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Move to an old house teaches many lessons
My new house when it really was new, 1907. Photo by Thomas A. Knight By the time you read this, Becky and I have either moved to our renovated, century-old house near downtown or died trying. Our move...
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Built by slaves, sanctuary could have new future
One of Lexington’s most significant black-history landmarks would become a concert hall, a cultural center and a museum if a new non-profit foundation can raise several million dollars to buy,...
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It’s more ‘heritage services’ than preservation
Times change, and it is good when professionals take a critical look at what they do and how they do it to make sure they are meeting society’s needs. The University of Kentucky’s Historic Preservation...
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School Lafayette revisited is now new homes
The new apartments in the old Lafayette Academy building have more than granite countertops, travertine bathroom tile, classic architecture and modern appliances; they have a unique bit of history. If...
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Kentucky bourbon baron’s great-grandsons trying to save his Lawrenceburg...
Thomas Beebe Ripy completed this Queen Anne-style mansion in 1888. LAWRENCEBURG — When cousins Tom Ripy and George Geoghegan were boys in the 1940s, their great-grandmother’s home on Main Street...
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Old courthouse needs renovation, new purpose and a business plan
The old Fayette County Courthouse is a Lexington icon — a Richardsonian Romanesque temple that since 1898 has dominated the center of downtown. It was designed to be Lexington’s pride and joy back when...
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The story behind fabulous Spindletop Hall, now celebrating its 75th
Spindletop’s double staircase when the mansion was new in the late 1930s. Photo Provided Pansy Yount wanted only the best for herself and her daughter. So when Texas oilman Frank Yount’s widow...
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Annual historic home tour features Bourbon’s Bethlehem Farm
A Greek Revival addition in1858 created a new front to Bethlehem Farm’s farmhouse, which dates to the early 1800s. Photos by Tom Eblen PARIS — When Sandra Renfro White was growing up in Texas as the...
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Candlelight tours at one of Kentucky’s grandest Old South mansions
Ward Hall, completed in 1857, is considered one of the nation’s finest Greek Revival-style mansions. The foundation that owns the mansion is beginning a fundraising campaign for $850,000 in exterior...
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Old house research finds childhood memories from the 1920s.
My house when it was new in 1907 and photographed for a marketing booklet. Below, Maxine Harding Comley, who lived there from 1924-43. Below, a recent photo of the house. Photos by Tom Eblen and...
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He found a business reviving Lexington’s shabbiest historic buildings
Chad Needham has renovated some of Lexington’s most damaged historic buildings and turned them into valuable commercial space. Photos by Tom Eblen When Chad Needham moved back to Lexington after a...
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CentrePointe 5 years later: still no building, but lots of impact
The CentrePointe block awaits development. Photo by Charles Bertram For a project yet to be built, CentrePointe has had a big impact on Lexington. The most immediate impact was the election of...
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Longtime cook, maid finds fans when historic home opened for tour
Cozene Hawkins came to Airy Castle, then called Wyndhurst, in 1961 to work for Corrilla English. She stayed more than 35 years. Photos by Tom Eblen PARIS — I recently wrote about Airy Castle, whose...
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Harrodsburg home tour features variety of architecture
Janette and Carter Johnson’s circa 1896 home in Harrodsburg was a former funeral home. Janette Johnson loves to decorate for holidays. Photos by Tom Eblen HARRODSBURG — When Carter and Janette...
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New film marks centennial of Kentucky Governor’s Mansion
Gov. Steve Beshear and his wife, Jane, are shown on a video monitor in circa 1914 formal attire Jan. 5 during filming of a re-creation of the gala ball that opened the then-new Governor’s Mansion 100...
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Clay Lancaster’s Warwick open Sunday for a rare tour
Clay Lancaster’s Warwick estate. Photo by Helm Roberts/Warwick Foundation. There is a special place in Central Kentucky that I have wanted to visit for years. I will finally get a chance Sunday, and...
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UK shouldn’t destroy unique teaching garden with 350 species
James Krupa, a UK biology professor, stands in the dormant, snow-covered Mathews Garden beside the now-vacant Mathews house. The garden contains about 350 species of native plants, including many rare...
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1910 Coal & Feed Co. building redone as corporate headquarters
Brian C. Wood, founder and CEO of BC Wood Properties, stands in the lobby of the company’s headquarters as Jeannette Crank works behind the front desk and a meeting is conducted in a second-floor...
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Building movie complex in historic district would set bad precedent
The theater developer’s plans call for moving the John Lowman House from the West High Street bluff, where it has been since 1808. Photos by Charles Bertram. The good news is that a proposed...
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Reconsider demolition of UK lab that played role in space race
The Wenner-Gren Research Laboratory opened in 1941 to do aeronautical research. Designed by Ernst Johnson, its front resembles an airplane cockpit. Photos by Tom Eblen I have made several trips to...
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