See Beautiful Rock City atop Lookout Mountain

Only a small number of the barns remain which advertised Rock City, the famed tourist attraction atop Lookout Mountain. The painted part of the barn seen here was originally located along highway US31E/150 in Spencer County, KY. However, after a 2014 highway widening project meant the removal of this barn, it was preserved by the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.

Here is a newspaper article of the barn being preserved with some interesting photos:
www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2014/10/24/rock-...

Using the Google Street View history, here's where it originally was located.
www.google.com/maps/@38.001264,-85.4910179,3a,75y,168.33h...

Somehow, I managed to drive right past this barn in 2010 and didn't see it.

I'm not sure if I should count this one or not, but for now I will.
This is now one of 92 different Rock City Barns I have photographed and uploaded to Flickr in my Rock City Barns set. People often ask me how I've found so many of them. I have drawn from many resources such as books and web sites and sometimes luck, but there's not really one "go to" place to find them all. Well, now on my website, I have tried to create a one stop source for the locations of all of the barns I've been to. On my Map of Rock City Barns page, I have plotted each barn on a Map.

Caldwell County Courthouse - Princeton, KY

listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Princeton Downtown Commercial District. The most distinct feature of this Art Deco courthouse completed in 1940 are the reliefs of U.S. Presidents, one of which is visible in this view if you look at the original size.

Roxy Theater - Franklin, KY

I was fortunate that this classic car happened to drive by while I was here. From the comments I received, it's a 1937 Chevy 2-door sedan, which is perfect for the age of the theater.

The Roxy Theater is a Cinema in Franklin, KY which dates back to 1938. It operated as a theater until the 1960s when it was converted into municipal offices. In the last few years, the theater has been converted back into an event venue.

Old Federal Building at dusk - Richmond, KY

Completed in 1890, the Richardsonian Romanesque building was used as a post office and a federal district court. The four story building has a tall tower with an open belfry and clock-faced dormers on the steep pyramidal roof. The exterior is made from smooth and rusticated ashlar-cut stone.

Today, the building is named "Madison Hall of Justice" above the three entrance arches. The building also was once the Richmond City Hall. Sometimes, it has been called the McCreary Building after the former governor and then congressman who secured federal money for the building.

Cardinal Motel - Bowling Green, KY

This mom and pop motel in Bowling Green doesn't have an old fashioned neon sign, but instead has a Cardinal statue out front. It's located on Nashville Rd. (US31W/231)

Simpson County Courthouse - Franklin, KY

This brick building with stone trim featuring small porches and a clock tower was designed by the McDonald Brothers from Louisville. It has undergone extensive remodeling and updating, but remains basically the structure built in 1882 using a Late Victorian style. In 1962, wings were added to mimic the original style. About 25 years ago, the county built a new criminal justice center. This is one of those courthouses that used to be surrounded by mature trees, so you had to find creative views or see it in the winter. I was last here in 2008 and a tree that used to be right up to the building is now missing. The town square is located along highway U.S. 31W. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Oldest Courthouse West of the Appalachain Mountains

Old Green County Courthouse - Greensburg, KY
I've been told this is the oldest courthouse in America west of the Appalachians. It's certainly the oldest courthouse in Kentucky, built in 1804. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as "The Old Courthouse." It was in use for 135 years. Read the complete story in the National Register nomination form:
npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/1e4a06d1-0b9c-46b9-8d05-55920e...

Barbaro Memorial - Churchill Downs Museum

Barbaro won the 2006 Kentucky Derby by 6 1/2 lengths but then shattered at the Preakness. His struggle was the focus of national attention.

This bronze statue of Barbara and jockey Edgar Prado by local artist Alexa King was dedicated in 2009 in front of the Churchill Downs Museum. Barbaro's ashes are interred beneath the memorial.

What makes this statue unusual is the way Barbaro appears to be midair with all four feet off the ground. The 1500 pound sculpture is attached to the horizontal bronze rail.

Oliver & Oliver Law Offices neon sign - Berea, KY

Seen along US25 in Berea

Abraham Lincoln Bench - Western Kentucky University

Happy Presidents Day!

This bench with a statue of President Abraham Lincoln was placed on the Western Kentucky University campus in Bowling Green on Oct. 10, 2008. This was created by sculptor Gary Lee Price and you can read his thoughts about the statue here:
garyleeprice.com/product/abraham-lincoln/

Washington County Courthouse - Springfield, KY

I previously drove through here in 2006, and at the time it was still used as a courthouse. Since then, a new courthouse has opened across the street and this has become the Lincoln Legacy Museum.

According to plaques on the grounds, Abraham Lincoln was never certain his parents were married when he was born. In those days, that was a scandal which would have disqualified him from being President in the opinion of many voters. He hired investigators to find proof of their marriage, which did not happen before his assassination. Later in 1878, the marriage certificate was found in this courthouse.

Mare about the courthouse from Wikipedia:
The Washington County Courthouse in Springfield in Washington County, Kentucky is located on Springfield's Public Square, at Main at Lincoln Park Rd. It was built during 1814-15. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

It is a two-story brick courthouse, with brick laid in Flemish bond. Among other changes designed by architect Frank Brewer, it has an octagonal cupola added in 1840.

It is included as a contributing building in the Springfield Main Street Historic District.

Christian County Courthouse - Hopkinsville, KY

This Classical Revival style Courthouse was built in 1869. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Hopkinsville Commercial Historic District.

L&N 796 - Bowling Green, KY

While Bowling Green is a great place to see a Corvette, there's also a great locomotive to see. Louisville & Nashville #796 is at Bowling Green's Historic Railpark & Train Museum. Built in May 1951, this is one of about 450 General Motors EMD E8A models ever built.

Lincoln Memorial - Louisville Waterfront Park

The Lincoln Memorial at Waterfront Park features a 12′ statue of Lincoln seated on a rock and looking out over the river. The statue was created by Louisville artist Ed Hamilton and dedicated June 4, 2009 remembering the bicentennial of his birth. The memorial site, designed by world-renowned landscape architects Hargreaves Associates, is a tree-canopied landscape with an amphitheater that faces the river and provides a frame for the sculptural pieces. The face of the granite amphitheater seating is engraved with four famous Lincoln quotes, and the site is planted with a variety of trees, including several that were Lincoln favorites.

Heigold House facade - Louisville, KY

text of the historic marker:
Christian Heigold, a German immigrant and stonecutter, came to Louisville sometime prior to 1850, and in 1857 he built his home at 264 Marion Street in an area known as the Point.

This was a period of unrest and attacks on Irish and German immigrants, not long after the infamous Bloody Monday incident in 1855. In order to prove his patriotism and loyalty to America, he carved inscriptions and busts of American notables into the facade of the house. Among the incised mottos is one reading, "Hail to the City of Louisville." Heigold died shortly after the facade was completed in 1865, and his son Charles lived there until his death in 1925.

The Heigold house was one of only a few structures on the Point to survive the Great Flood of 1937, and the only one still inhabitable. The house survived until 1953 when the city purchased the property in order to expand the city dump.

Mayor Charles Farnsley saved the facade of the house from demolition by moving it to Thruston Park on River Road between Adams and Ohio streets. In June of 2007, the facade was moved to the entrance of historic Frankfort Avenue.

For more info: louisvilleky.com/louisville-uncovered-presents-the-heigol...



"Hail to Buchanan, now and forever"

Octagon Hall

According to the Historic Marker:
An antebellum landmark built by Andrew Jackson Caldwell, an ardent advocate of the southern cause. Many Confederate soldiers found shelter here. Bricks were made, wood cut and finished, stone was quarried on the place. The house erected by Caldwell and his men, has three floors, with four large rooms, a hall and stairway. Large basement provided hiding place.

This historic home is now open as a Civil War museum. It is located north of Franklin, KY along US31. Today, it is on the National Register of Historic Places. There are only four of these eight sided homes remaining in America.

In time for Halloween, it's also home of many ghost stories:
wkrn.com/2017/10/26/spirits-of-civil-war-soldiers-never-l...

www.kentuckytourism.com/octagon-hall-civil-war-museum/2216/

Hancock County Courthouse - Hawesville, KY

From Wikipedia:
The Hancock County Courthouse in Hawesville, Kentucky is an 1859-built courthouse which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

It is a two-and-a-half-story building, designed by a Robert Boyd of Boston, Massachusetts. It has an octagonal cupola.

Normally, I focus on Tennessee Courthouses. See my Tennessee Courthouses Collection. Each Courthouse is available as an individual post card, or you can buy a poster of all Middle Tennessee Courthouses.

See Beautiful Rock City

I've been trying to organize my notes on which Rock City barns I have seen, and I found this barn which I never uploaded. I took this photo 13 years ago, but never uploaded it because the lighting was awful.

According to google maps, it's still around today.
www.google.com/maps/@37.0968886,-86.0091815,3a,60y,267.36...
It's on highway US 31W visible to southbound traffic in Barren County between Cave City and Park City.

This is now one of 91 different Rock City Barns I have photographed and uploaded to Flickr in my Rock City Barns set. People often ask me how I've found so many of them. I have drawn from many resources such as books and web sites and sometimes luck, but there's not really one "go to" place to find them all. Well, now on my website, I have tried to create a one stop source for the locations of all of the barns I've been to. On my Map of Rock City Barns page, I have plotted each barn on a Map.

In the news: Lake Barkley Bridge demolished

Henry R. Lawrence Memorial Bridge
Also known as the Lake Barkley US68 Bridge in Trigg County, KY, this was built in 1932 to cross the Cumberland River. With the building of Barkley Dam in 1966, the river became Barkley Lake, so the bridge had to be raised and extended. The main through truss is about 320 feet long and the total length is 3,104 feet.

Here is some video of the crossing the three historic bridges at Land Between the Lakes:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsUjtvvqyNs

This bridge was demolished on April 11, 2018. You can see a news clip with video at this link.

Robert Penn Warren Birthplace Museum - Guthrie, KY

According to the marker:
Robert Penn Warren - 1905-1989
A native of Guthrie, Warren was one of the nation's most prolific writers, a world-renowned man of letters. Graduate of Vanderbilt Univ., summa cum laude, 1925; member of the Fugitives (writers group). Rhodes scholar at Oxford, 1928-1930; and twice a Guggenheim Fellow. He was professor of English at La. State, Minnesota, and Yale universities.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Penn_Warren