Kentucky Heritage Council
Kentucky Historic Preservation Review Board to meet Thursday to consider National Register nominations

Kentucky Historic Preservation Review Board to meet Thursday in Fort Mitchell

Board reviews, recommends nominations to the National Register

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Two historic districts, a signature Louisville department store building and the remaining residence of an early 20th century dairy farm will be considered for listing in the National Register of Historic Places by the Kentucky Historic Preservation Review Board during its next meeting at 10 a.m. Thursday, August 30 in Fort Mitchell.  The meeting, which is open to the public, will take place at the Northern Kentucky Area Planning Commission Office, 2332 Royal Drive.

Nestled between the city of Covington’s Devou Park to the north and Dixie Highway to the south, the Park Hills Historic District in Kenton County includes 624 contributing buildings, sites and structures dating from the mid-19th through mid-20th century.  Homes in the district represent a variety of styles and range from modestly detailed and proportioned domestic architecture to estate homes executed in wood frame and brick.  Residences were built along curvilinear streets in a planned, park-like setting influenced by the Romantic landscape and City Beautiful movements popular in the early 20th century.  The city of Park Hills and the Northern Kentucky Area Planning Commission jointly paid to survey the district and develop the National Register nomination, with support from the Kentucky Heritage Council / State Historic Preservation Office and Preservation Kentucky, Inc.

Winchester’s South Park Neighborhood consists of 205 commercial and residential buildings that reflect the community’s growth in the first half of the 20th century.  Located south of downtown and east of the Thompson Neighborhood District, which was listed in the National Register in 1992, the South Park Neighborhood was originally platted in 1904.  Unlike the more stately Victorian residences in the Thompson district, the South Park Neighborhood features modest Bungalow-style and asymmetrical homes – mostly single-story, framed structures with little ornamentation – that provided affordable housing for working-class residents of the town.  The nomination is sponsored by the city of Winchester.

Constructed in 1907, the original Stewart’s Dry Goods Building at the corner of 4th Street and Muhammad Ali Boulevard in Louisville was initially listed on the National Register in 1982.  Today, the new owner of the building plans a rehabilitation of the property which would incorporate three additions to the structure dating to 1937, 1948 and 1959.  If the expanded listing is approved, the owner could qualify for state and federal historic preservation tax credits of up to 20% of the cost of renovation.  At the time of the original nomination, these additions were not included as they were not at least 50 years old – which is the minimum standard required, in most instances, for National Register listing.  This new nomination explains how these later additions helped maintain Stewart’s status as an icon of Louisville’s downtown shopping experience well into the 1960s.

Just as the location suggests, the Emil Von Allmen Dairy Farm Residence at 5050 Norton HealthCare Boulevard, Louisville, reflects the changing tides of farm life.  From its heyday under the leadership of owner Emil Von Allmen, who established his residence on the eastern Jefferson County farm in 1919, through the first half of the 20th century when consolidation began to signal the demise of small, regional-based dairy businesses, the 226-acre farm thrived.  Gradually, however, the city surrounded the site, and outbuildings and acreage were lost or converted to other uses.  The only remaining building is a 1½-story house on nearly four acres, constructed in 1912 in the Bungalow/Craftsman style with Neo-classical detailing.  Today, with the new owner rehabilitating the home into a restaurant, the building will once again become directly involved in the business of providing food to hungry Louisvillians.

Administered by the National Park Service and state historic preservation offices, the National Register is the nation’s official list of historic and archaeological resources deemed worthy of preservation.  Kentucky has the fourth highest number of National Register listings in the nation, with more than 3,200 listings of districts, sites and structures encompassing more than 41,000 historic features.  The Kentucky Heritage Council administers the National Register program in Kentucky.

Nominations approved for listing by the Kentucky Historic Preservation Review Board are forwarded for final consideration to the National Park Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, which usually issues a final determination of listing within 60 to 90 days.  National Register listing can be applied to buildings, objects, structures, districts and archaeological sites, and proposed sites must be significant in architecture, engineering, American history or culture, or possess a special role in the development of our country.  The status does not affect property ownership rights but does provide a measure of protection against adverse impacts from federally funded projects.  Owners of National Register properties may qualify for federal or state tax credits for certified rehabilitation of these properties or by making a charitable contribution of preservation easements.

More information about these sites is available by contacting the Kentucky Heritage Council at 502-564-7005, ext. 120, or for more information about the National Register program visit the Kentucky Heritage Council Web site at www.heritage.ky.gov/national_register.htm.

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An agency of the Kentucky Commerce Cabinet, the Kentucky Heritage Council / State Historic Preservation Office is responsible for the identification, protection and preservation of historic and cultural resources throughout the Commonwealth, in partnership with other state and federal agencies, local communities and interested citizens.  This mission is integral to making communities more livable and has a far-ranging impact on issues as diverse as economic development, jobs creation, affordable housing, tourism, community revitalization, environmental conservation and quality of life.  www.heritage.ky.gov