The Filson Historical Society Blog

The D. X. Murphy & Bro., Architects records are comprised mostly of architectural records and drawings created by D. X. Murphy and his firm as well as a few plans by his mentor Henry Whitestone.

The Filson is pleased to announce that after years of preservation and cataloging efforts, the D. X. Murphy & Bro., Architects Records (1854 – 1949) are complete and open to researchers.

This massive collection of historical architectural drawings and business records documents 95 years of Louisville’s rich architectural history, mainly through the business records and drawings generated by two of the city’s most renowned architects: Henry Whitestone (1819–1893) and D. X. Murphy (1853–1933).  (Whitestone was famous for his work on the original Galt House and the L & N headquarters (located at the corner of Main & Seconds Streets which now anchors Whiskey Row) while Murphy’s firm was responsible for the iconic grandstand and twin spires at Churchill Downs and today is still extant as Luckett & Farley, Inc.).

Many of the grand buildings which once graced downtown, Broadway, and residential areas are documented in this collection, providing an invaluable glimpse of Louisville’s former architectural landscape. Additionally, a variety of late-19^th and early-20^th century Louisville building contractors and businesses are represented in the collection which provides valuable information on regional businesses, industry and technology, as well as substantive insights into architectural and decorative arts.

Filson intern Lena Gimbel arranging architectural drawings.

While most of the drawings in the collection are in excellent condition, a number of them have become severely brittle with time as well as exposure to fluctuating environment conditions, which hastened the breakdown of the papers’ composition.  Until rescued in the 1970s by local preservationists and historians Mary Jean Kinsman and Penny Jones, the collection resided for years in the turret of the old Louisville Trust building where it was exposed to the elements and an overly cozy population of pigeons.  The fragile nature of the collection as well as the dense amount of historical information it contains, made processing and stabilizing the historical drawings a slow process.

Lori Wilson sorting archival business records.

This work could not have been completed without the assistance of two dedicated, patient interns, Lori Wilson and Lena Gimbel, both of whom worked at the Filson while completing their Master’s in History at the University of Louisville.  Lori Wilson surveyed, arranged, re-housed and described project files, correspondence, business records, and account books associated with the D.X. Murphy & Bro. architectural firm and its predecessor Henry Whitestone.  Lena Gimbel indexed, preserved, and described architectural drawings representing nine decades of the area’s residences, churches, and medical, industrial, commercial, and federal buildings.

The two plus years it’s taken to process the D. X. Murphy & Bro., Architects collection have been an exciting and rewarding experience in building community and connections between historians, archivists, students, and architects all the while exposing a rich historical treasure for researchers.

Architect Samuel Plato, undated photograph.

This morning’s Louisville Courier-Journal’s profile for Black History Month has provided another opportunity (York of the Lewis and Clark Expedition was a couple of weeks ago) to give additional information on a famous African American who called Louisville home for much of his life: Samuel Plato. The Filson is home to both papers and photographs that help document the life and career of architect Samuel Plato (1882-1957). Plato was an African American pioneer in the field of architecture. He was the first African American to receive a government contract to build a post office. He designed thirty-eight post offices in his career as well as churches, schools, banks, theaters, and housing. The Plato collection here at The Filson consists of .33 cubic feet of personal and professional papers and approximately 600 photographs.  Specific information regarding the papers of  Samuel Plato and his family can be accessed via our Virtual Card Catalog demo.

For additional information on Plato go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Platoas well as other sources.

Post Office designed by Plato in Greensburg, Pa.

(Top) The 100-block along the north side of Main Street familiarly known as “Whiskey Row,” looking west. Photo circa 1900, unknown photographer, Brown-Walker Family photo collection. (Bottom) Current view of Whiskey Row: eastern portion of block boarded up while its fate was the topic of much public debate (the corner building at 101-103 W. Main collapsed in 2001). Photo by author.

Developers, preservationists, and many Louisville citizens issued a collective sigh of relief this week upon Mayor Fischer’s announcement that “Whiskey Row” will not be demolished.  Five buildings of this historic block on Main Street, which could have seen seven buildings demolished as early as next week, will now be saved.  Whiskey Row is a beautiful example of Louisville’s historic architecture that plays an integral role in understanding and honoring our city’s history and future.

From the mid-nineteenth to the early- twentieth century, this block was the thriving center of Louisville’s whiskey economy.  It housed a variety of whiskey rectifying and blending houses, barrel warehouses, whiskey brokerages, and corporate headquarters for renowned local businesses Brown-Forman, Belknap Hardware and Manufacturing Co., and the L & N Railroad Company.  The buildings were all constructed between the years 1857 and 1905, many with cast-iron storefronts (a load-bearing façade composed of prefabricated, cast parts which allowed the designers to maximize street-level windows).  Second only to New York City, Louisville is home to the finest assemblage of cast-iron architecture in the United States.  This block features a variety of architectural styles, designed by celebrated architects such as Henry Whitestone (Galt House), John Andrewartha (City Hall), and D. X. Murphy (Churchill Downs).  Of note is the “Old Prentice Distillery” building at 107-109 W. Main (third from the right in the ca. 1900 picture). Designed by D.X. Murphy and built in 1905, this building is evocative of the Chicago School style and appears strikingly contemporary when sandwiched between the revivalist-style buildings of the period. The Old Prentice building and the adjacent D. Sachs & Sons building (to the east) have been deemed structurally unsound and are slated for demolition, though the facades will be preserved.  Given the architectural legacy of Whiskey Row and its significant role in Kentucky’s distilling history, the Louisville Landmark Commission designated it a historic landmark in 2010.

In 2010, property owner Todd Blue announced his intent to demolish the buildings and develop the site.  Just this week, thanks to the generosity and activism of Steve Wilson and Laura Lee Brown, the Downtown Development Corporation, and several anonymous investors along with local preservationists and Metro Government, a deal was made with developer Todd Blue to save five of the seven architectural gems.  The Main Street-facing facades of the two remaining buildings will be preserved and incorporated into future development of the lot.

Interested in learning more about preservation and historic architecture?  Starting Thursday, the Filson Historical Society will host a three-day conference called “The Legacy of Buildings: Learning from Historic Structures.”

In May, The Filson is holding a Public Conference centered on architecture and what we can learn from historic structures, including the topics of architectural conservation and building within the historic context of a local neighborhood.

Having worked at architecture firms in the past, I know that sustainable architecture is a growing area of expertise for many firms. Sustainability itself is defined as the capacity to endure – when a building is built using sustainable techniques, this definition of sustainability becomes transmuted into the idea of meeting the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. A sustainable, or green, building endures and becomes “historic” without impinging upon the requirements and needs of people in the future – which sounds like the best way to become historic to me.

So, let’s look into this a little more deeply. How is it determined that a building is green?

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) developed a system called LEED that verifies how and in what precise ways a building can be defined as green according to five environmental categories: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, and Indoor Environmental Quality. There is also an additional category, Innovation in Design, which addresses sustainable building expertise. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, was launched in March 2000.

The Green Building, Louisville

One example of a sustainable building is the aptly named Green Building here in Louisville, which opened in 2008. In 1774, the site of this building was part of a 1,000-acre royal land grant to Colonel William Preston of Virginia for his service in the French and Indian War. Preston’s son, Major William Preston, inherited the property and moved from Virginia to Louisville in 1815. In 1827, the city of Louisville annexed the property, known at the time as “Uptown.”

Current owners Augusta and Gill Holland decided to renovate the 110-year-old mixed-use structure, which has housed a dry goods store, mill supply, and a Goodwill store. In this renovation process, the Green Building became the first commercial building in Louisville to attempt LEED Platinum certification. This certification was awarded last December.

Some of the features that make the Green Building sustainable include:

• The atrium’s floor is made of wood salvaged from a barn in Georgia.
• The entire building is insulated using recycled denim.
• Most of the new wood that was brought into the building is Forest Stewardship Council-certified – collected only from sustainable forests.
• The building is powered by 81 solar panels: a photovoltaic 15-kilowatt solar power system. On sunny days the building collects more than enough energy to sustain itself.
• The cinder blocks throughout the building’s structure are “mineshaft” cinder blocks: solid masonry blocks made of slag and fly-ash, byproducts of coal production and steel making.

This 15,000 square foot facility now houses the 732 Social café, the Green Building Gallery, event spaces, and office studios for SonaBLAST! Records, Holland Brown Books and The Group Entertainment.

Another green building in Kentucky is located at my alma mater, Centre College. Centre was founded in 1819 by Presbyterian leaders. The first building on campus, Old Centre, served as a Civil  War Hospital during the Battle of Perryville in 1862.

Pearl Hall, Centre College, Danville

Centre’s new Pearl Hall was certified LEED Gold in 2009, making it Kentucky’s first LEED Gold certified building. This three-floor residence hall, which houses 146 students, makes use of a variable irrigation system, which eliminates the need for permanent and constant use of water for irrigation. The building also uses low-flow shower heads, lavatories, and sinks, as well as dual-flush toilets. All of the hall’s paints, adhesives and sealants contain no harmful ingredients, and the carpeting meets the requirements of Green Label Plus carpeting. Throughout the building, recycling containers are prominently displayed, and students use efficient, front-loading washing machines.

Utilizing a geothermal heating and cooling system, Pearl Hall takes advantage of the more constant temperature underground (warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer) to reduce energy consumption. The system employs 65 wells that are drilled 300 feet deep and utilize 7.3 miles of piping. Water is pumped through the pipes and absorbs, retains and radiates the desired temperature depending on the season.

The Green Building and Pearl Hall are just two of many examples of green buildings in Kentucky, integrating history and sustainability into structures designed both to endure and to keep the needs of future generations in mind.

The Filson Institute Public Conference Spring 2011 runs from May 12-14, and includes various lectures and a field trip. Click this link for more information.

Whether visiting the Filson Historical Society to do research or just to tour the building, the most frequent remark made by patrons tends to be something along the lines of “wow, you are so lucky to work in such a beautiful place!”  This “beautiful place”, known as the Ferguson Mansion (named for Edwin Hite Ferguson), draws people in with its lavish structure and design and often sparks an interest in its history.

Tiffany dragonfly lamp

Shortly after The Filson Historical Society (then known as The Filson Club) purchased the mansion in honor of the club’s one-hundredth anniversary, a detailed account of Ferguson and the mansion’s history was written by George H. Yater and published in the October 1984 issue of The Filson Club History Quarterly (1). In this article entitled, “Edwin Hite Ferguson and the Ferguson Mansion,” Yater outlines Ferguson’s life in Louisville and describes how the mansion came to be. According to Yater, the design work, (done by William J. Dodd who also helped design the Seelbach hotel) commenced in 1901 and construction was completed in 1905. It is considered a fine example of the Parisian Beaux Arts architecture featuring the use of wood and damask paneling along with sculpted marble and bronze mantelpieces. Also, a small area of the second floor houses a set of unique Tiffany lamps in the form of dragonflies.

Ferguson Mansion Dining Room

Around the turn of the century in Louisville, (when an average home cost about ten thousand dollars) the mansion was considered one of the most expensive residences, valued at about one hundred thousand dollars. Ferguson was able to build this kind of lavish residence because he had become a successful entrepreneur, as the president and founder of the Kentucky Refining Company. However, his success was fairly short lived and Ferguson eventually sold the mansion in 1924 to the Pearson Funeral Home. For the most part, the Pearsons kept the mansion in its original condition, with the exception of the removal of the grand staircase. Finally, in 1984 when the Filson purchased the mansion, some of its original furnishings and décor was also purchased in an auction. For more information regarding Edwin Hite Ferguson and the mansion please feel free to visit The Filson Historical Society Library to see the quarterly article in its entirety.

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[1] Yater, George H.. “Edwin Hite Ferguson and the Ferguson Mansion.” The Filson Club History Quarterly 58. 4 (1984): 436-457. Print.