The
Old Louisville Journal
A Monthly Summary of
News and Events in Old Louisville
Published by OLIC, Inc., a 501(c)(3) Corporation
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Volume
29, Issue 11 |
November 2007
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Save These Dates!
The 2007 Old Louisville Holiday House Tour is right around
the corner!
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for the 31st Annual
Old Louisville Holiday House Tour on December 1st & 2nd from noon to 6:00
p.m. This year’s event will focus on eight lovely mansions and town homes
in the St James and Belgravia Court neighborhood, and several local B&Bs
will also open their doors and invited the public inside to experience the
charms of an old-fashioned Kentucky Christmas. The Crane House will also
participate in this year’s tour, so it is sure to be the best Old
Louisville Holiday House Tour yet. Diane Kleier has assumed the chair of
the Holiday House Tour and has pledged to grow this popular holiday
tradition into a spectacular neighborhood festival that will showcase the
best of the Old Louisville neighborhood. Back by popular demand,
professional actor Ron Harris will appear every hour on the hour at the
DuPont Mansion B&B as his character Uncle Alfred DuPont recites the
wonderful Ogden Nash poem about "Jabez Dawes, the Boy Who Laughed at Santa
Clause," and David Domine will be on hand to sign his books, including the
newly released "Adventures in New Kentucky Cooking with the Bluegrass
Peasant." Once again, Don Driskell and Semonin Realtors have graciously
agreed to come on board as sponsors for this holiday classic in Old
Louisville, America’s largest Victorian neighborhood.
Tickets are $25, but they can be bought in advance for
$20. For more information or to purchase tickets or volunteer your
services in exchange for a free ticket, go online at
http://www.holidayhousetour.com/ . John Paul has designed a
beautiful and informative website where you may take a tour of last year’s
homes and learn more about our beautiful neighborhood. You may also
purchase tickets and pick up brochures at the Old Louisville Information
Center in Central Park (635-5244) or at the Visitors Center in Historic
Old Louisville at 218 West Oak Street (637.2922) |

(Left) Paul Adams, Metro Parks Capital Construction Manager and Steve
Spurgeon of Pace Contracting reviewing walkway construction in Central
Park
Central Park Walkway Construction
By Herb Fink
During this past winter-spring, when the two old tennis
courts were removed, sections of the Central Park walkways were severely
damaged in the area of 6th St. and Park. Ave.
Prior to the St. James Court Art show approximately 50
feet of concrete walkway was reconstructed and a sizeable section of brick
walkway was reset by Metro Parks contractors.
The approximate $5,000 cost was shared by Metro Parks and
Friends of Central Park. |
Community Policing Mural Dedication
The Community Policing mural which was installed in the
lobby of the LMPD 4th Division offices just prior to the St. James Court
Art Show will be dedicated on Wednesday, October 24, 2007 at 2:00 p.m. to
6:00 p.m. The dedication will be attended by Police Chief Robert White,
Major Steve Green and many officers of the previous 5th District and the
present 4th Division. All Old Louisville residents are urged to attend. |

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Garden
Buddies!
Need some help in the garden? We’ll do the work for you!
Weeding, planting, mulching, deadheading, light pruning, etc.
Call Joan or Linda 634-3813 • 635-1251
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Editorial Policy: Letters and
articles submitted to The Old Louisville Journal may be edited with regard
to space and/or content. Letters to the Editor must be signed with a
verifiable signature and address
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Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor:
I go to the St. James Art fair every year. I
remember the fair of old back in the 70’s and 80’s. There used to
be lots of people selling original Oil paintings and handmade rugs and
such. The quality of the fair has been going down steadily in the last
ten years. This year takes the cake! I was enjoying the
beautiful fountain with my 17 month old little girl, eating my $4.00
brat when I noticed a double-wide bright orange AT&T Cellular booth.
This aberration used to be down by the food vendors out of the way from
the "real" show. NOW they have THE prime spot! Letting a cellular
company in The Art Show was a mistake in the first place. Selling
out (for a lot of money do doubt) the prime booth right by the fountain
to corporate America is ABSURD. Thank You for destroying the St.
James Art Fair!
Also, this is the second year with no "St. James Art
Fair - Since 19xx" T-shirts. I heard a lot complaining last year
about the missing T-shirts. I can’t believe that an art show with the
stature of the St. James Art Fair does not have a new shirt every year.
It is the most basic of items to have at an event such as this one.
Get an artist to draw a new rendition of the fountain EVERY year and
sell, sell, sell!
Thanks, Devin Webb
The Director of the St. James Art Show was given the
opportunity to reply:
Dear Devin:
I have to disagree with your opinion that the quality of
the show has decreased over the past ten years. It has been a major goal
of the Art Show Consortium to continually step up the quality of artists
that are included. I would say the majority of the artists showing at
St. James also have their work in galleries and in some cases museums
across the country.
In regards to corporate sponsors it’s just a plain fact
that we need them. This year, the Art Show had twenty-six community
sponsors giving a total of $50,000 in cash and $50,000 in-kind
contributions. The combined budgets for the Art Show Consortium and the
5 neighborhood associations that produce it are in excess of $500,000.
AT&T is one of our major sponsors and for that they receive the
opportunity to have exposure to our patrons. That is the basic meaning
of sponsorship. Because of ever increasing operating expenses for both
producing the art show and maintaining these neighborhoods the need for
sponsorship is always there. I guess you must have stopped going to the
Kentucky Derby now that YUM sponsors that too.
I take offense in your remark that I have destroyed the
art show. As I sit here on the Friday after the art show having managed
200 volunteers, over 700 artists, 26 corporate sponsors, 5 media outlets
and close to 250,000 patrons with two interns and a handful of dedicated
residents and volunteers that work all year long to produce a nationally
ranked art show, I am proud of what the St. James Court Art Show is
today and will begin working on next year’s show on Monday.
Marguerite Esrock
Director, St. James Court Art Show
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Yard
Service
Mowing, Trimming, Blowing, Raking, Tilling, and Small Tree Service.
Call Joe at
635-1251 or 377-6600 |
P roperty Improvement
Committee
Report by Herb Fink
Significant new construction and renovation to existing
buildings continues in Old Louisville.
Recent Old Louisville Historic Landmarks and
Preservation District Architectural Review Committee reviews and
Landmarks Staff Reviews include the following sites:
Greystone Building Renovation
418 W. Ormsby Ave.
Exterior material for an elevator tower and 4th-floor
penthouse; window replacement, door replacement; and cleaning and
tuck-pointing of exterior facades. Total renovation cost - $2.7 million.
John & Kimberly Crum
1448 St. James Court
Demolition of an existing, stucco clad, 2-car garage at
the rear of the property to be replaced with a new 3 car garage.
Estimated project cost - $45,000. Architect - Bressoud Architecture,
Inc.
Scot & Ginger Dawson
1223 S. 1st Street
Construction of a 3-car, 2-story carriage house at the
rear of the property. All sides of the carriage house to be clad with 4"
horizontal lap, smooth face, hardi-board. Estimated project cost -
$40,000. Design by Sonny Whittle.
Cindy Calvelo
116 W. Ormsby Ave.
Construction of a new 2-car, detached garage of board
and batten siding and stucco covered foundation at rear of property.
Estimated project cost - $37,00.
Diane Kleier
615 Floral Terrace
Constuction of a one-story bruck addition to the rear of
the existing residence; to include a carport and 8 ft. high fence about
the rear yard area. Architect - Gary Kleier. Estimate proejct cost -
$50,000.
Cabbage Patch Settlement House
1419 S. 6th Street
Replacement of existing windows and replacement of
wood-lap-siding. Estimated project cost - $9,000.
Mary K. Martin
1466 S. 3rd Street
Replacement of the existing house roof with synthetic
slate roofing material. The material will be late gray colored and
crafted to match real slate look. Estimated project cost - $25,000.
James C. Deeb
118 E. Ormsby Ave.
Replacement of existing metal roof and gutter system;
replace existing windows; add a new wooden arbor to cover existing rear
deck.

The 4th Avenue Coffee House:
Standing on Holy Grounds happens every third Thursday of
the month from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The November Coffee House is scheduled
for 11.15.07. We meet in Fellowship Hall of 4th Avenue United
Methodist Church (318 W. St. Catherine - corner of 4th and St.
Catherine). Everyone is welcome to come and enjoy the presence of God
in a safe place where you may be refreshed by music, fair trade coffee,
and conversation. For more information, please call 502-585-2176
or visit us at
www.fourthavenue.us
Old Louisville is haunted all year long!
Even though Halloween has come and gone, the Ghosts of
Old Louisville still roam the streets! This should come as no surprise
since Old Louisville has long been touted as "the Most Haunted
Neighborhood in the Country!" As a result, TourLouisville offers their
weekly driven ghost tours throughout the year, not just in the fall. In
addition, the Saturday morning Walking Tour of Old Louisville at 11:00
has proven to be imensely popular with locals and out-of-towners alike.
Put on a coat and scarf and join us for the fun! For more information,
contact the Visitors Center in Historic Old Louisville at 218 West Oak
Street ( 637.2922)

The St. James Court Art Show awarded a total of $10,200
in college scholarships to 5 talented high school artists
October 9, 2007 Louisville, KY- Five local high
school seniors were selected as the winners of the St. James Court
Art Show Scholarship Competition. The five portfolios and one watercolor
were selected from 23 portfolios submitted by Louisville Metro area art
educators. A jury of three working artists evaluated
portfolios for design, technique, visual interest and content.
The top prize ($4000) went to Farhudin Omerovic of
duPont Manual High School for his paintings. Farhudin also won the
prize for best watercolor ($400). Other prizes went to duPont
Manual students Shae Bishop ($2500), Katy McRoberts ($1300) and
Gabrielle Hooper ($1000). as well as Megan Bickel ($1,000) of Ballard
High School.
The 2007 art show was the 30th year of the High School
Scholarship Competition, which was established to reward young talent
and give something back to the community. Current sponsors come from
four Old Louisville neighborhood associations: the St. James Court
Association, 1300 Third Street Association, Third Street Association,
and Fourth Street Association.
For more information and photographs, please
contact me:
Kimberly Crum
Co-Chair, High School Scholarship Competition
E-mail: kcrumwrites@aol.com
Cellular Telephone: 502-417-3424
Old Louisville To Get More Free Plants
Twenty Seven 3-5'
tall arbor vitaes, that were slated to be discarded from a downtown
flower pot program, are instead to be replanted in Toonerville Park and
Ouerbacker Court in the next few weeks.
Landscape designers hired to replant the downtown pots
were going to toss the shrubs but Old Louisvillian Ken Herndon claimed
them for use in the neighborhood. This past Spring, 45 hollies and
junipers were similarily saved and replanted at the entrances to
Toonerville Park.
This fall, you may be seeing more trees in our
neighborhood thanks to the efforts of some neighbors and Metro
Government.
Toonerville neighbors Nancy Woodcock and Irene Spicer
applied for and received a grant from Brightside for approximately 30
trees to be planted in the eastern section of Old Louisville, most
likely this Fall.
Further, working with Metro Arborist Cindy Marquel, Ms.
Woodcock and fellow neighbor Ken Herndon have worked toward getting as
many as 100 additional trees planted, primarily in empty tree wells,
throughout the neighborhood, also possibly this Fall.
Ms. Woodcock and Mr. Herndon did an iventory of the
eastern and western halves of Old Louisville, respectively and Ms.
Marquel also surveyed the area for proper species.
Hopefully, this Fall and especially next Spring, our
neighborhood will be even greener and more beautiful.
BJB
Restoration & Remediation
Masonry Historic Painting
Mold remediation
Tuck pointing Cornice repair
Detecting, cleaning
Waterproofing & caulking wood repair Removal & Stucco Plaster treatment
Dennis Bolton
502-582-2833 office
502-648-7682 cell
bjbbolton@aol.com
785 S. Shelby St.
Louisville, Kentucky 40203
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Window Joke, no joke
By Gary J Kleier, AIA, AIC
Kleier Associates, Architects
Last year I replaced all the windows in my house with
that expensivedouble-pane energy efficient kind, and today, I got a call
from the contractor who installed them. He was complaining that the work
had been completed a whole year ago and I still hadn’t paid for them.
Hellloooo, . . . just because I live in an old house, does he think I am
stupid? So, I told him just what his fast talking sales guy had told me
last year, that in ONE YEAR these windows would pay for themselves!
Helllooooo? It’s been a year! I told him. There was only silence at the
other end of the line, so I finally just hung up.
He never called back. Guess I won that stupid argument.
I bet he felt like an idiot!
OK.... That’s good for a laugh, but the subject of
replacement windows is not a laughing matter in the historic districts.
Before you accept what the window salesman tells you, remember these
things:
1. YOU, not your contractor, are required by law
to obtain approval from Landmarks before you replace ANY windows on ANY
structure in a historic district
2. NO windows are "pre-approved", and some are
actually NOT ALLOWED in certain locations
3. The original windows can usually be saved and
made more efficient than the expensive replacement windows. Landmarks
can show you how, and usually save you money in the process.
4. If you proceed without approval, YOU, not your
contractor, may be required to remove the replacement windows at your
expense.
The window contractor is NOT your friend. He is a
business man interested only in making money. Before you believe his
claim that the window will "pay for itself in a year", check it out.
Call Landmarks and talk to a staff member. They are friendly, well
informed and there to help you. 502.574.6230
For further information you can check the guidelines on
line at:
http://www.louisvilleky.gov/PlanningDesign/Standard+Guidelines.htm
First check page 10 of the Maintenance guidelines.
There is important information there. Then check the Window guidelines.
Be smart! Make an informed decision.
Recent Major Fires in Old Louisville
By Herb Fink
On
Saturday evening, September 29, 2007, a large warehouse and contents was
totally destroyed by a fire of unknown origin at Koch Filter Corporation
located at 625 W. Hill Street.
The warehouse building was located along Levering Street
just west of the 1400 block of S. 6th St. and contained approximately
7,000 sq. ft.
The warehouse was packed full of filter materials and
the Metro fire fighters worked into Sunday afternoon to remove the
building contents and extinguish the fire.
1346 S.
1st Street - On Monday, afternoon, October 15, 2007, a three-story,
brick Old Louisville residential building was seriously damaged by an
intense fire that totally removed the roof of the house and cased total
destruction to the upper floors of the building. (the building has
since been demolished)
The cause of the fire and whether the building can be
saved is unknown at this time.
The neighboring residence to the north, 1344 S. 1st St.
was also seriously damaged with the spread of the fire.
Keep Old Louisville Clean - Report a Litterer
Now you can get
directly involved in making Louisville a more litter-free community
through the Report-A-Litterer program. It’s aimed at motorists who throw
fast-food wrappers, cigarette butts, soda bottles or any type of litter
out their car window.
To report a litterer, simply call MetroCall 311 or 574-5000 or go the
Metro website: www.LouisvilleKy.Gov and click-on "Reprot a Litterer" to
include the follwoing information:
You must provide the license plate number of the vehicle.
Please also provide the make and model of the vehicle if possible.
Specific location where violation occurred.
Date and time when violation occurred.
Type of litter.
Any other descriptive information you can provide.
November 2007

The Old Louisville Journal is
published monthly by the Old Louisville Information Center, Inc. (OLIC),
a 501(c)(3) corporation, incorporated in 1984, for the purpose of
receiving tax deductible contributions. OLIC is affiliated with the Old
Louisville Neighborhood Council (OLNC), a 501 (c) (4) non-profit
association incorporated in 1976 to serve as the recognized voice of the
Old Louisville Neighborhood.
Submit Journal
contributions to the Editor:
Old Louisville Information Center
1340 S. Fourth St., Louisville, KY 40208.
Phone: (502) 635-5244
E-mail: olnc@bellsouth.net
Advertising rates available upon request.
Please submit “Letters to the Editor” to the above address.
The 15th of each month is deadline for submission of all ads and articles.
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