Downtown – Maysville, Kentucky
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Maysville owes its success to a location at the confluence of the Ohio River and Limestone Creek. As city/" class="glossaryLink" data-cmtooltip="1bb14b1aa6022028057269551c15df6d" target="_blank" >the city grew this provided a valuable transportation route for products to come in and for farm and later for manufactured goods to go out. It is an important ceiling-medallion/" class="glossaryLink" data-cmtooltip="557374c3eebbede5d82414433d1f21e7" target="_blank" >center for burley tobacco, manufacture of power transmission products and automotive seat covers. Maysville Community College opened in 1968. Blue Licks Battlefield State Park, which preserves the site of a skirmish in August 1782 is about 25 miles southwest. The downtown is defined by a concentration of multistory buildings, mostly of brick with widely varying detailing and styles.
heading">Limestone Square
John Heiser constructed the European Hotel in 1879. The Roseman Brothers converted the European Hotel into a dry goods store called the “Bee Hive” in 1894. Three Merz brohters: Mitland, Louis and Eugene purchased the Bee Hive in 1901 and operated a department store until 1968. They had enlarged, and opened a Market Street entrance in 1914. Kline’s of New York was the next tenant from 1968 when they moved to the old Motgomery Ward location in 1982. Limestone Square opened as an enclosed mall on July 4, 1983 and is owned by local businessman A.J. Toncray.
Bank of Maysville
The Bank of Maysville borrow from the classical language of architecture to construct what is essentially a small temple with large porticos on either side serving as a drive thoughs.
William G. Kenton
William G. Kenton (1941-1981) was a Maysville native who was elected to the Kentucky House for the first time in 1969. He became the Speaker in 1976 at age 34 and served until his death. Achievements included leading the legislative independence movement and increasing public participation in government. His legislative service continued a tradition of grandfather W.T. and great-grandfather Eldridge Kenton. A marker recognizing him is in front of the High School Auditorium that has a very unique stacked brick design.
The Cox Building
The Cox Building is a Richardsonian Romanesque structure at the bead/" class="glossaryLink" data-cmtooltip="578cb1a0f618c79c0949cc78c076b63f" target="_blank" >corner of Third and Market Streets. Originally it was built as the Masonic Temple in 1886. The City of Maysville purchased the building in 2006 for $200,000. The roof, fourth, and fifth floors were destroyed by fire on November 9, 2010. A restoraiton was undertaken and work completed in September 2012. The corner turreted tower can be seen in the far right of the photo above. Also evident in this picture are the diverse building scales and sizes from modest two story buildings with slight dimensions, to much larger multiple-story buildings.
These before and after photos show the partially destroyed building and the results following the restoration. Fortunately the glass-2/" class="glossaryLink" data-cmtooltip="cbfd3ff12570ffc0655b043957746a42" target="_blank" >stained-glass/" class="glossaryLink" data-cmtooltip="91fa2b8b6389fb5175c971da91b4c6f2" target="_blank" >stained glass windows survived the fire and were preserved.
At a far end in the same room is a mural showing two nights jousting.
Russell Theatre
The Russell Theatre is one of the few remaining atmospheric theaters in the U.S. Construction of the theater was announced by Maysville businessman Col. J. Russell Barbour in 1828. The structure cost $125,000 and opened on December 4, 1930. The three-story building features a Spanish-revival-style/" class="glossaryLink" data-cmtooltip="2d22ce4befca374254c1abd49f2842d5" target="_blank" >Moorish Revival style with a tower on either end of the principal facade. The box-office/" class="glossaryLink" data-cmtooltip="677fd3c0a0c3398d26819cfcec580839" target="_blank" >box office is finished in Rookwood tile. While constructed as a movie theater, the Russell also had dressing rooms for live performances and an orchestra-pit/" class="glossaryLink" data-cmtooltip="e11f80245b3d69cecfe3b6b2daf3b5fa" target="_blank" >orchestra pit. The aduitorium is decorated as a Mediterranean garden complete with Lombardy poplar and literary busts set into wall niches. A rainbow would appear over the stage at the end of each movie.
Col. Russell operated the theater until 1935, at which time it was turned over to the Schine group. Rosemary Clooney’s world premier of The Stars are Singing took place here in 1953. The Panther Group took over operations in the 1970s and repainted much of the decoration in bright primary colors. They operated the theater until 1983. Subsequently the building was used as a restaurant, a used furniture store, a secondhand clothing store, and a newspaper utility building before its closure. After being abandoned a section of roof was ripped off and the damage was not immediately repaired. In 1995 a committee was formed to repair the building.
Bay House
The Bay House is a business in an attractive three-story building in Maysville, Kentucky. The date at the top of the building says 1871. Pilasters run from the second through the top of the third floor. They terminate in a heavy cornice with dentils and brackets. The ground-floor/" class="glossaryLink" data-cmtooltip="0bd3e9a7406c0906583ae59b501af8e8" target="_blank" >ground floor level has a round arch pediment over the central entrance. Display windows are to either side connecting inside spaces with the street and sidewalk.
Washington Opera House
This two-and-a-half story structure has buff brick trimmmed with red-brick/" class="glossaryLink" data-cmtooltip="e36769b328e0c816ecb518ba5612874a" target="_blank" >red brick, stone, and cast-iron/" class="glossaryLink" data-cmtooltip="cfba752128a7d7c79888bce1acdf2955" target="_blank" >cast iron. When The Opera House was destroyed by fire in 1898, the Washington Fire Company, organized five decades before the fire, decided to rebuild the house/" class="glossaryLink" data-cmtooltip="5052e77b6bc1bbab3dbd1fb66994a36b" target="_blank" >opera house at a cost of $24,000. Famous artists who performed here include Marguerite Clark, Tom Mix, John L. Sullivan, and John Philip Sousa with his band. The theater is home to the Maysville Players.
9 W 2nd St
The red brick building at 9 W 2nd St has name plaques that say Nelson over one storefront and Perrine over the other. A small date-stone-2/" class="glossaryLink" data-cmtooltip="8c818f0bafdd3322a6fe417f0942df77" target="_blank" >date stone is between them with the year 1903 which is likely when the building was constructed. The second floor has a large round arched-window/" class="glossaryLink" data-cmtooltip="5ffcea251c492ecc3e116816852e51f6" target="_blank" >arched window, with the central portion being double-hung-2/" class="glossaryLink" data-cmtooltip="744e5c0f5b3e19fdbf9b6bed48889765" target="_blank" >double hung while the sides are mullioned. Stone trim accents the round arch windows and the sills. The attic story has a row of three rectangular buildings. Brick corbelling and a bracketed cornice are above this.
W 2nd St Pocket Park
12/2013-08-21-16.49.21.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-59340" srcset="https://isaackremer.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/2013-08-21-16.49.21.jpg 640w, https://isaackremer.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/2013-08-21-16.49.21-300x225.jpg 300w, https://isaackremer.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/2013-08-21-16.49.21-400x300.jpg 400w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" />This pocket park in Maysville, Kentucky has many worthwhile individual elements that do not come together into a unified whole. A stage, seating, and plantings are all very positive. What is needed here is less concrete, more lighting, possibly some art/" class="glossaryLink" data-cmtooltip="3b5d524e702b20f6df3a51c47d8d5cb1" target="_blank" >public art, maybe a water feature, and the addition of movable chairs. Then this pocket park has the potential to take on some new liveliness. Given the fact that Maysville is a river town on the border of Ohio and Kentucky – vacant space to develop is at a premium. This lot was clearly too small in order to facilitate the sort of scale of development seen elsewhere in Mayville.
As a park it connects awkwardly with the buildings next to it. The more modern building to the left avoids looking out on to the park altogether with four square windows at a second floor level (though has an excellent blank wall to support a mural). To the right is what appears to be an enclosed staircase or some buttress on the side of a larger building that was redeveloped. This is evident due to the small balconies to the rear.
More could be done to integrate this space with the environment that surrounds it. There are some trees on this site though not enough. Lastly, the front of the park facing W 2nd St needs a better defined edge rather than being wide open to the street. See our post on broken_link">Paley Park for comparison.
The former Montgomery Ward building in Maysville has a facade with Art Deco elements, and large display windows with transom-lights/" class="glossaryLink" data-cmtooltip="77ccbbb409b21f8b3266dedf2fd57f34" target="_blank" >transom lights overhead. Montgomery Ward operated as a mail-order business and department store chain from 1872 to 2001.
Lasting Impressions Salon & Spa is in another handsome brick building with large display windows a soaring transom windows overhead. This is a design standard in Maysville repeated in several places and contribute to a sense of historic-character/" class="glossaryLink" data-cmtooltip="f165f2dd6424ed63afa647e6b9340c0b" target="_blank" >historic character and uniqueness. A small seating area with fencing on two sides creates a place for customers, staff, or both to sit outside and enjoy the public space. The fence signals, however, that this area is primarily for the use of people in this building.
Next door to the salon is another seating area that partially screens a surface parking-lot/" class="glossaryLink" data-cmtooltip="015f75eb4090904e6f535eb738aa9c4c" target="_blank" >parking lot. The brick wall with metal false-railing/" class="glossaryLink" data-cmtooltip="f433d278af70f07566345c5c198ace18" target="_blank" >railing to the rear gives a structure for some plantings to hang on. A bench is situated here with a shade overhead to give protection from the elements. Finally, planters on the sidewalk to either side make this a lush and welcoming oasis. Features like this make places more lovable, and easier for people to walk.
The elaborated carved brackets and turned posts, and railing on this porch make it stand out from other buildings on the block.
French Quarter Inn
During our stay at the French Quarter Inn we had an opportunity to see the riverfront view, both during the night and the day. The bridge over the Ohio River connects Kentucky with Ohio. Photos don’t give justice to what a beautiful site this was to see.
