Well done Michelle and Jeff Noble for correctly identifying yesterday’s sidewalk photo as Sils Avenue between Yale Drive and Page Avenue in front of the old art-nouveau Belknap School in the Belknap neighborhood. Here’s today’s photo. Guesses in the comments.
At the end of August, an epic ten-hour hearing before the Board of Zoning Adjustments (BOZA) concluded that JBS Swift could continue operating in Butchertown after illegally beginning construction on a $560,000 expansion project. Several restrictions were applied to the slaughterhouse and an aesthetic budget imposed. What does all of this mean for the Butchertown neighborhood? I recently had a chance to talk with Butchertown Neighborhood Association president Andy Cornelius about the implications of the BOZA decision on the neighborhood.
We have been carefully watching for an “Intent to Demolish” sign to be posted on the D & W Silks building on East Main Street across from Slugger Field ever since the silk flower business moved to an undisclosed location Downtown in 2008. Such a banner would foretell the next signs of movement on the proposed twin towers that will one day occupy the site.
As it turns out, we never spotted a sign and demolition is already underway on the old D & W Silks building and eventually the Riney Bedding building at 431 East Market Street. Thanks to two of our tipsters who first told us about the demolition last week and sent in the above photo.
Jefferson Development Group announced plans for a $150 million, 626,000 square foot office tower on top of retail and a parking garage in 2007. The twin towers were planned at 12-stories directly across from Slugger Field. Above 11,000 square feet of retail and nearly 1,500 parking spots, a plaza overlooking the stadium would transition to the towers.
We spoke with Jefferson Development Group many months ago, and at the time they were confident the project would move forward in some form or another. The project, like most real-estate development, was following the changing market conditions. Calls weren’t returned by the time of publishing, so we don’t have the specifics on where the project stands today, but we’ll have a full write up on the twin towers project when more information is available.
From the photo above, it’s clear that the eastern-most one-story portion of the structure on Main Street is well under demolition, and it appears interior demo is going on in the larger three-story space. Also slated for demolition is a row-building on Market Street once home to Riney Bedding Company. The building was originally three stories, but sometime since 1980, it appears to have lost its top floor, cornice, and window detailing. The brick structure with (what looks like) a cast-iron storefront will become a driveway into the parking garage.
Louisville’s urban core was once an incredibly dense area. In the era of Urban Renewal, when large swaths of the city were razed en masse, though, much of the old city was lost. Take, for example, the area roughly bounded by Sixth or Seventh Streets, Market Street, Broadway, and 14th Street. The view above is one small slice taken from a panoramic view looking south from the top of the Snead Manufacturing plant, now known as the Glassworks on West Market Street.
Friday’s sidewalk photo was taken in Northfield on Lime Kiln Lane near Ballard High School. Well done Sam for correctly identifying the location. Here’s a new photo ready for your guesses in the comments. A lot of news today, so here we go.
A new green roof is planned for the Louisville Metro Archives building near the corner of Seventh Street and Industry Road in part of the Algonquin neighborhood designated as Park Hill. A four-story brick and concrete warehouse at 635 Industry Road will receive the new roof as part of $7 million in federal stimulus funding heading to Louisville for energy efficiency improvements.
The structure housing Metro Archives is part of the B.F. Avery & Sons Industrial District and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Eight remaining buildings on the 57-acre campus once producing agricultural implements were built between 1909 and 1919 and are connected by underground tunnels, some with trolleys (perhaps along the lines of these other freight subways). Avery & Sons operated from 1845 until 1957. The structure receiving the green roof was built in 1919 and served as a warehouse for the industrial operation.
The green roof is part of a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy intended to improve efficiency of government buildings. Besides the Metro Archives green roof, funds will cover solar panels and new energy efficient lighting at government buildings.
Metro Archives represents the second Metro Louisville building to build a green roof. The Metro Development Center on Fifth Street Downtown opened its green roof this Spring. We covered many of the benefits it will provide in an earlier article. The Louisville Zoo also plans a large green roof on its HerpAquarium building using federal funds. Metro Louisville plans to install additional green roofs in the future where buildings are deemed structurally sufficient to handle the extra weight.
Remaining funds from the overall $7 million stimulus grant will be used for various efforts around Louisville all geared towards increasing efficiency. Here are the planned uses:
Related Links
Work to update the facade of the 222 Building on First Street between Market & Jefferson Streets appears to be complete. The once flat and slightly dull facade has taken a turn for the historic with more detail to provide visual interest.
MRP Associates designed the new synthetic stucco facade to be installed over top of the previous face. Below you can see an artist’s work painting individual bricks onto the north side of the building from mid August. Each brick looks slightly different to create a more believable effect.
Students from Iroquois High School will begin rebuilding the partially collapsed Sunnyhill Pavillion in Iroquois Park this fall. The year-long program will allow students first hand accounts of the management and construction of historic community structure.
Yesterday’s sidewalk photo was again easily identified by our readers. Well done Justin Elliott and Gary Guss for pointing out the entrance to Maple Court off Sixth Street in the Beechmont neighborhood. Here’s a new sidewalk to identify. We’ll post the answer on Monday.
