It seems like every time I venture into the Russell neighborhood, another beautiful historic building is being demolished. My last trip was no exception. This time, a three-story brick mansion is under demolition near the corner of 18th and West Market Streets.
This house is just as nice as any house in Old Louisville or the Highlands and featured sturdy brick walls and stone arches. From the before photos it appears the house needed some work, but there was clearly no need for demolition. So what happened? Anyone know why Russell is losing another tooth?
Founder and Editor at Broken Sidewalk
Branden founded Broken Sidewalk in 2008 while practicing architecture in Louisville. He continued the site for seven years while living in New York City, returning to Louisville in 2016. Branden is a graduate of the College of Architecture at Washington University in St. Louis, and has covered architecture, design, and urbanism for The Architect's Newspaper, Designers & Books, Inhabitat, and the American Institute of Architects.
Latest posts by Branden Klayko (see all)
Slight disagreement, as nice as the average home in Old Louisville or the Highlands but not "just as nice as any house in Old Louisville or the Highlands." Regardless, this building shouldn't have been torn down unless they had a really good reason.
Simple answer, because no one wanted to live there? That’s the problem we will always have, these wonderful homes are in a perceived “bad area.” Come on folks, take a chance. (And for the record, I already live in the West End, so ….)
The exterior of the home may have been in good condition, but the interior was in horrible condition. After sitting vacant for a few years, the floors were rotting, walls were destroyed and windows were broken. It was not in livable conditions by any means. The problem with these large houses in the Portland neighborhood, is that most of the residents can not afford to do necessary renovations on these buildings. So many of the beautiful homes in this neighborhood sit empty year after year while they slowly fall apart.
Sounds like a good reason to tear it down. Many houses in Old Louisville were saved from demolition in the 70's and 80's because there were no rules about chopping up the house into apartments. Later after the neighborhood stabilized, zoning restrictions about single family homes were instituted. Are there any rules against multifamily conversions in Portland today?