Latest Structures Page 130

Berry Hill Mansion - Juniper Hills, Frankfort Kentucky

Berry Hill Mansion - Juniper Hills, Frankfort Kentucky

22 Room Mansion Built by KY Bourbon Baron George Berry

The house which George F. Berry constructed in 1900 incorporated all the elements that the bourbon edifice demanded. From its very beginnings Berry Hill, as it has become popularly known, was a venture into the high style architecture that reflected all the aspects demanded by the bourbon aristocracy within the area. George Berry purchased the property during the last decade of the 19^th century. He named the estate Juniper Hill due to the large amount of red cedars that were growing upon the property. Upon the land he commissioned the construction of a massive stone Colonial Revival structure. Berry obtained the services of William J. Dodd and Arthur Cobb to create the plans for the house's construction. William J. Dodd came

Louisville, Henderson, and St. Louis Railroad Depot, Fordsville Kentucky

Louisville, Henderson, and St. Louis Railroad Depot, Fordsville Kentucky

The Louisville, Henderson, and St. Louis Depot in Fordsville was built in 1916 to replace the original 1890 depot built when the railroad was first operational. The Fordsville Depot is the only major depot remaining in Ohio County and one of the few in the surrounding area. Fordsville, a small town in northeastern Ohio County, has a present population of about 580 (1980 census), considerably less than its early 20^th century high of about 900. Ohio County, established in 1798, was very sparsely settled through the first half of the 19^th century. Its citizens relied almost exclusively on agriculture, hunting and fishing, and its huge timber reserves for their living. Only Hartford, the county seat located approximately fifteen miles southwest of

Red River Iron Furnace - Fitchburg Furnace, Fitchburg Kentucky

Red River Iron Furnace - Fitchburg Furnace, Fitchburg Kentucky

Designed by Fred Fitch and built by Sam Worthley in 1868, it is unique in that it consists of two furnaces in a single structure. It was built of carefully cut stone and is 65 feet high and 115 feet long. It operated from 1870 to 1874 and employed 1000 men. In 1870, this furnace produced 10,000 tons of pig iron valued at more than $60,000. The production of pig iron was one of Kentucky's earliest industries. A major producer of iron since 1791, Kentucky ranked third in the U.S. in the 1830's and 11^th in 1865. After 1879, the industry declined due to the obsolescence of the process and the opening of the iron area in the Northern Great Lakes

Rochester-Cecil House - Melrose, Danville Kentucky

Rochester-Cecil House - Melrose, Danville Kentucky

The history of Melrose is closely linked with that of the adjoining farm, Roselawn, which was the home of Kentucky Governor William Owsley between 1844 and 1848. Owsley lived at Roselawn following his tenure as governor although he had purchased the property in 1838. This purchase did not include the tract upon which Melrose stands, but the governor's son, Erasmus Boyle Owsley, enlarged the holdings associated with Roselawn during the 1840s by accumulating many smaller surrounding tracts. In 1845, William and Erasmus Owsley sold three hundred acres, including the land on which Melrose was to be built, to the governor's son-in-law, Albert Gallatin Talbot. Talbot was an influential politician in his own right, and won a seat to the state legislature

Roselawn - Owsley House, Danville Kentucky

Roselawn - Owsley House, Danville Kentucky

Roselawn was the last home for William Owsley, Congressman, Governor of Kentucky, and Associate Justice on the State Court of Appeals. Owsley, born in Virginia in 1782, came to Lincoln County, Kentucky, as a child. He studied law under Chief Justice of the State Court of Appeals John Boyle and, after obtaining his license, began to practice law in Garrard County. He was elected to the State Legislature and shortly thereafter (1812) was appointed to the Court of Appeals by Governor Scott. In 1828 Owsley retired from the Court and returned to his home in Garrard County, Pleasant Retreat, to practice law. He sold the house and moved to Frankfort in 1837. The next year he purchased the property on which

Robinson House - Quietdale, Huntsville Alabama

Robinson House - Quietdale, Huntsville Alabama

This Large Home was Built for the Widow of County Sheriff Bill Robinson

The house was erected for Mrs. Caroline Moore Robinson, widow of Madison County sheriff William (Black Bill) Robinson. A Virginia-born planter and speculator, Robinson had accumulated vast landholdings in Alabama and Mississippi by the time of his death in 1852, at the premature age of forty-four. Documentary evidence hints that the noted Huntsville architect George Steele or his son, Matthew W. Steele, may be responsible for the design and construction of Quietdale. The younger Steele, though never to achieve a reputation comparable to that of his father, intermittently practiced as an architect in Huntsville during the 1850s. George Steele himself died in the fall of 1854. But a note among his estate papers refers to a debt of $1131.66 due from

Southern Railway System Train Depot, Huntsville Alabama

Southern Railway System Train Depot, Huntsville Alabama

The Memphis and Charleston Railroad Depot, built in 1860, is the oldest railway terminal standing in Alabama and one of the last surviving physical evidences of the South's most significant antebellum rail systems. During the Civil War the Depot was used as a temporary Federal prison. The Memphis and Charleston Railroad was the most important transportation line in the South, in addition to being the most potent factor in the commercial development of Northern Alabama. Originally incorporated under the laws of Tennessee on February 2, 1846, the railway embodied one of the early dreams of the south; to connect the Mississippi River at Memphis with the Atlantic Ocean at Charleston. The merchants and farmers of North Alabama had long suffered from

Kildare Mansion - McCormick House, Huntsville Alabama

Kildare Mansion - McCormick House, Huntsville Alabama

Kildare's builder Michael O'Shaughnessy was a northern capitalist who, with his brother James, was looking for investment and development situations in the South during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. They settled on Huntsville, a town of 5,000 persons that had never revived following the Civil War, where they built and purchased homes and began buying large tracts of land and buildings. It was through the O'Shaughnessy's influence that additional wealthy outsiders were attracted to Huntsville as a town with great development potential. It was this group of northern investors and self-styled town builders, associated with prominent local businessmen, that provided the money, the connections, and the know-how to package and sell Huntsville as an industrial and resort site. Before

Dunnavants Department Store Building, Huntsville Alabama

Dunnavants Department Store Building, Huntsville Alabama

The Dunnavant's Building was erected by Terry Brothers and Rogers, a local dry goods company, in 1905 from a design by Huntsville architect Edgar Love. It was originally of brick and milled construction according to the Weekly Mercury which reported that carpenters are now placing the heavy timbers for the second floor. The building was extensively remodeled in 1927 by contractor Charles E. Baxter who had a force of men at work building an entire new front, besides the rearrangement of the interior. However, drawings and photographs of the building indicate that the only exterior changes ever made to the building were confined to the entrance and display windows on Washington Street. In 1940 a fire started in the paint department

Angels Flight Cable Railway, Los Angeles California

Angels Flight Cable Railway, Los Angeles California

The property was first constructed in 1901 to provide efficient transportation between the city's commercial core and the top of Bunker Hill. New cars were constructed in 1905. A new station house, designed by noted Los Angeles architects Train & Williams, and an entrance arch were added in 1910. The period of significance begins in 1905 and ends circa 1945. The Flight operated continuously until 1969 when it was dismantled and stored as part of an urban renewal program. Twenty-five years later, the original elements of Angels Flight was removed from storage, rehabilitated, and reinstalled within the same city block slightly south of and parallel to its original location on the hill. Angels Flight operates in its historic function, carrying passengers

Robbins Hotel, Beatrice Alabama

Robbins Hotel, Beatrice Alabama

The Selma to Pensacola rail line was chartered in 1858 but construction was barely completed 40 miles south of Selma when the Civil War broke out. Intermittent postwar construction and financial entanglements left a 45-mile gap through rural Monroe County in the line's completion that was not completed until 1899. The Daniel Robbins farm, with the exception of the Robbins House, was among land purchased by railroad contractor Robert M. Quigley for purposes of establishing the railroad right-of-way which subsequently passed approximately 200 feet east of the house. The Robbins House immediately became a haven for railroad people, commercial travelers, sportsmen and other guests brought to town by the new railroad. It was this close proximity to the railroad line that

Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Beverly Hills California

Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Beverly Hills California

As the first major hotel to be constructed in the rapidly growing community of Beverly Hills since 1912, the Beverly Wilshire Hotel is representative of the quality of commercial architecture built in the city during its prime period of development. Associated with one of the city's most influential citizens, the hotel was constructed in 1927 for Walter G. McCarty, a real estate developer who once owned a quarter of the city, and was designed by the eminent Southern California architectural firm of Walker and Eisen in the Second Renaissance Revival style. The structure is the most prominent example of this noted firm's work in Beverly Hills. It was one of the first major buildings to be constructed on Wilshire Boulevard, and

El Cortez Apartment Hotel, San Diego California

El Cortez Apartment Hotel, San Diego California

Historic Luxury Hotel was Converted into Condos in 2004

The history of the El Cortez Area is well-documented. Named after the imposing El Cortez Apartment Hotel, the El Cortez Area encompasses a geographic section of San Diego which rises from around a 25 feet elevation along Front Street to approximately 65 feet at 10^th Avenue. The area has been defined as bounded by Interstate 5 to the north, the community of Little Italy to the west, Interstate 163 to the east, and A Street to the south. The highest point in the El Cortez Area is Prospect Hill, located within the Bay View Homestead subdivision between Ash and Date Streets and Sixth and Tenth Avenues. This hill contained some of the most spectacular Victorian residences in the city. During the

Balboa Theatre, San Diego California

Balboa Theatre, San Diego California

As a major player in the establishment of live performance theatres and the sweeping business of motion pictures during the 1920's, the Balboa Theatre anchored this national trend in the most southern and western part of the country. In a city with an uncertain economic future following the 1915-16 Panama-California Exposition, the Balboa was truly a pioneering effort on the part of its developer, architect and contracting team, and was a landmark the day it opened. The period of significance is from the grand opening in 1924 through 1930 which encapsulates the most successful period of live performance and cinematic presentations. Following the 1915-16 Panama-California International Exposition in Balboa Park, that attracted 3.7 million visitors, many of means, the city was

Old Point Loma Lighthouse, San Diego California

Old Point Loma Lighthouse, San Diego California

The Old Point Loma Lighthouse was begun in 1854 when a contractor's crew from the eastern United States came to San Diego to build the port's first lighthouse. From 1855 to 1891, this 19^th Century lighthouse at the end of the long, high Point Lome peninsula guided ships along the coast of California and into Sen Diego harbor. But the real significance of this Cape Cod structure is not just that of a lighthouse faithfully performing its task but in its creation and use. The lighthouse was one of the first eight lighthouses built on the Pacific Coast of the United States. Since all eight were built by one firm under one contract, the old building stands today as a symbol

Point Pinos Lighthouse, Pacific Grove California

Point Pinos Lighthouse, Pacific Grove California

The Point Pines Lighthouse is the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the west coast. Its construction and lighting was completed in 1855, shortly after Alcatraz Light. The station was damaged in the 1906 earthquake necessitating rebuilding of the tower in 1907. The reconstruction followed the original plans. Additions have enhanced the building's appearance. The history includes 40 years of feminine lighthouse keepers. Robert Louis Stevenson records his visit to the Point Pinos Lighthouse in Old Monterey. The Point Pinos Lighthouse was completed and lighted on February 1, 1855. It is a 20 x 30 foot peaked roof story and a half building constructed from locally quarried stone. A painted wood kitchen shed and basement entrance is attached. The appearance is that

Thomas Point Shoals Light Station, Annapolis Maryland

Thomas Point Shoals Light Station, Annapolis Maryland

Resigned by staff professionals of the U.S. Lighthouse Service, Thomas Point Lighthouse is the last of the manned screwpile, off-shore lights on the Chesapeake Bay. The principle of the screwpile design was first introduced in England in 1838 and later used in the United States in 1854. This method of anchoring a lighthouse was simple, effective, inexpensive and most appropriate for the sandy and muddy bottom of the Chesapeake Bay. Constructed in 1875 the structure remains virtually intact. The splat baluster railings, the shaped dormer rafter projections and the steel octagonal cupola (bearing the inscription Atlantic Steam Engine Works, Brooklyn, New York, 1875) are architectural features of interest. Robert de Cast in The Lighthouses of the Chesapeake gives a date as

Wiley Bates High School, Annapolis Maryland

Wiley Bates High School, Annapolis Maryland

The Wiley H. Bates High School, built on Smithfield Street in 1932, is the second building erected by the Anne Arundel County Board of Education to provide secondary education for African-American students. It is the direct descendant of the Stanton High School located on West Washington Street in Annapolis. Stanton School was a three-year high school established in 1917, and was the first black secondary school in the county. Enrollment came primarily from the surrounding areas, but space was required to accommodate increasing enrollment. Interested residents, including the Stanton Parent-Teacher Association, and Wiley H. Bates (a prominent member of the African American community), persuaded the Anne Arundel County Board of Education of the need for a separate high school for colored

Crooked River Lighthouse, Carrabelle Florida

Crooked River Lighthouse, Carrabelle Florida

The increase in lumber trade from the Apalachicola River to Crooked River, southwest of Carrabelle, convinced the Lighthouse Board in 1888 to ask for a mainland light to replace the Dog Island Lighthouse, destroyed in 1873. The deep river entrance, 18 feet deep at the bar, was considered an asset and the Board predicted a fairly large port there. With a great deal of confusion over the land title, compounded by a fire which ruined many important documents, the $40,000 authorized in 1889 was not put to use until 1894-1895, when the lighthouse was finally under construction. Work on the tower was completed in August, 1895, and the lantern and fixtures were installed two months later, exhibited for the first time

Boca Grande Lighthouse Gasparilla Island, Boca Grande Florida

Boca Grande Lighthouse Gasparilla Island, Boca Grande Florida

The Boca Grande Lighthouse derives its primary significance from its opening of the Boca Grande Harbor for large phosphate shipments. The lighthouse was completed in September, 1890, and activated on December 31, 1890. Presumably, the assistant keeper's quarters were constructed at the same time. The design reflects the fact that the light did not require as much elevation that is seen in other Florida lighthouses due to its serving as a harbor beacon as opposed to outer maritime traffic. New phosphate discoveries in west central Florida and advanced mining techniques developed in the 1880's demanded a port capable of handling the increased volume of seagoing traffic. During the 1890's phosphate mined in the Peace River area was brought out to deep

Book Title Abandoned Palaces (Abandoned Places)

Abandoned Palaces (Abandoned Places)

Book Title Abandoned Industrial Places: Factories, laboratories, mills and mines that the world left behind (Abandoned Places)

Abandoned Industrial Places: Factories, laboratories, mills and mines that the world left behind (Abandoned Places)

Book Title The Atlas of Abandoned Places: A Journey Through The World's Forgotten Wonders

The Atlas of Abandoned Places: A Journey Through The World's Forgotten Wonders

Book Title Lost Places: Images of Bygone America

Lost Places: Images of Bygone America

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