floor enterprises. Today, children’s boutique clothier Bella Bliss calls the Bond House home. Interestingtly, it was a clothier (V.L. Lingenfelter’s) that was housed in 209 North Limestone when Asa Chinn took the photo above.

Sources: Blue Grass Trust; local.lexpublib.org; National Register; Slavens.net

Lexington Beer Works has great beer selection in its historic downtown location

Lexington Beerworks (213 North Limestone) – Lexington, Ky.

Central Kentucky is quickly advancing its stature in the beer community. Danville has become a local leader on the craft brew scene and Lexington’s scene is improving on almost a daily basis.

Recently, Lexington Beerworks opened at 213 North Limestone – it is simply “the best place to be for craft beer lovers and brewers.” They have what may be an almost infinite selection of bottled beer and a rotating draft list that features the best beers from across Kentucky and around the world. On my first visit, I got my first taste of Danville’s Lore Brewing Company. Lore’s Winter Coatmeal Stout was rich and dark with a strong oaty aftertaste – quite good! The Lexington Beerworks keeps its followers on both twitter and facebook up-to-date with what is on tap.

Embracing social media and good beer aren’t the only things that Lexington Beerworks is up to. They also know how to pick a great, historic location. Built in 1905, the two-story 213 North Limestone has cast iron columns and rough stone lintel and metal cornices that hearken to the earliest days of the building.

In those earliest days, the building housed the Lexington Ice Cream Company which appears to have been the first such creamery in Lexington. Organized in November 1906 by A. L. Calhoun and others, it quickly became popular. By the summer of 1907, Mr. Calhoun had “built up a good business” and sold it to a H. T. Muir. Muir, a “prominent farm residing on the Richmond pike,” operated the ice creamery under the name Muir & Son so that his son, Chester, might become involved in business.

It would be in August of the following year, 1908, that “while engaged in selling cream in his concessionaire tent at the Colored Fair ground” that Henry T. Muier would be “seized with heart disease and drop dead.” By October, Mr. Muir’s estate would sell at public auction the ice cream and dairy plant to W. I. Hughes. Hughes was quite the entrepreneur with interests throughout downtown Lexington in cafes, confectionaries, creameries and more. He and his sweet tooth also represented Lexington in the state legislature and served on the city’s commission.

At some point, the ice cream business departed 213 North Limestone. In 1920, the building was occupied by a plumbing company. Restored in 1996, 213 North Limestone housed the Limestone Club until it closed in 2011. The Limestone Club was a small boutique ballroom that provided a terrific venue with its open space and wonderful “southern” two-story porch. The location (and the porch) were the perfect match for the beer trio Greg, Mike and Jason (the proprietors of Lexington Beerworks). If you like beer, you definitely must head over to Lexington Beerworks (213 North Limestone, Lexington).

Sources: Auditor of Public Accounts; Limestone Club; National Register of Historic Places; Refrigerating World


An Homage to Chick-Fil-A and the Westboro Baptist Church

After enjoying the Kaintuckeean Special at Columbia’s, I set out for a brief walk before heading back to the office. At Fourth and Upper, I noticed a Transylvania University grease disposal bin and immediately was gave out a hearty laugh.

The folk at Dronex had struck again. The graffiti/street artists had applied their latest appliqué and it was one I hadn’t seen before:

Dronex WBC/Chick-fil-A Cows – Lexington, Ky.

A synthesis of the marketing genius of Chick-fil-A and the hatred, vitriol and bigotry of the Westboro Baptist Church (these are the people that protest funerals). Although there is nothing funny about the WBC or its actions, Dronex captured the essence of both. “God Hates Chicken.” “Chickens Die God Laughs.” “You’re Going to the Drive-Thru.” Verily, I laugh.

The satirical spin is not new to Dronex. They’ve a variety of work (normally applied in various sizes as stickers) that can be seen across Lexington, though a Google search reveals they’ve also struck in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere. Dronex is on Facebook, but for good reason remains rather anonymous.

UPDATE (July 23, 2012): In light of recent remarks by Chick-Fil-A’s CEO being “guilty as charged” in supporting the “Biblical definition of family”, this post quickly became an Internet favorite. Chick-fil-A was quickly linked to the Westboro Baptist Church. Obviously, this Dronex image makes a similar leap. I’ve been accused of a few things by simply duplicating this image on my site. So let me set the record straight.

As a human being with taste buds, I really like Chick-fil-A. Even their lemonade is superior. As a liberal, progressive Christian, I had a knee jerk reaction to join the boycott along with so many others, including those in the faith community. But another article in The Atlantic is even more persuasive by asking if we shouldn’t end all of these issue-based boycotts altogether: “we must resist creating a culture where consumers sort through all their purchases (fast food and otherwise) for an underlying politics not even expressed in the nature of the product itself.”

I don’t mean for this blog to get either political or religious. But I couldn’t resist linking to these well-reasoned positions related to the current controversy.

Restored Parochial School on Lexington’s Short Street is a New Testament to Adaptive Use

W. Short St. Campus, Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic School – Lexington, Ky.

Old meets new at the main campus of Sts. Peter & Paul School on Lexington’s West Short Street. The two story school at Saunier Avenue (formerly Sycamore Street) first opened in 1915. For seventy-three years, the St. Paul School met educational needs of the parish. Shrinking attendance, however, forced the diocese to close the school in 1988. A few years ago, a resurgence in numbers and a major renovation/expansion of the campus brought new life to the beautiful, historic school.

Sanborn Map (1907); Source: KDL

This two story classical revival building on West Short Street first rose from the ground in 1913. The cornerstone was laid on December 14, 1913 in a ceremony presided over by the Bishop of Covington, Right Rev. C. P. MaesIts brick facade is set back from West Short Street, leaving westward pedestrians (and at one time automobiles) with an undisrupted visual approach to the St. Paul’s church.

This visual approach was a positive change for the parish as the building previously had no set-back as can be seen on the 1907 Sanborn  insurance map of Lexington.

Am. Arch. & Architecture, v. 103

With seven bays atop a high foundation, the building is quite impressive. It was designed by L. K. Frankel, a professor of mechanical engineering at the State University (now the University of Kentucky) at a projected cost of $30,000. Frankel was also a State College alumnus who was underpaid by the College for his work as professor as acknowledged by State College President James Patterson in his annual report to the governor:

State College Annual Report to the Governor, 1903/04

It is clear that Frankel did stay at State College, for it was this project some ten years later which left his name forever etched into Lexington’s architectural landscape. A literal etching exists in the pediment above the West Short Street entrance: “St. Paul’s” with the Roman numerals for 1865 (the year of the church’s cornerstone, MDCCCLXV) and 1913 (the year of the school’s cornerstone, MCMXIII) on either side.

A parochial school, however, did exist on the site before the erection of St. Paul’s. In fact, St. Paul’s was preceded by St. John’s Male Academy which was begun by a Mr. Lamb in 1867. In 1887, the sisters of Charity of Nazareth took over the school and renamed it St. Paul’s. A late twentieth-century merger with neighboring parish school St. Peter’s created the Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic School.

Lucille Caudille Theatre

For many years, a utilitarian metal awning allowed weather-protected entrance into the parochial school. Fortunately, this awning was removed and the original lamps on either side of the West Short Street entrance were restored in the recent renovation. The renovation also included a major renovation with new classrooms. Many organizations and individuals stepped up to the plate so that this historic building could once again thrive: Knights of Columbus (gymnasium); Alltech (science labs); and the Lucille Caudille Little Foundation (theatre).

Today, nearly 500 students in grades one through eight learn in this modern environment that embraces its historic roots. First floor classrooms retained original hardwood flooring, tall ceilings and enormous windows. A cross in the hallway is made up of tiles painted with student self-portraits; the tiles themselves were from the church’s old baptistry. But even before the renovation, this wonderful institution was in 2006 properly recognized as a Blue Ribbon School.

For more photos from Sts. Peter and Paul, check out flickr.

St. Paul’s Catholic Church & Sts. Peter & Paul School – Lexington, Ky.


The Bluegrass Trust for Historic Preservation hosts a monthly deTour for young professionals (and the young-at-heart) to a local historic site that has been well-preserved and restored – the group meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. Details are always available on Facebook! Our next meeting is this Wednesday, February 1, 2011. Please join us outside the Lexington History Museum (the old courthouse) where we will have the opportunity to get a behind the scenes tour! Join us!! You can see Kaintuckeean write-ups on previous deTours by clicking here.

Columbia’s Kaintuckeean Special: Chicken and Waffles, a Southern Delicacy

Chicken and Waffles @ Columbia’s – Lexington, Ky.
Columbia’s Menu Board, Jan. 30, 2012
(Photo: @managerflo)

The North Limestone Columbia’s Steakhouse recently featured on its menu the Kaintuckeean Special. This storied Lexington establishment that already features some of the most traditional of Kentucky and southern fare will add to its menu (for a day, or longer likely depending on success!) the classic dish chicken and waffles. But why the hell is this the Kaintuckeean Special??

When I visited Columbia’s a few trips ago, I had the lil’ Kaintuckeean with me. Now three years old, he had his heart set on some chicken tenders. He ate them up, save one. The next morning, I obliged myself to his leftovers. He wanted a waffle and I thought: why not go for it! I immediately determined that Columbia’s fried chicken tenders perfectly paired with a good waffle and sweet maple syrup. I tweeted @managerflo immediately.

So head down to Columbia’s tomorrow and try the chicken and waffles. You won’t be disappointed!

And wikipedia dishes up some varying theories of how chicken and waffles came to be. Be sure to check out my first post on Columbia’s, its history and its original special: The Nighthawk.

It was really cool to walk in and see my name and persona – The Kaintuckeean – on signage and receipts. Sales were good and I’m thinking it may be on the menu a little more often!!

This post was updated on February 1, 2012 to change verb tense and to add updated photographs!

ThenNow: Parking tickets now paid in the most important surviving building of Victorian period

Berkley, Guthrie & Watson Building (2012)
Photo by Jason Sloan
Berkley, Guthrie & Watson Building (1983)
Photo by Dick DeCamp

As might be guessed, 114 North Upper wasn’t always the office of those who issue and process Lexington’s parking tickets. At one time, you could walk out with more than just a receipt for a ticket. In the National Register nomination form for Lexington’s Downtown Commercial District, preservationist Dick DeCamp called the Berkley, Guthrie & Watson Building “one of Lexington’s  most important surviving buildings of that period [Victorian].”

Lowe Brothers Company (1944); Photo: Robert J. Long

The building can be found in “Jordan’s Row,” which was named after early owner John Jordan, Jr. The Berkley, Guthrie & Watson Building, situated at 114-116 North Upper, was designed by prolific architect Herman (H. L.) Rowe in the high Victorian Gothic Style. Construction commenced in 1885 by Lexington builder and stonemason G. D. Wilgus, one of the largest contractors in the area at the time.

Noticeably, much of the historic exterior integrity remains from the original build, while the interior underwent major renovations in the mid-1970s.

Lowe Brothers Company Interior (1944)
Photo by Robert J. Long

Originally, the building was constructed for the law firm Berkley, Guthrie & Watson. The firm owned the building until a series of events affecting the firm: John Berkley left; Henry Guthrie shot himself (“presumably to death,” as DeCamp notes); and James Watson ultimately sold the building in 1916.  Since then, the building has been occupied by a diverse group of tenants. From 1925-1937, a furnishing and stationary store, Wrenn and King, occupied the site. Lowe Brothers’ paint and wallpaper called 114-116 North Upper home from 1938 until the 1960s. By the 1960s/70s, the deteriorating structure had become known as the Lowe Building.

In 1975, Garvice  D. Kincaid bought the building and renovated both the exterior and interior. Lexington’s Parking Authority’s director Gary Means found the building perfect for his growing agency when it moved into the building in late 2008. LexPark has found an adaptive use that respects both the commercial history of the building, maintains the historic street view, and provides an attractive, effective work space for Lexington’s parking ticket denizens.

For more information see:
National Register (Downtown Commercial District, 1983)
LexPark

walkLEX: Lexington’s Oldest Restaurant Still Serves Great Food, History

Columbia’s Steakhouse – Lexington, Kentucky
Columbia Steak House (Downtown) on Urbanspoon

On a Friday evening, Lexington police raided a popular Lexington restaurant, arrested twenty-one people and charged the restaurant’s owner with running a disorderly house. Things were no less “disorderly” two months later. Armed with reports of Sunday alcohol sales (in violation of state blue laws) and the sale of distilled spirits despite having only a beer license, the state alcoholic beverage control board yanked the beer license of Columbia’s Steakhouse. It was the spring of 1952 and Frank and Ray Columbia’s restaurant was in trouble. Opened in 1948, the steakhouse was already a Lexington institution.

The steakhouse was set up as a ‘front’ for the true operation: a gaming hall in the back room which was frequented by local officials and police. Today, that back room is referred to as “the Mafia Room.” Yes, the lore behind Lexington’s Columbia’s Steakhouse is deep. Walking into its North Limestone location, one can easily imagine the many rooms being filled with smoke and deals being struck. Not a lot has changed since Columbia’s first opened sixty-four years ago. There is no pretense. Just an old-school steakhouse.

Manager Flo Cowley

There are a few things that typify a traditional steakhouse and Columbia’s meets all of them. Delicious food. Check. A familiar staff that has been there for years. Check. In fact, for twenty-six years Flo Cowley has managed the North Limestone location of Columbia’s Steakhouse. @managerflo is an avid twitterer who offers a big smile to all who enter her restaurant. But in true old-school form, she knows her regulars by name. And she knows the legends and the lore of this Lexington institution like the back of her hand.

The same could be said for Columbia’s former maitre d’: James “Smitty” Smith. He was the subject of many news articles as his “smile that helped make the restaurant one of the most popular in town.” Smitty was, like Columbia’s itself, a “Lexington legend.” In 1993, Smity received the Smiley Pete award which is given to someone who “makes people feel good about being downtown.”

The Nighthawk Special

The ubiquitous menu item is the Nighthawk Special. The dish is named after a 1960s era radio personality on local station WVLK, Tom Kindall, who was a night owl (er, nighthawk). The Nighthawk DJ’d rock and roll from midnight until dawn. His namesake is always on the menu, but for a short period of time every year the price drops. The eight ounce beef tenderloin is marinated and served in garlic butter. My wife prefers their delicious steak fries and I their enormous baked potato as a side of choice with each of us making full use of the accompanying garlic butter. Each of us agree on the second side dish: the Diego salad – chopped lettuce with diced tomato and sliced radishes, all tossed with a nice shake of a special seasoning mix, ranch dressing on the side. My God it is good! I’ve loved the Nighthawk Special since I enjoyed my first some twenty years ago.

You have to go back many years to remember when Columbia’s Steakhouse was not the occupant at 201 North Limestone. One customer, however, remembered growing up in the back room when it was an apartment and the front of the building was a grocery store. The building, built ca. 1870, typifies post-Civil War mixed-use (commercial-residential) design. And it remains mixed-use with apartments on the upper floor.

If you haven’t been to Columbia’s, go. If you haven’t been in awhile, go back. For more pictures, check out flickr.

Sources: Columbia’s Steakhouse; local.lexpublib.org; @managerflo; NRHP

This post previously suggested that James “Smitty Smith” was deceased. The error wasn’t noticed for over 18 months, but it has been corrected. An obituary for Smitty’s brother shows him alive and well as of June 2014.

ThenNow: Historic Clark Hardware Store becoming Shakespeare & Co.

   
367-369 West Short Street (Dec. 2011)

Photo by Jason E. Sloan
367-369 West Short St. (ca. 1939)
Photo by Robert J. Long

Spring 2012 will welcome a new restaurant to downtown Lexington: Shakespeare and Company.  A chain based in the United Arab Emirate of Dubai, Shakespeare and Co. aims to “provide a cozy, chic ambiance reminiscent of Victorian elegance” with a menu that includes English, American and Lebanese food.  Their choice of the circa 1870 Clark Hardware Building is not only a prominent location at the intersection of West Short and Broadway, but an apt one to represent the Victorian Era.

1907 Sanborn Map of Lexington
(Source: KDL)
Italianate Commercial in style, the Clark Hardware Building housed multiple grocers from 1873-1902: including Bryant, Hardesty & Co.; Foushee, Cassell & Co.; Hughes and Cassell; and Frank Maer Dry Goods.  From 1906 through 1921, the Home Furniture Co. was the primary occupant and longest tenant until the building’s namesake took over in 1923. The Clark Hardware Co. occupied 367-369 West Short Street for 44 years (through 1967).

The 1979 National Register Nomination Form notes that the third story was never finished; most likely intentionally, as it provided ample storage for the string of businesses housed downstairs.  As can be seen in the current and historic photos, the exterior of the building has changed very little and maintains many of the original elements, such as a prominent cornice, arched windows, and glass shopfront.  The building significantly contributes to Lexington’s history and architecture downtown.

While the exterior of the building has remained mostly intact, the interior has been changed multiple times.  Although the 1979 National Register Nomination noted that the first and third floors were fairly intact at that time (especially with the third floor being unfinished and used for storage), Shakespeare and Co. is undertaking significant renovations, including the removal of a rear wall on the first floor.  With their focus on “Victorian chic,” the restaurant will certainly aim to recall the time in which the building was built — with the commercial aspect a bit more behind-the-scenes than when Clark Hardware was tenant.
For more information see: