Sep 11, 2009

Ouerbacker House on the AIA Architects House Tour (1980 and 2008 views)

There are quite a few events going on this weekend. A couple in particular, I feel, could be of interest to the Broken Sidewalk community. Here’s a rundown of some of the events. If I missed one you care about, feel free to include it in the comments.

First, I recommend you spend some time Sunday afternoon (1:00–6:00pm) checking out the American Institute of Architects’ House Tour featuring the work of local architects who will be on hand to answer questions. Two projects in particular on this year’s tour are surprising includes: the Ouerbacker Mansion on West Jefferson Street and the Phoenix Lofts on East Broadway. Both projects have appeared on Broken Sidewalk, but had been laying low in recent months. Now there’s progress at both sites and you will have a chance to check them out first hand.

The grand Ouerbacker House had a close brush with demolition last year before architect Scott Kremer of Studio Kremer stepped in to save the 19th century landmark. It still remain’s on Preservation Louisville’s “Most Endangered” list, but Scott will be opening up the ground floor for all to see. He tells us the project was delayed as it took almost a year to take over a deed from the city, but now a partially collapsed masonry wall is fully repaired and a landscape firm has tamed the weeds out front. Crews filled two full 30-yard dumpsters with debris in preparation for the tour.

We last checked in with the Phoenix Lofts over a year ago when the project entered a sort of hiatus. Designer Brent Girdler of the Girdler Group told us that construction has resumed, one unit has sold, and another under-construction unit will be ready to tour this weekend. Work recently has focused on installing decks and railings on the back of the building.

University of Louisville Urban & Public Affairs professor John Gilderbloom will also host a symposium for the AIA-CKC Architects’ House Tour on Saturday at the Henry Clay. The event kicks off at 10:00am and runs until noon in the fourth floor Billiards Room at 604 S. Third Street.

All the houses on the tour should be worth a visit and the price of a ticket ($15 at the door of any house on the tour) gets you in to all seven homes. As an added bonus, proceeds from the event benefit Habitat for Humanity. Here’s the rundown of all the homes on the tour from the AIA-CKC’s web site:

1. Hansen Residence
– 2027 Bonnycastle, Louisville, Ky
– Architect: Eric Hansen, AIA
2. Allen Residence
– 1013 Canyon Road – New Albany, Indiana
– Architect: David M. Allen, AIA LEED AP
3. Reisz Residence Renovation
– 4418 Signal Hill Rd., Louisville, Ky
– Architect: Mary Jackson, AIA
4. Triplett Residence
– 3214 Beals Branch Dr., Louisville, Ky
– Architect: Matt Triplett
5. Basham Residence
– 8215 Chapel Drive – Crestwood, Ky 40014
– Architect: Gary Watrous, AIA
6. Phoenix Lofts
– East Broadway & Rubel Ave., Louisville, Ky
– Designer: Brent Girdler / Girdler Group
7. Ouerbacker Mansion
-17th & Jefferson Street, Louisville, Ky
– Architect: Arthur Loomis
– Represented by Scott Kremer, AIA of Studio Kremer

Here are a few other events going on around Louisville this weekend you may find interesting:

Act fast and you could go the the first Grassroots Gala, a fundraiser for the Center for Neighborhoods. The event is Friday from 5:30 until 8:00pm at Union Station on Broadway at 10th Street and features speakers Stephen George (LEO editor) and Metro Councilman Tom Owen. Plans include a “Taste of Neighborhood Institute” (with food from local restaurants), a silent auction, neighborhood booths (from quite a few neighborhoods), live music (by Bloom Street), and a BBC beer garden. Admission is $25 at the door. (From press release, call Lisa Dettlinger at 502.905.4342 for more info.)
New Albany has organized its own House Tour, featuring historic homes on the Sunny Side on Saturday from 10:00am to 5:00pm. All the houses and a church are new to the tour this year. Tickets are $15 and available online, the NA Downtown Farmer’s Market (Bank & Market Streets), or at 222 Pearl Street the day of the event. (Develop NA or PDF Event Poster or C-J)
You’ll need to act fast again and bring your checkbook, but Proof on Main will be holding an urban gardening (with bourbon too, of course) event Friday evening at 6:30pm. Celebrity gardener Jon Carloftis will host the bourbon tasting and rooftop garden tour. The cost is $59 and reservations can be made to 502.217.6312. (Proof on Main)
A new “NeighborFest” will take place on Bardstown Road on Saturday from 1:00-5:00pm. It’s sponsored by Bardstown Road Presbyterian Church and Deer Park Baptist Church. (More from the C-J)

If you plan to attend any of these events, tell us how they were. If you stop by either of the house tours, take your camera and send in a few photos. We’ll try to get them online and make you an official Broken Sidewalk tipster.

River Fields Files Lawsuit To Stop East End Bridge

By Branden Klayko -

Sep 10, 2009

The Courier-Journal just broke the news that River Fields, a group opposing the East End Bridge in favor of a Downtown-only option, has co-filed a lawsuit with the National Trust for Historic Preservation claiming that Federal approval of the Ohio River Bridges Project in the Record of Decision is not valid.

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Passenger Rail The Way It Used To Be

By Branden Klayko -

Sep 10, 2009

Riverfront rail in modern terms (rendering 8664, mockup R.D. Schooling)

Imagine boarding a train in New Albany and stepping off in Downtown Louisville, all the while watching carelessly from a window at riverboats passing slowly on the Ohio River. Louisville once had a superb train system running everywhere you could imagine throughout the city and region, radiating out like spokes on a bicycle wheel from Downtown.

Passenger Rail on Waterfront before I-64 (BS File Postcard) — Passenger Rail on Waterfront before I-64. (Broken Sidewalk)

One span in particular occupied a stretch roughly taken by Interstate 64 today. There are still a few remnants to remind us of the riverfront train line that began in the 1800s, but the transportation option is far gone in the history of Louisville, along with its grand station at Seventh Street.

Tipster R. David Schooling sent in the above graphic (and a few more below) demonstrating Louisville’s extensive riverfront train systems in Kentucky and Indiana. He reports that electric trains (preceded by steam-powered trains) ran on an elevated track beginning around First Street around the clock.

Train service was halted only a few times in its history by severe weather (that we’ve recently become reacquainted with). Flooding twice stopped the track, once in 1937 and again in the 1940s as waters rose to unprecedented levels. The tornado of 1890 also brought the trains to a standstill (as it did with most of the city).

Old 7th Street Rail Station (BS File Postcard) — Old 7th Street Rail Station. (Broken Sidewalk)

A grand Richardsonian Romanesque train station, first dubbed Union Depot and then Central Station, served as one stop at Seventh Street and River Road. The brick edifice with a large train shed and platform sits partially on land occupied by Interstate 64 and once housed the Actors’ Theater in the 1960s after passenger rail ceased. (Check out some vintage postcard-views of the station below.)

The train tracks are long gone from the riverfront, but a couple artifacts reveal their old path. The last train bridge was dismantled on the Museum Plaza site last year (at Seventh Street), but concrete structures and earthen berms along the Waterfront Plaza and Belvedere show where the tracks once ran. (A view of the elevated rail before Interstate 64 in the 1960s is also below.)

Schooling also points to the elevated rail connected to the Big Four Bridge in Louisville and Jeffersonville as evidence to Louisville’s elevated rail history, with tracks flying high above the rooftops of Victorian mansions and one train station evidently 60 feet above the ground. (A couple photos of the Big Four elevated rail are below.) The new pedestrian approach to the Big Four Bridge in Jeffersonville will roughly follow the original train path from the bridge.

The above diagram overlaid on the 8664.org vision of Downtown Louisville demonstrating the path of Louisville’s historic elevated rail unencumbered by an Interstate 64 is captivating. Imagine a modern train gliding silently along the riverfront on a fraction of the elevated right-of-way required by the highway. Passengers free to take in the changing Ohio River and kinetic skyline without the burden and safety issues of paying attention to traffic.

Developer Proposes Streetcar Line For Bardstown Road (Broken Sidewalk)
Local Architect Proposes Local Access Bridges (Broken Sidewalk)
Jeffersonville Considers Innovative Canal District (Broken Sidewalk)

Elevated tracks of Big Four Bridge in Jeffersonville (courtest R.D. Schooling) — Elevated tracks of Big Four Bridge in Jeffersonville. (courtesy R.D. Schooling)

New Retail In The Heart Of The Highlands

Preservation

By Branden Klayko -

Sep 3, 2009

Bardstown Road buildings before renovation

Renovation projects nears completion on Bardstown Road. (Branden Klayko / Broken Sidewalk)

Two new retail spaces and three apartments will soon be ready on Bardstown Road. Business partners Mike Howard and Joseph Impellizzeri have nearly finished converting two dilapidated structures near Eastern Parkway after realizing the potential of vacant property in the heart of the Highlands. One tenant has already signed on and will be opening soon.

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A Contextual Tour Of East Smoketown

By Branden Klayko -

Sep 3, 2009

Buildings in eastern Smoketown. (Branden Klayko / Broken Sidewalk)

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.

Beargrass Creek at eastern edge of Smoketown. (Branden Klayko / Broken Sidewalk)

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.

Buildings in east Smoketown. (Branden Klayko / Broken Sidewalk)

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)

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Broken Sidewalk

Action-Packed Weekend In The River City

Thursday News Roundup

River Fields Files Lawsuit To Stop East End Bridge

Passenger Rail The Way It Used To Be

Wednesday News Roundup

Tuesday News Roundup

Friday News Roundup

New Retail In The Heart Of The Highlands

A Contextual Tour Of East Smoketown