Let’s talk for a moment about eyesores, specifically, those that exist in downtown New Albany.
First, an exclusion. Our candidates for NA Confidential’s "Top Five New Albany Eyesores" list cannot be examples of New Albany’s asinine lack of simple ordinance enforcement.
Junk cars, appliances, engines, garbage mounds and dilapidated houses are obviously present in abundance throughout the city, but since these problems ideally could be resolved by simple coercion, cleaning and clearing, they'll be omitted for now.
Rather, we’re looking for eyesores and tastelessness that intrude upon a broader aesthetic plane of the cityscape, and that include willful human decisions pertaining to design, construction, location and planning.
Perhaps they're all well within code and violating no regulations ... except, of course, dictates of taste and decency.
Honorable Mention
Look-alike Budweiser marketing logos (everywhere in town)
Have you noticed that just about every seedy redneck bar in downtown New Albany displays that same Budweiser advertising logos? They’re generated by the local Anheuser-Busch wholesaler and provided free of charge. Does drinking and selling this product lead to a suppression of the creative gene? Do lemmings drink bad beer?
Used house lot off I-64, westbound
Whole houses forlornly sit on blocks, awaiting settlement of challenges to the decision to move them to a public park and create low-income starter housing (subject of an extensive thread two weeks ago).
Schmitt Furniture, corner State and Main
Schmitt’s main building, which is so readily visible from the Interstate, hasn’t had a glass window above street level since NA Confidential was in diapers, and the family’s Reisz warehouse down the street has been crying out for attention for almost as long.
NAC’s Top Five Eyesores
5. Smith Furniture and Appliance, northwest corner of State and Market
They’re leaving downtown soon, and of course will be missed, but when we’re finished drying our eyes, can we acknowledge that the traditional color scheme of black paint (and white owl) is seriously unsightly, and that the building appears to be falling apart?
4. NAPA Auto Parts on East Spring Street
Every exterior surface, including bricks, windows and side doors, but not the security lights (must have been added since the last paint job) is covered in a bright, obtrusive Royal Blue. Tacky, tacky, tacky.
3. West side of Pearl Street between Main and Market (exact address unknown)
The entire façade of an old commercial building is covered with glistening sheet metal. What’s underneath it, dead bodies?
2. Parking lot, northwest corner of Pearl and Spring
This gaping hole is noteworthy because of something that was there before nothing was there: The city’s beautiful old Post Office, which a previous generation of community “leaders” demolished.
“Something, but always leading to nothing” just might be the official New Albany city motto.
1. The sweeping vista of downtown New Albany from the westbound I-64 (Elm Street) ramp
Once we’ve succeeded in getting Louisvillians to cross the bridge and visit us, what is the first thing they see as they descend the ramp and queue up at the stop light?
An abandoned gas station and former fireworks shop. A liquor store with more of the public Budweiser materials noted above. The socialist bloc-inspired dirty gray Riverview Towers. The powder blue shambles that used to be Nicholson Maytag. The Vernia Monument company’s decrepit rear annex and filthy back yard.
Folks, the view may not be representative, but it’s what we provide to visitors traveling from Louisville. At least in summer, the greenery softens the impact, but year-round, it is an exceedingly poor introduction to New Albany.
We certainly missed a few, so please, feel free to comment.
5.)Coyle Dodge & old Frisch’s building
ReplyDelete4.)M. Fines Building on Main St.
3.)Former Sillings Buick building on Charlestown Rd.
2.)Old Redbird Gas Station on Main Street
1.)Andreas Enterprises (old Lang Wrecker property)
As a burgeoning design geek, I'd actually suggest that the sheet metal building should be removed from the list.
ReplyDeleteWhile it's unfortunate that a historical facade was covered to produce it, it at least shows some semblance of architectural significance and an attempt at design-informed vision. When viewed through a mid-century modernist lens, it's actually kind of cool, though arguably out of place.
I would add to the list, however, the former Cohns shoe store (stucco??!?) and the White House building. If that's DNA's take on rehabilitation as touted on their web site, we should all be very worried.
While a cooperative city/university effort has been discussed for web development, why not consider it for architecture and planning? The Urban Design Studio at U of L might be a good place to start.
Below is an an article excerpt from U of L Magazine:
In the field of urban planning, a dynamic partnership between U of L and Louisville Metro involves a third collaborator—the University of Kentucky. The three are colleagues in the Urban Design Studio, which serves as a laboratory for graduate students in urban planning at the two universities and as a creative resource for the city.
The studio, located in downtown Louisville at South Third Street and Muhammad Ali Boulevard, opened in January 2000 under the auspices of U of L's College of Business and Public Administration (CBPA). Steve Bourassa, chair of the CBPA's urban and public affairs school, directs it.
The studio, he says, grew out of mutual need.
“UK wanted a presence in Louisville for its urban design students because, although they have a studio in Lexington, they thought Louisville's size would offer more interesting challenges,” Bourassa explains. “At the same time, we were setting up our master's in urban planning program and wanted to have a laboratory venue for students. The city liked the idea of getting planning assistance without spending much money.”
Charles Cash, Louisville Metro's director of planning and design, played a key part in the studio's startup. “It grew out of a discussion when I was president of the American Institute of Architects,” he recalls.
The group wanted to have more influence on U of L's architecture and planning and Cash, a graduate of Clemson University's architectural program, was familiar with the design studios Clemson had set up in South Carolina. He thought something similar would be good for Louisville, too. So he suggested that the city, then led by Mayor David Armstrong, help fund such a studio.
To date, the students—who specialize in either land use and environmental planning, administration of planning organizations or spatial analysis for planning—have tackled a number of projects for Louisville as part of their coursework.
“One of the first studio classes we taught dealt with the problem of relocating about 500 Phoenix Hill residents who were being displaced by the Clarksdale housing project,” Bourassa says. “U of L students have also looked at issues in creating a Landmark Preservation area in Butchertown and studied the Ninth Street corridor in search of ways to make less of a barrier between downtown and the West End.”
At the same time, Bourassa adds, UK students have tackled parking issues along Bardstown Road, created a plan to redevelop an unused industrial site near Ninth Street and designed fill-in housing for Louisville's older neighborhoods. (“Fill-in” houses are new homes built on vacant lots in older neighborhoods that are designed to blend in with the surrounding architecture.)
Future plans call for U of L students to examine a commercial strip in one of Louisville's suburban areas—such as Dixie or Preston Highway—and devise ways to make the area more aesthetically appealing. Cash adds that there are many opportunities for students to play a role in the city's various neighborhood development plans, too.
Classes jointly taught by U of L and UK professors also are in the works.
Students consult with city organizers throughout each project as well as with community groups, Bourassa says, which adds to the learning experience. The city also uses the studio as a site for workshops and other urban planning related activities.
“For our part,” says Cash, “the city considers the studio a valuable creative think tank. It provides a forum for discussion on everything from landscaping and environmental issues to parking problems, the development and redevelopment of urban housing and more. It’s a great opportunity for a variety of disciplines to work together on real-life situations in a real-life environment.”
Area businesses are showing their support for the studio. One of the major supporters for this group is Brown-Forman Corp., which recently donated $500,000 to the studio to fund a visiting professor in architecture. Michael Rotondi, an award-winning architect and co-founder of RoTo Architecture, Los Angeles, currently fills that post.
Bluegill: Thanks for the information on the Urban Design Studio, as I was entirely unaware of the project.
ReplyDeleteHope this helps!
ReplyDeleteThe big silver building on Pearl Street is part of Benjamin Empire, The Fashion Shop and Shop and Save stores. They also own the old Grants building corner of Pearl and Spring, now promoting the new and improved Pigusus! Rumor has it, when the lease is up at the store at New Albany Plaza the store will return to that location, in the mean time it along with the store in 200 block are used to warehouse fixtures and such, also in violation of city code!
The old Cohn Shoe store is now owned by attorney Stephen J. Beardsley, who is in process of renovation the space above into very nice apartments. Mr. Beardsley plans on total removal of the facade, and replacing it with columns very similar to the façade next to Federal Hill Café.
Now as far as the White House, you have to remember it was done on a shoe string budget, single pane windows for me has been the biggest headache, hard to cool in the summer, and hard to heat in the winter, but we get by!
I and several other business owners would like to see the awning over the old Irion and Wolfe Jewelry store repaired. Owner, Todd Coleman, purchased the building and was to open a diner type restaurant. He did a lot of improvement to the inside, installed all the fixtures, fryers and grills, but then just shut down and has not attempted to open it. It is for sale, and ready to go!
I to wonder about the outside signs from Budweiser, with Von’s right on the corner, I have seen signs tied to city street poles from their building, doubt that this is legal, but then who enforces such ordnances? I hear the city is trying to get an ordnance enforcement officer, but I am under the impression that is for enforcement of rental slumlords.
At the last BPW meeting, Brent Cox, of PC Building and Lumber proposed making the 400 block of West Second Street (now Scribner Drive) and West First Street one-way North, forcing traffic exiting into New Albany to go to State Street before a right-hand turn could be made. Thus forcing the traffic closer to downtown area, the reply from the board, they would take it under advisement, first they would have to determine who owned First and Second streets, were they the responsibility of the City, County or even the State. (Note: I have never seen a state or county salt truck on either of the two streets in question!)
Rick, many thanks for the information. You are indeed the conduit for the scoop.
ReplyDeleteI was told that Maria, whose restaurant Greek Paradise formerly was located on Frankfort Ave. (before that Story Ave.) looked at the space you described as being equipped for a restaurant but never used.
If you know anything else about this space, could you e-mail me privately at roger@potablecurmudgeon.com? I'd love to see it, but I don't think I know Todd.
Another potentially interesting contact for urban revitalization would be Louisville architect and UK prof Mark O'Bryan. I met Mark briefly on a Habitat for Humanity sponsored architectural tour in Louisville several months ago.
ReplyDeleteWe had a good conversation about renovating old houses/buildings for new uses.
I'm not sure of his level of involvement with the Urban Design Studio, but he has had students work on plans to revitalize west Louisville neighborhoods.
U of L has a Center for Sustainable Urban Neighborhoods that might be worth contacting. Joe Renwick at IUS also recently hosted a symposium on urban sprawl and sustainable development.
Thanks, Rick, for the information. I understand that the White House project was subject to severe budget constraints but there still seems to have been a strong urge to cover rather than uncover and the end result is bland and uninteresting.
As far as I know, vision is still free and I recently heard from a local architect that they gave up on plans to volunteer at DNA out of sheer frustration. Having seen and enjoyed some of the architect's work, that's seriously disheartening.
The idea of Greek Paradise in NA, however, is cause for Pavlovian inspired chin wiping. I don't know Maria, but you can tell her that she can add at least to more regulars to her list of potential customers.