It’s official, the results are in: the Broken Sidewalk readership hands down prefers New York’s Chrysler Building to our home grown Aegon Center. Over the past week, you voted three-to-one in favor of the Chrysler Building in our first Battle of the Buildings poll.
We admit, there really wasn’t much of a chance for the Aegon Center standing up against such an international landmark, but hey, the writing was on the horse. So what decided it for you? Is the watered-down postmodern art-deco not enough for you? Do you prefer the spire to the dome? The Aegon Center may be one of the best buildings built recently in Louisville, but what could be better? Or what is already great? It’s time for the exit polls.
Shelby Street Apartments. (Branden Klayko / Broken Sidewalk)
Crews at the mixed-use, mixed-income Shelby Street Apartments on the corner of East Broadway were pouring concrete columns on the structure’s ground-level facade that will mimic the neighborhood’s historic limestone facades and preparing to begin laying thousands of red bricks on the corner infill project.
A couple weeks ago we told you about a development on First Street between Main and Market Streets that didn’t seem to be going anywhere fast. We sat down with developer, entrepreneur, and Broken Sidewalk reader Dan Borsch to uncover the secrets behind the renovation project. While the three-story, 8,100 square foot brick and limestone building may appear quiet from the outside, Dan explains the inside has been completely gutted and cleaned in preparation for the renovation project.
Inside the building were the remnants of a poorly maintained apartment house littered with debris and decades of grime. Now, the interior is refreshingly open and clear. During the cleaning, the structure’s massive timber columns and joists were revealed in all their 19th century glory. The building dates to the 1860s when it was used as a bourbon and other spirit warehouse. The wooden interior structure was over-engineered to support the weight of countless bourbon barrels and an original iron lift that hoisted the heavy barrels to the third floor still is present inside. Because it was used as a warehouse, the interior was designed to maximize space, leaving high ceilings and wide open spaces that Borsch believes will make excellent apartments or condos. His company, JEB Investments, plans five residential units on the upper two floors with retail use slated for the first floor and massive double-height basement.
Renovation of the building under design direction of Joseph & Joseph Architects was scheduled to begin a while ago, but the company began renovation work first on another property on East Broadway near Rubel Avenue. JEB Investments has transformed the once dilapidated one-story brick structure into a retail property that houses a music venue and record label called Skull Alley. Earlier this year, Dan also purchased the struggling Juanita’s Burger Boy in Old Louisville on Burnett Street and has been helping keep the neighborhood landmark diner up and running as a local hangout and meeting spot. He has already improved and cleaned the Juanita’s property and is working to establish a garden across Brook Street on a vacant lot.
Next in line for full renovation in the First Street building. Borsch is working with engineers to stabilize the nearly 150 year old structure and hopes to leave exposed many of the original timber beams inside. Plans call for completely replacing the ground level floor to improve its strength and potentially connect to the basement where he envisions a chic underground night-spot just a block from the arena. The project will hopefully begin moving again early next year as JEB’s current projects come to fruition. With the arena proceeding at full speed, its good to see another development stay on course towards creating a real, living district on East Main.
The Courier-Journal reported this weekend that the Speed Museum has announced it has narrowed its list of architects down to eight for the design of a new addition to their facility on Third Street at the University of Louisville. A committee selected the eight architects from a pool of 100 contenders located around the globe. Firms on the shortlist represent a wide array of museum experience and architectural risk-taking; all eight are capable of designing a strong building that will serve as an icon for the city. Some, however, are more avant-garde and controversial than others. We say bring the controversy.
The museum’s director, Charles Venable, says a final selection is expected by the end of the year. Design work will begin shortly after as the winning architect will collaborate with a landscape designer and nearly 15 years of accumulated study of the Speed Museum site. The addition location on the cramped 2-acre site will be determined during this process and could potentially include locations adjacent to the School of Business, in front of Ekstrom Library, or even across Third Street via a walkway or tunnel. The University of Louisville wants the new museum’s landscape to play a central role in its relationship to the campus and city, responding to students passing by and creating an environmentally sustainable model. One of the architects on the shortlist is responsible for the only LEED Gold museum in the world.
Speed Art Museum. (Branden Klayko / Broken Sidewalk)
The project is expected to serve as a new gateway onto the Belknap Campus near the location of the original Shipp Avenue entrance and provide an architectural standard to elevate the cultural prospects of the city overall. Charles Venable came to the Speed Museum just over a year ago from the Cleveland Institute of Art and had initially downplayed expansion plans in favor of attracting higher profile exhibits to the museum. He expected the expansion to be years in the future as the museum needed time to grow financially and culturally. The announcement of the shortlist suggests a momentum change that is sure to inspire interest in the Speed Museum’s future.
Venable has indicated that the current facility set-up at the Speed Museum leaves much room for improvement. Inadequate space for social functions has meant parties have been pushed into galleries, an outdated auditorium needs a complete overhaul, and the main entrance to the museum is tucked inconspicuously behind an addition, leaving the Speed’s original brass front doors locked. The Speed Museum’s board had considered several years ago a potential downtown location as a sort of modern art wing of the museum, but opted in 2005 to focus expansion at its current site, determining coordination and cost would interfere with the museum’s mission.
The cost of the addition has not yet been determined and the Speed Museum expects to settle on a number when working with the architect, but with the caliber of design the museum is after, the final cost is sure to be high. In 2005, a master plan determined the addition might cost $150 million, but that figure is surely significantly lower than the expected new addition.
Here’s the list of architects who made the Speed Museum’s short list.
The Kraemer Paper Building on Clay Street between Jefferson Street and Market Street has been slowly crumbling over the last few years. The building is actually an old German church with a stone sign reading “Zions Kirche, Der Ersten Deutschen Bischoffl Methodisten Gemeinde. Gebaut 1843, U. Vergrossert, A.D. 1859” meaning “Zions Church, First German Methodist Church in the City, Founded 1843, U. Vergrossert, Built 1859.”
The church sits at the entrance to the alley, leaving its brick northern wall exposed to the perils of autos and trucks driving down the narrow alley span. Over the last several months, it appears the building has been struck multiple times by some vehicle dislodging bricks on the building’s corner and buttresses. Some of the damage has been hastily repaired while gaping craters are still present on the building’s side. In general, the brickwork on the church needs repair soon. The 150 year old mortar is crumbling and needs tuckpointing badly. With no protection from alley traffic, the problem is bound to get worse.
Kraemer Paper Building. (Branden Klayko / Broken Sidewalk)
Currently, the structure is being used as a warehouse for the Kraemer Paper Company, makers of paper towels and other janitorial supplies. The company has no plans to sell the building and maintains an unreasonably steep price for the property when questioned about sales. The building draws much of its beauty from its austere detailing and simple Gothic-arched windows, and would offer a spatial type rarely found in the East Market area, namely a large, open auditorium space no longer functioning as a church. The redevelopment potential is obvious and hopefully the building will find itself in the hands of someone able to care for the historic structure before it’s too late.
These photos were taken over the course of several weeks showing the damage and subsequent repair to a portion of the building. In general, you can see how poor maintenance and no protection from alley traffic (i.e. bollards) is causing major damage to the structure.
Butchertown has been known for the wafting smell of slaughtered pigs, unbearable on a hot summer day (thanks Swift!), but lurking on Washington Street near Campbell Street is a smelly menace most notable for its unusual structural profile and striking golden foliage in fall. Yes, we’re talking about the Ginkgo trees planted along the sidewalk at this location and various others around the city.
Don’t get us wrong, we’re not bashing the Ginkgo tree here (we love Ginkgo trees!), just the practice of planting fruit-bearing, female trees in urban environments. The fruit of the female Ginkgo tree once fallen to the ground can best be described as the smell of rotten cheese or fresh vomit. This smell has earned the female Ginkgo a place on many municipalities do-not-plant list of urban trees. The male variety, however, does not bear fruit and thus eliminates the problem of smelly sidewalks.
Ginkgo Biloba trees grow very slowly, twisting their massive arms into an intricate canopy over time. The specimens on Washington Street are quite sizeable now (but will become absolutely massive over time) and it would be a shame to see them destroyed. Ginkgos are really great street trees when used properly. They are resistant to much of our poor urban ecosystem and are quite beautiful, especially in the fall. But come September and October and you had better cover your nose.
