Fayette – Page 24 – The Kaintuckeean

walkLEX: Shorty’s Cellar

Shorty’s Cellar – Lexington, Ky.

On May 1, Shorty’s opened on West Short Street hearkening the return of the downtown grocer to Lexington. During the course of the summer, I’ve been to Shorty’s Urban Market more frequently than I have been to Farmer’s Market (in other words, more than weekly).

So naturally I was excited to see that Shorty’s is expanding… sort of. But in compliance with state law, Shorty’s is not actually expanding. The Urban Market and the new Shorty’s Cellar 157 will have separate entrances.

With a scheduled opening of October 1, Shorty’s Cellar 157 will be the only wine and spirits shop in the downtown commercial historic district. (Other great wine shops, like Wine+Market, are already nearby.) Work has already begun on converting the first floor of the Messick Building – a ca. 1928 two-story, three-bay Neo-Classical commercial building – into a wine shop.

The current façade of 157 West Short Street will see its aluminum storefront replaced with a steel and glass frontage a la Shorty’s, and both an awning and blade sign will mark the location. Inside, “600 SF of reclaimed wood floors, exposed brick, and custom chandeliers and shelving.” Until then, mark October 1st on your calendar!

This post was updated on August 22, 2011 with the Shorty’s Cellar 157 logo and information about the Cellar’s interior.

EV: Lexington Cemetery (Part 1)

The Cemetery was chartered in 1848. Prior to the establishment of the Cemetery, early settlers were buried on “First Hill” – near where Main and Vine meet currently in Lexington – or in family graveyards. This was not a terribly sanitary practice, so to avoid contamination of the water supply and other sorts of problems, the Cemetery was established. Among those who were a part of the group that chartered the Cemetery were Benjamin Gratz (namesake of Gratz Park) and David Sayre (of the Sayre Female Institute). The area that is Lexington Cemetery was known at the time as Boswell’s Woods, and had been hunting grounds for Thomas Boswell. The cemetery board paid $7,000 for the land, and a small family graveyard on that original site remains.

The grounds were laid out by Charles S. Bell, a Scotsman and horticulturist whose goal it was to create a park-like, landscaped cemetery. Bell – known as a perfectionist, would not open the cemetery until the grounds were finished. The first burial took place on October 2, 1849, when A.B. Colwell, a community businessman who had died of cholera, was laid to rest with his infant son.

kernel: Dominicans vs. the Pros

Dominican Republic vs. Kentucky Pros - Lexington, Ky.

Nazr Mohammed, Eric Bledsoe and Keith Bogans at Rupp Arena – Lexington, Ky.

Last night at Rupp Arena, the John Calipari-led Dominican Republic (DR) national team soundly defeated a corps of NBA professional, former-Kentucky Wildcats coached by Joe B. Hall.

Yes, last night was a Kentucky fan’s dream come true. On the floor were Nazr Mohammed, Tayshaun Prince, and Keith Bogans. And Jodie Meeks. And John Wall, Demarcus Cousins, and Eric Bledsoe. All coached by a Harrison County native who, at age 82 and after 26 years of retirement, coached one more game.

The DR national team was stocked with talent, including a few NBA greats. And one Eloy Vargas, still a UK player, who fans demanded be played by Coach Cal. Coach Cal complied with a minute to spare.

In the end, the score didn’t matter (DR won, 106-88). It was a packed house at Rupp Arena for a Caribbean nation’s exhibition game. It provided some much-needed relief from the annual abyss when sports fans are left abandoned by their football and basketball passions.

Yeah, it was an awesome night. Just look at the picture: Nazr Mohammed (95-98), Eric Bledsoe (09-10) and Keith Bogans (99-03). Generations of Kentucky players on the court at once respectively representing the Rick Pitino, John Calipari, and Tubby Smith eras. Three players, all wearing the blue and white, being coached by Joe B. Hall. Yes – it was an awesome night! You can check out the rest of the pictures I took on flickr.

NoD: Lexington’s New Interchange

This morning, I navigated the new double-diamond interchange (DDI) at Harrodsburg Road and New Circle. For a few seconds, I was a British-subject driving on the left side of the road. The concept of this design, first engineered in 2003, became a reality on U.S. roads in 2009 at Springfield, Missouri. Lexington’s DDI is the sixth such interchange in North America.

The design is daunting on paper for a driver to understand, but introductory videos were quite helpful. Now, having driven the interchange, it immediately seems natural. This is a good design.

More information about DDIs is available from the Federal Highway Administration. More information about the US68/KY4 DDI is available from the KY Transportation Cabinet.

This post was republished on KYforward.com on August 17, 2011.

walkLEX: Preservation Along East Third Street

The Bluegrass Trust for Historic Preservation hosts a monthly deTour to a local historic site that has been well-preserved and restored. Please join us on our next deTour – details on Facebook! Our guides for the East Third Street deTour were property owners and preservationists John Morgan and Linda Carroll. The deTour also included a stop at Atomic Cafe and the Morgan-Carroll residence, both of which will be profiled later.

East Third Street – Lexington, Ky.

Across East Third Street from the Carrick House are a number of older properties in various stages of (dis)repair. John Morgan and Linda Carroll, owners of three of these properties, have taken my grandfather’s sage advice in Lexington’s quest of historic preservation: “one bite at a time.” There three buildings – 146, 126, and 122 East Third Street – are, in that order, increasingly well-preserved yet adapted for today’s use.

Painstaking efforts to maintain the streetscape appearance and to enlarge and modernize interior facilities while preserving interior features that can be preserved seem to be hallmarks of the Morgan/Carroll brand. The three properties each have a unique history and are fantastic examples of preservation and adaptive reuse.

146 East Third Street – Lexington, Ky.

Walking into 146 is like walking into a true construction zone. Originally built in 1847, this property was sold in 1849 to Daniel Wickliffe, the editor of the Lexington Observer and Reporter. Wickliffe would later serve as the Secretary of State under Governor Robinson. In the mid-1900s, the property was a Moose Lodge and was later converted into apartments. Morgan & Carroll acquired this property in late 2009 and have not yet begun restoration, so many remnants of its days as a tenement remain. Additional pictures of 146 East Third Street are available here.

John Morgan welcoming us to
126 East Third Street – Lexington, Ky.

At 126, the work is almost complete. Built around 1839, the small residence was a rental for much of its life. In September 1925, the tenant was John Morys, a jockey who rode Frogtown to a second-to-last finish in the 1919 Kentucky Derby; it was in the house that he took his own life by ingesting carbolic acid. The exterior has been restored and the interior is framed. As mentioned above, historical details (moulding, etc) that can be preserved is, but the Morgan/Carroll brand is to modernize the interior making it comfortable for 21st century living. The property was greatly expanded by Morgan and Carroll, who purchased the property in 2004 to preserve the integrity of the neighborhood where they live and work. Atop the addition will be a green roof and roof patio that will greatly expand the home’s living area while not disrupting the appearance from the street of this side-gabled, three-bay. Additional pictures of 126 East Third Street are available here.

122 East Third Street – Lexington, Ky.

122 serves as the headquarters for Morgan Worldwide and is the completed structure in the trio. Built in 1839, the building was restored in 1998. During the restoration, the basement was discovered and was dug out by hand having been completely filled with dirt – it was discovered by a keen eye noting the peculiarity of the top of a door frame being at ground level. In 1906, Professor Bernard Grehan passed from this life; his funeral was held in this house which was then owned by his daughter, Mrs Lillie Clark. Grehan was an Irishman whose accolades ranged from the ministry to mathematics and from trading to teaching; his son, Enoch Grehan, would help establish the journalism school at the University of Kentucky and the University’s journalism building would bear his name. Additional pictures of 122 East Third Street are available here.

These are three gems in Lexington’s Constitution Historic District – one that, like so many of Lexington’s historic neighborhoods – has a colorful past and, with the help of individuals like Morgan and Carroll, a bright future

Bibliography
Connelley’s History of Kentucky (v. 4), p.106-107.
Fayette PVA
local.lexpublib.org

walkLEX: East Third Street deTour is August 3

Join the Blue Grass Trust deTours group of young professionals (and young at heart) as we discover Lexington’s past. On August 3, 2011 at 5:30 p.m., we will gather outside Atomic Cafe (265 North Limestone) before exploring three East Third Street properties which are in various stages of restoration. RSVP on Facebook.

The majority of the properties to be explored on the August 3 deTour are located within Lexington’s Constitution Historic District. This district encompasses several city blocks between North Limestone and Martin Luther King Blvd, stretching from the north side of East Third Street to the alley with three names (references have been found to Templeman Alley, Clark Street and Pleasant Stone Street). As with all historic neighborhoods surrounding Lexington’s business core, Constitution has a checkered past — as do the individual properties to be visited.

The Atomic Cafe building – 265/267 North Limestone Street (not in the Constitution HD) – was constructed by and adjacent to the house of Joseph Wingate who served as Lexington’s Mayor from 1863-1865. In 1869, it was known as the “family grocery now owned by Jacob White,” thought it was in the Crawford family for 35 years. By fortune, this building it still exists – it was “almost blown to pieces” by an exploding oil can in the early morning hours of August 14, 1888.

The East Third Street properties we’ll be visiting – 122, 126 and 146 – today share a common owner who has taken each building to a different stage of restoration with 122 being the most complete and 146 being the most raw. 122 and 126 were both constructed by Joseph Uttinger circa 1839. Uttinger was a carpenter who owned a lumberyard; he sold both properties later that same year. James Jackson purchased 122 and 126 was sold to Thomas Bradley who rented out the property for about 20 years. 146 was built in 1847 and sold in 1849 to Daniel Wickliffe, the editor of the Lexington Observer and Reporter and later the Kentucky Secretary of State under Gov. Robinson. Both 120 and 146 (as well as five others on the block) are two-story, three-bay, all-brick, Greek Revival hall-and-parlor homes.

As a bonus, we’ll also be visiting another North Limestone residence outside of the Constitution HD. Although officially it was completed in 1900, its from room dates to a cabin first built in 1797.

Please join us for our August 3 deTour. More information about the deTour is available on Facebook.

Bibliography
Blue Grass Trust, “Constitution Spreads“
Kentucky Historic Resources Inventory
Lexington Leader, local.lexpublib.org
NRHP, “Constitution Historic District“

walkLEX: Centrepointe v. 4.0

I already told you about the meeting unveiling the new Centrepointe design. Today, I’ll show you.

Fmr Vice Mayor Isabel Yates examines the proposal

NRK and I discussed the project before the unveiling on Thursday. NRK declared his immediate reaction was dislike followed by the knowledge that I would love it. He was right. And I think that came through in yesterday morning’s post. NRK’s biggest criticism was that he didn’t feel that the project’s featured tower was “sufficiently Kentucky.” Gang discussed the poetic connection between Kentucky’s equine-based economy and the limestone soil that provides calcium-rich bluegrass for strong horses. With limestone as her inspiration, she discussed the stalactites and stalagmites of Mammoth Cave and the outcroppings of limestone along the Kentucky River Palisades before discussing the microbiology of marine life in the limestone – all of this pointed to the tubes which comprise the main feature of the project.

Rendering of proposed project and Lexington skyline.
Problem is, this picture is totally inaccurate (see below)

One flaw in the Gang presentation was the use of the picture immediately above – it’s completely inaccurate! The view is from the northwest based on the positioning of the landmarks photographed. Which means that the verdant forest next to the old courthouse is where the Fifth Third Bank Pavilion is located (as well as Cheapside, etc.). Any other eagle eyes out there spot any other mistakes?

Check out all my pictures from the presentation here on flickr.

kernel: Centrepointe update

Artist Rendering of the new “Centrepointe” Image: Studio Gang

Bounded by Main-Upper-Vine-Limestone, the Centrepointe block in downtown Lexington has been a lightning rod since demolition plans were announced a few years ago. Much has been written about the various incarnations of the Centrepointe tower proposal.

I’ve stayed away from the bru-ha-ha as much as possible, only making small reference to Centrepointe on this site. I’ve never been impressed with the designs as they all looked like something that would have emerged in one of the tall-building-clusters that ring Atlanta on I-285. And though I’ve grown quite fond of Centrepasture, it is not the best use for the site.

There are a number of hurdles yet to be accomplished, but a huge step forward was made when the developers hired Jeanne Gang’s Studio Gang Architects out of Chicago. I missed the meeting earlier this summer when Gang came to the Lexington History Museum to share a number of visions. Now, the plan has been refined and the plans will be unveiled today at the Kentucky Theatre at 4 pm. I hope to attend and, if I do, I’ll live-tweet the presentation @kaintuckeean.

From the two images we’ve seen so far, I like this new proposal. I love how the historical buildings are pictured above – the first skyscraper (Fayette National Bank Building) and the Old Courthouse – nestled between two modern structures as viewed from Vine Street, though I realize that the structures to be built on Main will obstruct this view.

Remember: Kentucky Theatre, today at 4 pm. Follow me on twitter @kaintuckeean. Oh… and can we PLEASE come up with a new name other than Centrepointe?

kernel: Dog on Mailbox (Street Art)

Graffiti & Street Art on North Limestone – Lexington, Ky.

I don’t know how to classify this – is it graffiti? Is it street art? Obviously, I’d classify the orange/yellow lettering as graffiti… but the dog urinating on the mailbox seems more like art (though, it being doubtful that the US Postal Service authorized the dog to permanently piss on its box, is it technically graffiti?). Either way, I thought it was funny.

UPDATE: A bit more was learned of the folk who make this graffiti/public art. They/he/she are Dronex. Check out another of their work here.

walkLEX: Old Morrison

Old Morrison (Transylvania University) – Lexington, Ky.

R. Owens Williams is the President of Transylvania University, but Old Morrison is its face. Mention Transylvania University to those familiar with this great institution, and it will conjure up an image of this impressive building with its six massive Doric columns rising above the northern end of Gratz Park. Or at least it should… it is, after all, Transy’s logo.

Designed by Gideon Shryock and constructed from 1831-1834, it is the oldest building on campus that is in its original location (the caveat being necessary because of the Patterson Cabin which came to Transy in 1939). Shryock, of Lexington, had recently completed his work on the state capitol in Frankfort when Henry Clay, a member of the school’s board of trustees, sought his services to construct a main building for the college.

This brick building, covered in concrete, is three stories in height and serves as the University’s administrative building. Over time, it has also housed a chapel, classrooms and, during the Civil War, acted as a hospital for both Union and Confederate troops. There are even two bodies lying forever in the crypt at Morrison – Constantine Rafinesque and Saveur Francois Bonfils.

A fire in 1969 gutted Old Morrison, which was renovated, restored and rededicated on May 9, 1971. It was added to the National Register in 1966. Though his words are over 100 years old, they still are true. Burris Jenkins, president of then-Transy from 1901 to 1906 said that “Morrison is the purest, simplest piece of architecture in the state of Kentucky and the citizens of Lexington would part with any other building in the Bluegrass rather than part with the majestic Doric Morrison College.”

Bibliography
Gratz Park Neighborhood Association
NRHP, “Old Morrison“
Transylvania University, “Transy Campus“

This post was republished by KYForward.com on August 11, 2011.