Commission to discuss landmark status of buildings set for demolition
Pictured above is 223A Clay Street, one of the two properties set for both demolition and historical landmakr status. Photo by Haiden Hall.
LOUISVILLE — A city commission is meeting Oct. 17 to hear the community’s thoughts on the historical preservation of two buildings in Phoenix Hill that are set for demolition due to a Rabbit Hole Distillery expansion project.
The two buildings, 223A South Clay Street and 749 Jefferson Street, were built in the 1800s, and community members are looking to preserve them for their association with the history of German immigration in Louisville.
Histories of both buildings and their influence on the city are documented in Sept. 3 draft reports on the landmark designation proposals by the Historic Landmarks and Preservation Districts Commission, the office responsible for hosting Thursday’s public hearing.
The Clay Street property has had about 21 owners since 1835, with the structure being built around 1882. In its time, the building served as a home to 35 former tenants, whose occupations ranged from tailoring, to barkeeping, to Courier-Journal reporting.
Jeff & Clay, LLC, sold the property to Rabbit Hole Spirits, LLC, in June of 2022.
The 749 Jefferson Street property’s first deed listing was marked in 1885, with the building itself being constructed around 1866. The property has changed hands fewer times than the South Clay Street structure, with fewer than 10 owners documented.
In 1935, the Jefferson Street property housed several businesses: Selene’s Carmel Puffs, AmAce Coffee Co. and Pauline Candy Co.
Rabbit Hole purchased the property from Karl Phillip Roth, Jr. and Nan Kathleen Roth in September of 2022.
The buildings have been marked with a notice to demolish by Rabbit Hole Distillery, which owns all the buildings in the block of Clay, Jefferson, and Shelby streets. The clearing of the buildings would allow the distillery to expand its current land usage to include a loading dock for semi-trucks.
By adding a loading dock, the business is looking to reduce noise and truck idling in the area, according to a WDRB article published in May. Currently, semi-trucks loading and unloading at Rabbit Hole block traffic on Jefferson Street, which has recently changed from a one-way road to a two-way.
Plans for demolition of the buildings have halted while the city determines if the buildings should be preserved. The distillery is not currently providing any further information or comments on the subjects, a spokesperson for Rabbit Hole told me on Oct. 10.
The landmark designation process began after Kevin Dohn, who lives in the area, filed a petition to the city on July 10, 2024. The petition received 219 signatures from Louisville residents, with 104 of them residing in a one-mile area of the subject properties, according to the draft reports.
The Historic Landmarks and Preservation Districts Commission meeting will be held at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 17, either virtually or in person at the Old Jail Auditorium, 514 West Liberty Street. More information on the meeting can be found online at https://louisvilleky.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=18984.
