Congratulations to Rick for correctly identifying Friday’s sidewalk photo as Station Road in Anchorage looking towards Evergreen Road. Here’s a new photo ready for your guesses in the comments.
Strange Columns: Of Street Lamps And Bird Baths
Louisville is no stranger to the weird side of life. That’s certainly the case with two sets of columns spotted on Fourth Street and Frankfort Avenue. It seems that Louisville has invented two new orders of architecture that incorporate street light and bird bath inspirations.
The first example seen above is at 640 Fourth Street between Chestnut and Broadway. Some time ago, the original storefront was removed and a modern one installed set back from the building facade. Well, something had to hold the building up, and plain steel posts apparently just wouldn’t do. The solution? Add a couple decorative street lamp bases and call it a day. What makes this example glaringly obvious is the presence of a street light with a nearly identical base sitting adjacent to the facade.
It gets even sillier heading down Frankfort Avenue. An old Victorian house now features two columns half comprised of bird bath bases. The photo below shows three columns on the house’s front porch, two of which feature the latest innovation in architectural columnity (calamity?) holding up the front stoop. All of the columns are replacement columns, and apparently two needed a little extra support.
In classical architecture, the column is a work of art unto itself. A column is divided into three parts, the base, the shaft, and the capital, each taking into account the proportional system of the structure. Each of these segments can then be divided into component segments and detailed almost to no end. While these buildings never were intended to follow the main orders of architecture (think of the intricate columns on City Hall or its annex), the original structures are influenced by classical design principles. These principles have been largely forgotten or at least watered down today and I would venture few people in the city could point out, design, or even care about true column design.
So what do you think of Louisville’s architectural innovations? Does it represent the latest trend in weird architecture or does it lack column sense? Are they examples of fine creativity or a little bit columnsy?
Snapshot: Checking In At The Stadium
As the Cardinals continue with their football season (it’s a good thing we don’t have to cover sports), here’s our latest round of photos from the expansion of Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium. Be sure to check out the specifics of the project and some renderings from our last installment covering that other giant sports construction project in town. Check here for a behind the scenes look at the stadium construction.
- Construction Watch: The Other Giant UofL Sports Project (Broken Sidewalk)
- Cardinal Stadium Lands Another Sponsor (Broken Sidewalk)
Liberty Green Knows How To Pave A Street
Liberty Green has become a showcase of late for great paving techniques that dually make Louisville more beautiful and more sustainable. Crews have been working on Clay Street between Jefferson and Muhammad Ali to lay pavers in the development that replaced the Clarksdale Homes and the end result should be a model for the rest of the city.
The two block segment of Clay already features a wide park-like median that slows traffic and provides some green space for the neighborhood. Now, the stretch is also paved in pervious synthetic bricks. Besides offering a rich visual texture to the streetscape, these pavers feature a clipped corner that allows rainwater the chance to slowly seep into the ground instead of rushing to the city’s overburdened sewer system.
Workers have been placing the bricks by hand and filling the gaps with a fine gravel to create a smooth finished surface. The same system has been used in the parking lane in other parts of Liberty Green, but here the entire street gets the treatment. A similar system is planned for the parking area of the nearby LEED-registered Liberty Green Community Center.
Public Space Watch: Water Company Plaza
I have walked down Third Street at Chestnut a hundred times, but the last time I journeyed through the area I decided to veer off the sidewalk and into a small plaza at the Louisville Water Company headquarters. Previously, however, I had never ventured into this small oval plaza. I had always known it was there and distinctly remember paying close attention to the fountain pushed up against the sidewalk. For some reason, though, the plaza had remained an enigma in my mind.
Thinking back, this particular space in Louisville’s urban landscape is an uncommon void in my memory. I can’t quite recall whether I have noticed people occupying the space; it’s all a blur. I can remember nothing of consequence happening there, but now was the moment I decided to experience the plaza first hand.
It’s fairly small, slightly sunken from sidewalk level, and features a small stepped seating area. On my late fall afternoon visit, the space was empty. The fountain was still running, one of the last in the city still providing the sound of running water. All in all, it’s easy to believe the space could provide an enjoyable break in the city for a conversation or a snack.
Why is it that some spaces in the city escape our memories? Is there a spot in the city you have recently discovered or remember but can’t place the details? What causes such an urban blur to form?
I might venture to guess that, for me, the space currently sits on an edge condition Downtown. Directly across Third Street is a vast surface level parking lot and the buildings beyond seem distant and disconnected. There are buildings nearby including the recently renovated Henry Clay and Madrid buildings, but the plaza generally lacks activation. A curving blue wall mirrors the void across the street and a parking garage blankly forms the northern boundary.
I don’t mean to imply that all public spaces should have high activity on all sides; that’s certainly not the case as this sheltered design and the hugging motion of the Water Company building provide a different sort of atmosphere. What, then, is the space (or perhaps what am I) missing?
- How We Live In Our Small Urban Spaces (Broken Sidewalk)
Friday News Roundup
Congratulations to Jeff Noble, Michelle, and Jeff who correctly identified Tuesday’s sidewalk photo as Yale Drive near Dundee Road in the Belknap neighborhood just off the Douglass Loop. Here’s a new photo ready for guesses in the comments.
Demo Watch: Another SoBro Corner Store Doomed
SoBro is set to lose another historic corner commercial building, the kind that was listed as one of Louisville’s Ten Most Endangered Historic Structures (or typologies in this case) according to Preservation Louisville. (Why does it seem that most times the word “preservation” comes up it’s only when we’re about to lose a little bit more of the city’s history?) This time it’s a partially-mutilated, two-story, purple-painted brick building on the corner of Seventh Street and Cawthon Street. The photo above is from a little over a year ago and was snapped while crews were installing what looks like a new roof on the building.
Nulu Has Landed
While walking through Nulu recently, the sign pictured above on the old Hausman Building advertising the NuluFestival from September seemed all too appropriate. What once read “the eagle has landed” advertising a car dealership in faded and peeling paint has been quickly changed to reflect the attitude in Louisville’s most up-and-coming neighborhood.
Morrissey Garage
Unusual Kentucky, the observer of anything out of the ordinary in the Commonwealth, has a photoset posted about the Morrissey Garage on Third Street between Liberty and Muhammad Ali. There are many more photos over at Unusual Kentucky and you should definitely check them out.
Built in 1919 and originally called Bosler’s Fireproof Garage, the structure was one of the first parking garages built in Louisville. Designed by J.J. Gaffney in the Romanesque-revival style, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, but its future is uncertain as it sits on the so-called Water Company Block where the Cordish Companies has proposed its massive Center City project.
While Cordish has tried to incorporate historic structures into his projects in the past, a 90 year old garage could be challenging to work into an entertainment district. Four historic structures occupying the block have been listed on Preservation Louisville‘s Ten Most Endangered Places list. The property is currently owned by the City of Louisville.
According to the Louisville Guide, the garage features a basement, three parking decks, a spiral ramp, and two retail spaces that once housed various businesses such as a tire store, a fruit market, and a bookstore. The garage was heated and provided car cleaning services when it operated years ago.
- The Morrissey Building (Unusual Kentucky)