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The Kirkpatrick & Co Blog
Historic Homes
Magdalen Harvey McDowell | Bluegrass Architects to Know
“In a day woman’s sphere was thought to be confined to the drawing room, the kitchen and the nursery, [she] sought an outlet for her genius in painting, architecture, kindred activities.” Obituary, The Lexington Herald
As a young woman in Louisville
Born in Fincastle, Virginia in 1829, Magdalen Harvey McDowell was a [...]
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July 9, 2024
Keene, Kentucky | Historic Bluegrass Hamlet
This small hamlet in Jessamine County was first known as “North Liberty.” It was later renamed “Keene” when several Keene, New Hampshire residents moved there. The vibrant community quickly grew to include a grist mill, hemp factory & rope walks, tailor, hatter & more.
19th century Business Directory Map of Keene, [...]
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May 14, 2024
Herman L. Rowe | Bluegrass Architects to Know
1839-1913
Herman Rau was born in Genoa but educated in his homeland, Germany. After completing his degree in Stuttgart, he made his way to Chicago, anglicizing his name to “Rowe” and meeting his wife, Nellie.
Rowe was invited to supervise the building of “Old Main” at what is now the University of [...]
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May 9, 2024
Martin Geertz | Bluegrass Architects to Know
Martin Geertz 1854-1946
Largely forgotten, the architect Martin Geertz’s handiwork has outlived his legacy in the Bluegrass. Some of his works have even been misattributed in recent years. Arriving in Lexington, Kentucky in the 1870s, Geertz quickly developed a reputation for his versatility, designing buildings including “apartment flats”, lovely estates, cottages, [...]
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April 8, 2024
Paint the Town Chinese Vermillion! Vibrant Historic Paint Colors in Lexington
The Colorful Bluegrass
We’ve always known Lexington, Kentucky is a colorful place to live. We were surprised to find how literally true that was all along. From the earliest days in the “Athens of the West,” residents were enlivening their walls with punchy colors of paint.
Chinese Vermillion. Prussian Blue. Patent Yellow. [...]
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March 7, 2024
Thomas Lewinski | Bluegrass Architects to Know
When Thomas Lewinski arrived in Lexington in 1842, he was among the first professional architects in the region that included Gideon Shryock & John McMurtry. Born in London to a Polish father and English mother, Lewinski had pursued the priesthood before finding he was more suited to military life. The [...]
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February 26, 2024
Meet Alfred Cohen, Famed Bluegrass Muralist
Above, a young Martha Stewart trying her hand at painting a mural at her historic Turkey Hill farm
When marketing a historic home, we are always interested in a home’s decorative details. We document all the unique features as we help our clients seek a new steward. One detail we [...]
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February 18, 2024
Premium $1M+ Home Sales in Lexington, KY 2023
While the United States luxury real estate market at large floundered in 2023, Lexington, Kentucky’s premium market did not. 90 residential properties over $1M closed in Fayette County in 2023. Perhaps unsurprisingly, 43% of these transactions were cash, making them less effected by current interest rate conditions.
Also remarkable? 56% sold [...]
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January 4, 2024
Robert McMeekin | Bluegrass Architects to Know
Born on his family’s farm near Armstrong Mill, Robert Ward McMeekin’s forebears had received a land grant from the Virginia Commonwealth before Kentucky’s establishment in 1792. His pride in his homeland is imbued in his work. “I’ve always been preoccupied with the beauty and gracious lifestyle” of the Bluegrass, McMeekin [...]
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December 7, 2023
Vertner Woodson Tandy | Bluegrass Architects to Know
Vertner Woodson Tandy 1887-1949
Perhaps the most famous Black architect hailing from Kentucky never practiced here, yet his family’s legacy bears a lasting mark on Lexington. Vertner Woodson Tandy was born in Lexington to Henry and Emma Tandy in 1887.
Henry Tandy, formerly enslaved in Estill County, was a skillful mason who [...]
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October 31, 2023