Fayette – Page 20 – The Kaintuckeean

walkLEX: Dewitt Godfrey Work will Transform East Main Rooftop

Early Rendering of “Lex” atop the Downtown Arts Center – Lexington, Ky.

Scaled Back Design of “Lex”

Sculptor Dewitt Godfrey of upstate New York has designed Lex – a fixture of various shapes and sizes of steel tubes to be stacked atop the Lexington Laundry Company building at 141 East Main Street. Godfrey is well-known for his abstract designs featuring weathered steel tubes. His work is being brought to Lexington as a commissioned work by LexArts and Leadership Lexington‘s 2010 Class.

The original design, pictured above, would have spanned both Laundry Building and its neighbor, 137 East Main (the Fayette Cigar Store). Without the support of all involved, the project was scaled back and will only rest atop Lexington Laundry.

Steel Tube Possibilities Photo: LexArts

The scaled-back design is far more conservative than the original renderings. Also quite different from other Godfrey works is that Lex will be placed three stories above ground meaning that the art will have no pedestrian interaction. Godfrey did design some versions of Lex that would have been accessible – consider the interpretation at right which would have allowed both pedestrian and vehicular traffic through the steel tubes.

The total fixture is expected to weigh 11, 900 pounds. Spanning 18′ 8″ over the art center, the Lex will reach over 27 feet into the air. It will contain 17 cylinders with the largest having a diameter of ten feet.

Asa C. Chinn Collection, ca. 1920-1921
Photo Source: KYVL-KDL

Before it was home to the Lexington Laundry Company (built 1929), the site featured a slightly taller structure that wouldn’t have left enough room for 27 feet of aerial art about its top. The unique façade of the Laundry Company’s predecessor is missed but Godfrey’s art form will be another major transformation of the location. The 1929 structure is considered by the US Department of the Interior to be Lexington’s finest example of art deco architecture with the façade “composed of wheat-toned glazed tile highlighted by stylized floral patterns.”

Those commissioning the work did so in a massive call for public art that will hopefully grace other community spots in the coming years. With 126 applications and 14 finalists, a selection of five proposals were commissioned. This Godfrey piece will be the first to appear in Lexington, though information about other commissioned proposals is available.

Next week, on January 11, the proposed art work will go before the Courthouse Area Design Review Board for approval. Once approved, work can begin on putting in place this project funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts which will provide another fixture of permanent public art in downtown Lexington.

UPDATE: The CADRB unanimously approved this project on January 11, 2012. To the left is the most recent (and color!) artists rendering of what we’ll soon see!

Sources: Artist Website; BizLex; CADRB Application; Downtown Building Inventory; Herald-Leader; National Park Service.

Correction: The Lexington Streetsweeper pointed out that an earlier version of this story confused and combined into one the Laundry Company building and its predecessor in location. Chinn’s photos were taken in 1920-1921 and the Laundry Company building wasn’t built until ca. 1929. Thanks for the catch!

KY360: Cheapside Park

I’ve profiled Cheapside Park, the old Courthouse, the John C. Breckinridge statue, the Fifth Third Bank pavilion, and other items before on #walkLEX. But I recently got a new iPhone app – Photosynth – and wanted to try it out (and probably use it often).

If you have an iPhone you should really consider getting this app — it’s free. Also, let me know what you think!

walkLEX: Another Chapter Closing at Lexington’s Oldest Post Office

Metropol at 307 West Short Street – Lexington, Ky.

Dr. John Shremly honored his uncle, Harry Schraemli, when he opened Metropol in 2000. This fine dining locale at 307 West Short Street has for eleven years offered delicious meals and fine drinks at its Harry’s Bar (named after Uncle Harry).

Schraemli, who passed in 1995, was renowned in Europe for his gastronomy. This master in the culinary world wrote numerous books and publications; his Meistermixer remains the “bartenders bible across Europe.” The European heritage of Metropol is easily visible from West Short as the building proudly displays the flags of France, Switzerland, Italy, and others alongside Old Glory.

307 W. Short St.
Bullock Collection

But the buildings themselves cannot be ignored as they have their own fantastic history. Constructed as a post office in 1836 (some records indicate construction occurred as early as 1825), 307 West Short is the oldest surviving post office in Lexington.

The first postmaster here, Joseph Ficklin, would later serve as counsel to Cuba under the nomination of President Polk. His “lively” house on High Street was home to Jefferson Davis during the future Confederate president’s years at Transylvania.

When the post office opened at West Short Street, the cost of postage was measured by the number of pages and the distance to be travelled. A three-page letter requiring a distance of 400 miles would cost 75¢ (in other words, in 175 years the cost of postage has decreased — no wonder the U.S. Postal Service is in trouble!). Of course, the cost may be attributed to the excellent customer service: the post office was then open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and for an additional hour each Sunday morning.

The structure itself is a simple, two-story antebellum commercial building. Originally, the first floor frontage was almost entirely windows, but an unfortunate renovation in 1971 covered this frontage with brick veneer as well as covering the remainder of the building with aluminum.

In 2009, Schremly expanded Metropol to include the neighboring structure to the west. There, the Hotel Drake Annex completed this island in what has become a sea of parking lot. The Annex was built ca. 1901 in the Queen Anne style. The Drake Hotel converted the Annex into a “liquor dispensary” after Prohibition. In former versions, the West Short Street hotel – which spanned the length of the block’s now empty parking lot – operated as both the Ashland House and the Reed Hotel. It became the Hotel Drake in 1926 and it then became an “infamous hangout for bookies and prostitutes.”The Drake was torn down in 1962. Of it, only this Annex remains.

Metropol merged these two buildings into a sizable, beautiful restaurant. But this Friday, Metropol will close its doors. Be sure to stop by and say hello.

Sources: BGT file; Metropol; NRHP; Walking Tour Brochure

kernel: Shryock Family Legendary in Kentucky Architecture

Historic Marker #945 – Lexington, Ky.

The historic marker on the campus of Transylvania University’s campus describes the “Architects Shryock” as the “best known surname in Kentucky architecture.” The historic marker, #945 reads:

Best known surname in Kentucky architecture is Shryock.” Family home, erected by Matthias Shryock (1774-1833), here. Designed first Episcopal church in city, 1814, and Mary Todd Lincoln home on W. Main. Son, Cincinnatus, born here, 1816. First Presbyterian Church, built 1872, considered his best. Also designed many homes. Died, 1888. Both buried in Lexington. Over.

(Reverse) Another Shryock – Gideon, “father of Greek revival movement in Ky. architecture,” was also Matthias’ son. Fine example of his classic style is Old State House, Frankfort, Ky., 1829. He also designed Morrison Hall on the Transylvania campus here, 1830, Jefferson County Courthouse in Louisville, Arkansas State Capitol, Little Rock, 1830’s. Born here, 1802; buried Louisville, 1880.

This incredible family forever left its mark on Lexington and the entire Commonwealth, leaving behind a legacy of beautiful structures that have endured the generations. Their skill also greatly contributed to Lexington receiving the moniker “Athens of the West.”

I’ve profiled several examples of the Shryocks’ work:

Franklin County Courthouse (Gideon, in Frankfort)
Odd Fellows Lodge (Cincinnatus, in Lexington)
Old Morrison Hall (Gideon, in Lexington)
Old State Capitol (Gideon, in Frankfort)
Orlando Brown House (Gideon, in Frankfort)

There are a number of other Shryock-designed structures I haven’t yet profiled, including patriarch Matthias’ Mary Todd Lincoln House in Lexington. Matthias, in total, had ten children before he succumbed to the 1833 cholera epidemic.

walkLEX: Bellini’s Anchors a Block of Restoration

West Main Street (123; 119-115; 111-107; 105-101) – Lexington, Ky.
(The Same Block in April 2010 and circa 1920)

Opposite Centrepasture has again become one of downtown Lexington’s grandest blocks. The block’s renaissance kicked off when Bellini’s opened in 2003. Its owners have restored the first floor of 115-119 West Main, a structure designed in the Italianate style by local architect Cincinnatus Shryock in 1869. This five-bay, three-story structure appears sufficient in height to be five stories. It is, however, its third floor ballroom that makes the structure so unique.

Surrounded on two-stories, the Shryock-designed building has beautiful round-top windows that allow an incredible amount of light onto the third floor ballroom. What is now a tremendous asset for Bellini’s, but the space is a reminder of the building’s original purpose. Atop is a French Second Empire Mansard roof that is incredibly unique for the region.

The building was built by the Odd Fellows fraternity and stands as a symbol of the optimism experienced in Lexington immediately following the Civil War when citizen’s concerns went from conflict to prosperity and the arts. And although the era provided Lexington with another opportunity to return to its former status as an Athens of the West, that train had already moved on to the larger cities. Still, Cincinnatus Shryock created a multi-use masterpiece. Wrote the Gazette: it was “one of the handsomest buildings in the state. The Odd Fellows retained the whole third floor … which has been subdivided so as to suit their purposes, clearing one large hall which has been fitted up most sumptuously and with exquisite taste!”

The first floor, marked by cast iron Corinthian columns, contained two separate storefronts flanking a stairwell to the upper levels. Law offices occupied the second floor and, as noted, the Odd Fellows Lodge the third. Today, the second floor is half vacant and half apartments with Bellini’s hoping for the opportunity to add additional “large party” space on the second floor. The eastern front, 115 West Main, once housed Skuller’s Jewelry for the better portion of the 20th century. Although Skuller’s closed in 1984, its name remains as inlaid tile hidden just below the mat outside the front door.

Skuller’s Clock, built by Pennsylvania’s Brown Street Clock Company, was removed as part of the Main Street beautification project with hopes of restoring it. At fourteen feet tall, the two-faced clocked atop a fluted iron column is a Lexington landmark in its own right. When it was removed last year, it was announced that the repair costs would be approximately $25,000. The clock remains mothballed, but to the left are pictures of how the streets cape has appeared over the years with the circa 1913 Skuller’s Clock.

Other buildings in this half of the West Main Street block (as pictured at top) are 123 West Main Street which had its façade completely restored to its 1920s appearance for the new nightclub, Trust. On the other side of Bellini’s is 107-111 West Main Street which also experienced a façade restoration in the past year. This building houses Sunrise Bakery and another Bellini’s banquet hall. At block’s end, 101-105 West Main Street has always maintained a unique façade with a fantastic terra cotta roof; it was announced earlier this week that the new owner, Dudley Webb, will restore this building as well.

This block of West Main Street contains a great concentration of historic buildings that together create a very interesting, wonderful streetscape with the Cincinnatus Shryock creation as its central masterpiece.

Additional photos of the Blue Grass Trust deTour to Bellini’s are available on flickr.

Sources: LHL; LHL; local.lexpublib.org; NRHP

NoD: UK Art Museum Can “See Blue”

Gallery at the UK Art Museum – Lexington, Ky.

If you are in any way affiliated or connected to the University of Kentucky, you are aware of their “see blue” campaign. Even if your only connection to UK is watching basketball games, you have undoubtedly seen the commercial which morphs the school, the city and the world blue. Well, in the words of Oscar Wilde, we are seeing “art imitate life” through an exhibit at the University of Kentucky Art Museum at the Singletary Center.

Through January 22, works from UK’s permanent collection have been turned into an exhibit centered on (you guessed it) blue. It has been many years since I last ventured into the UK Art Museum which is tucked in a corner of the Singletary Center for the Arts, but I recently ventured in for a holiday party.

Because of its hidden location, few know about the UK Art Museum. Even so, it has been part of the Singletary Center since the SCFA opened in 1979. (Note: The Singletary name was not applied until the late 1980s.) Over the past ten years, it has often been discussed that the Art Museum should take a more prominent role as a local attraction. Years ago, a move to the old courthouse on Main Street was contemplated.

Portrait of Daniel Boone
by John Wesley

The “See Blue”special collection contained a few great pieces that caught my eye. First and foremost is John Wesley’s Portrait of Daniel Boone, a 1962 modern twist on the 1852 famous engraving of Kentucky’s frontiersman. Wesley’s interpretation looked toward the legend of Boone, which he found to be an “outsized… one-dimensional caricature, a flat depiction drained of color.”

Wesley, born in California, is typically genred in the “pop art” category and is is best known for his appropriation of cartoons like Blondie and Popeye.

I agree with the Museum’s suggestion that “it is especially meaningfully to “see blue” in a portrait of Kentucky frontiersman Daniel Boone.”

UK Basketball Game Between
UK and St. Johns, December 17, 1977
by Leroy Neiman

Another “see blue” work which I noted was a Leroy Neiman oil depicting a 1977 basketball game between the UK Wildcats and St. John’s University. Of course, UK has recently played and handily beaten St. Johns which was a repeat of this 102-72 affair featuring Kentucky greats Jack Givens, James Lee, Kyle Macy, Mike Phillips and Rick Robey.

This oil was exquisite and the short brush strokes gave it a fervor that would have been present during the UKIT and throughout the season as our Cats would go on to a record of 30-2 and a National Championship (defeating Duke) under the helm of Joe B. Hall.

Neiman’s work, primarily depicting scenes of sport and leisure, are well known to the American eye.

There are a multitude of other fantastic works in this collection and elsewhere in the museum. More information about the UK Art Museum can be found on its website, http://www.uky.edu/ArtMuseum/.

walkLEX: Arena, Arts & Entertainment Task Force not making “little plans”

Model of a #FreeRupp

Last night, a public meeting was held for the Arena, Arts & Entertainment District (AAED). A lot of great ideas from the master planners at Space Group; lead architect Gary Bates led the presentation. As he pointed out, the concept of master planning – particularly in difficult economic times – must operate as a “slow cooker” — with a master vision in mind and taking incremental steps along the way for a period of decades to accomplish the goal. A quote attributed to American architect Daniel Burnham was offered before the introduction of Mayor Gray:

Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will never die.

As a result, much of what what discussed last night was conceptual and not concrete. This process is not (at least yet) about building design but about planning a 46-acre district that would expand the downtown core, making her a more attractive, livable place.

The attention of many focuses on one thing: Rupp Arena. On the continuum of this master plan, Rupp is certainly the catalyst and where efforts will begin. As Bates said, Rupp Arena is a fantastic facility because of its intensity which he attributes not just to our team but to the simple fact that we have “24,000 people on the smallest footprint in the world.”

But the AAED is about taking that same intensity and providing opportunities for pre- and post-game excitement. And although the city and Space Group are looking at how to revitalize a 46-acre district, neither are ignoring the balance of downtown (and the city for that matter) so that our community operates as a unit.

I was impressed with Bates’ mirror analysis: that downtown’s core extends from Thoroughbred Park to Rupp Arena, but that this space can nearly be mirrored on the land which can be developed from Rupp Arena westward through the Cox Street lots and into the Distillery District. He noted that the fabric of downtown is well-defined and concentrated better than many cities he has visited: north/south streets, e.g., South Limestone and South Broadway, have become axises for small business while east/west paths, e.g., Third, Short, and Maxwell, are highly residential. Still, walkability in our concentrated city has suffered: from 1907 to 2011 our building density has suffered a 50% blow in favor of larger “big boxes” and surface parking.

In all, the presentation showed great promise and good ideas though none are shovel-ready. For more on the details, I’d encourage you to read articles by Jill Seelmeyer (KyForward) and Bev Fortune (LHL). You may also want to check out the AAED Taskforce webpage at www.ruppdistrict.com.

walkLEX: Outdoor ice skating returns to Lexington creating a WinterWonderland

Triangle Park Skating Rink - Lexington, Ky.

Ice Skating Rink at Triangle Park – Lexington, Ky.

In the cold winter of 1913, the ponds on Clifton Heights hardened enough to become a destination for ice skating enthusiasts in Lexington. Clifton Heights was platted around the turn-of-the-century between the city of Lexington and the A&M College of Kentucky (now UK). This old Lexington subdivision, was razed in the 1990s for the construction of UK’s W.T. Young Library.

Ice skating at Clifton Heights Pond –
Lexington, Ky. (Source: KDL)

Another great location for ice skating, according to newspaper reports from the 1880s, was Lexington’s water reservoir. The water company was so accommodating that the “public [was] invited to use the engine room to get warm.” In today’s world, that sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen.

But for many years, the only option for public ice skating has been the ice center on Eureka Springs Drive. But no more.

With the remodeled Triangle Park comes a new winter attraction: an ice rink (formally and with recognition of corporate sponsorship, the Unified Trust Company Ice Rink). At its grand opening last Friday, held in conjunction with the city’s Christmas tree lighting, the rink was packed with skaters enjoying skating under an open sky.

The rink itself comes from, of all places, the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The surface measures 85 x 60 feet and has a capacity of 200 persons. Accompanying it are a tent for skate rentals, a tent for concessions (though this will eventually be replaced by a permanent, but mobile, structure), and a 200-ton chiller to keep the ice sufficiently cold in Lexington’s fluctuating climate.

Achtung!

I look forward to taking the family skating at this beautiful location. In Mastercardesque terms:

90 minutes of skating in beautiful Triangle Park – $10.
Skate rental – included in the price.
Doing something a Louisvillian can’t do because the Waterfront Park ice rink didn’t open again this year – priceless

Or in the words of Steve Grossman, President of the Triangle Foundation: “The park is set up to be a nice, fun little winter wonderland!”

More pictures are available on flickr. And before you say, “hey… where are all the skaters?” note that all the pictures were taken the afternoon before the rink opened.

Sources: BizLex; LHL; local.lexpublib.org; Streetsweeper

walkLEX: Lexington Christmas Season is Underway

Downtown Christmas Tree - Lexington, Ky.

Christmas Tree at Triangle Park – Lexington, Ky.

A few minutes past 6 p.m. on Friday evening, the Christmas season officially began in Lexington, Kentucky. With the help of Mayor Jim Gray, Santa Claus himself turned a large key to flip on the lights on the holiday decorations throughout downtown which include several Christmas trees – the most significant being the 30 foot blue spruce located at Main and Broadway (temporarily, Santa Clause Way and Santa Clause Lane) in Triangle Park.

With its multicolored lights illuminating what must have been the largest crowd ever to witness Lexington’s tree lighting, the blue spruce provides a dramatic backdrop for the new ice skating rink that now winters in Triangle Park’s central lawn.

The tree lighting ceremony in Triangle Park is a Lexington tradition, though its mechanics have changed over the years. I’ve attended in years with frigid temperatures, which nicely accommodated an ice sculpture contest. The ceremonial lighting of the tree has always involved the sitting mayor and St. Nick, but it has been performed by the flipping of a switch, the pressing of a button, and most recently the turning of a key. As for timing, it is traditionally been held the day after Thanksgiving but this too has fluctuated based on UK basketball and Backstreet Boys concert dates. Even the location has changed: in 2007, the tree lighting was relocated to the courthouse plaza on Limestone.

Another part of the tradition is that it is the ceremonial kickoff of both the Lexington Firefighters Toys-for-Tots and the Salvation Army’s local Red Bucket Brigade campaign. These worthy organizations help those less fortunate, a number which is dramatically growing in these tough economic times. In introducing the Toys-for-Tots campaign, the Lexington firefighter observed that about 10% of those in need are first-timers — that number has jumped to 50% of requests for aide. If you can help, please do. “And God bless us, everyone.”

walkLEX: Lexington’s council chambers violate state law.

LFUCG Council Chambers – Lexington, Ky.

I’ve always been a stickler for the rules for displaying flags. While visiting Minneapolis, Minnesota for Midsommar Dag 1995, I advised the director of the American Swedish Insitute that the flags on the front of their Turnblad Mansion – a beautiful thirty-three room French chateauesque mansion built in 1908 – were incorrectly displayed. Federal law requires that the American flag appear, from the perspective of the audience, to the left of other flags. 4 U.S.C. 1 § 7. You see, the Swedish flag was on the left. The director was quite happy that someone, albeit a twelve year old, pointed out the error. Particularly as Norway’s King Harald and Queen Sonja were soon expected to visit.

Which turns me to the subject of my post: Lexington’s City Hall.

While attending last week’s board of adjustment hearing (the proposed subdivision in the Western Suburb was denied), I took a few moments to take in our beautiful city hall. Though I didn’t take a sufficient number of photographs, I did admire the former Lafayette Hotel which had closed as a hotel in 1963 and served as private offices until 1982 when the city took over the building as its new city hall. But what caught my eye in chambers were the flags.

Yes, the good ol’ Star Spangled Banner was appropriately displayed with an eagle finial atop its flagstaff. Note, however, that federal law is silent with regard to finials. The Kentucky flag, at audience right, found a spear-like finial atop its flagstaff.

STOP. Am I the only one who knows chapter 2 of the Kentucky Revised Statutes? K.R.S. 2.030(3) mandates: “The emblem at the head of a flagstaff used to display the flag of the Commonwealth of Kentucky shall be the Kentucky cardinal in an alert but restful pose, cast in bronze, brass, or other suitable material.”

“Shall be.” That also means not optional, so does a phone call need to be made to central purchasing?