This week’s art car comes directly from the Kentucky Art Car Festival (the one in 2007 to be exact), but given these tough economic times, we couldn’t resist.
As the ZirMed Gateway Tower inches ever skyward with a topping-out ceremony looming nearer, a Broken Sidewalk tipster sends us a few views from inside the tower. These photos were taken on the 8th floor (shown on the building after the click) and show some of the views of the newest high-rise offices in town.
The top floors of the tower will feature modern condos with floor-to-ceiling glass, balconies, and, as you can see, some of the finest views of the city. Keep your tips and photos coming to the Broken Sidewalk tip-line or directly to tips@brokensidewalk.com.
Sometime in the last couple weeks, the old wooden door on the Tonini Building on the corner of Shelby Street and Grey Street in Phoenix Hill was replaced. We knew the building was up for renovation, but we really have no timetable on the operation yet. The new white metal door gives us our biggest clue yet and represents the most work done to the building in years (really, nothing has been done, two trees have been growing in the facade for several years now!).
The Courier-Journal beat us on this one today. The water tower on River Road at the base of Zorn Avenue has been fully adorned in scaffolding for its full refurbishment underway until early next year. The temporary wood & metal garb has effectively transformed the iconic doric column into a makeshift pagoda.
The 1850s era water tower will look nearly new when work on the $1.7 million project winds up (up from the $825,000 we reported earlier), and with a fresh gleaming white coat of paint, we think everyone will soon forget the decrepit condition the tower was in not so long ago.
We took these photos a couple days ago (before today’s newspaper article!) and found the scaffolding fascinating. Head on over to the C-J to read the whole story.
The fire station being built on Spring Street between Story Avenue and Mellwood Avenue has come a long way since we last checked in. As you can see in the photos, the front facade is is more than half way bricked. Decorative (synthetic) stone details are included in the design including a stone foundation to mimic the older buildings in the neighborhood, an ornate (by modern standards) cornice line, and several round medallions. The metal shed roof has already been installed and clerestory windows are in place on the side of the building.
The design is what postmodernists call the “decorated shed” in its most pure form. The side view of the building after the click shows a simple and efficient extruded shed form with a generally 2-D “decorative” facade facing the street. Given the generally low budget of fire station projects, the Butchertown Station appears as if it will blend nicely into the historic neighborhood.
