To continue our coverage of the Smoketown neighborhood in light of its possible transformation through a $200 million Hope VI development, we’re going to take a look at some of the built context on the eastern edge of the neighborhood closest to Beargrass Creek and our proposed Beargrass Boulevard that we first discussed a few days ago.
We looked at one particularly interesting industrial complex, an old grain elevator and a massive trolley barn, in the area last year, so that one won’t include it in this survey. There are many other large industrial and commercial buildings lining the eastern portion of Smoketown, all in varying states on repair.
After the click, we’ve also included a couple photos of the route that Beargrass Boulevard would take running parallel to Beargrass Creek. Of particular interest is an old cold-storage warehouse that was proposed to be converted into condos a while back. It looks like work started at some point to remove brick for windows, but plans have been on hold for years. Perhaps with gaining interest in the neighborhood, these great industrial buildings could one day actually provide a some useful and creative spaces for the city.
There are lots of photos, and we’ll let them speak for themselves. If you know any interesting historical tidbits about them, feel free to tell us in the comments. We’re putting together a history of the neighborhood that will go online next week. So here we go, familiarize yourself with eastern Smoketown.
- One More Reason To Love East Broadway (Broken Sidewalk)
- Smoketown To Be Transformed By $200 Million Hope VI Development (Broken Sidewalk)
- Beargrass Boulevard: A Proposal For Smoketown & Beyond (Broken Sidewalk)
Thanks for the great posts on this project. If you think no one is reading this, you are wrong. We are avidly following this story in Germantown, just across the tracks. It’s heartbreaking to see what has happened to Smoketown. My question is: do you have an idea of how far demolition is going to go? If it were up to me, I would level the whole area, blocks and blocks of it. What about properties adjacent to the newly constructed area, will these people receive help with improvements to their homes? My point is, with Smoketown being in as bad a shape as it is in, I am now picturing a beautiful new area all clean and new, with the shabby shanties on the perimeter. Sorry, I call a slum a slum. Any insight?
I actually found the website for the stalled condo project on Logan St, and was able to get a little history about the site from it. That tower is actually the 1930 addition (it was a cold storage facility) to was then a large brewery that produced Fehr beer until 1964. The original brewery (part of which still survives next to the tower in a much altered state) and the other buildings on that block where all built in 1890 as part of then expanding Schaefer-Meyer Brewing Co. Pretty neat stuff.
http://www.thelouisvillelofts.com/history.html