City Council Minutes 2012 11 20 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes November 20, 2012 Page 5 of 15 Guenzi from 1907-2012. The Guenzi family, Henry and Josephine, bought the lots in 1907 and built the house in 1908. Henry worked as a coal miner, and died in the influenza epidemic of 1918. Josephine lived in the house until her death in 1963, where she ran a small business of dressmaking and hemstitching. The couple had three children: Jennie, Carl, and Edith. Jennie worked for the Louisville Telephone Exchange, eventually becoming manager. Carl worked as a hoisting engineer at the Hi-Way Mine before he moved to 913 Jefferson, where he started Carl's Electric. Edith worked for Mountain Bell, and took over 1036 Walnut upon her mother's death. She continued to own the house until her death in 2011 at age 100. The house was constructed around 1908 and has received at least one addition between 1908 and the 1948 property assessment. The current form is similar to the 1948 photo. The unique mix of hipped and gabled rooflines is intact, and the footprint looks to be the same. The original siding and shingles have been replaced. The east facing windows appear to be original. The north facing façade has seen one window removed and the others shrunk since 1948. The vinyl and steel awning over the front door along with the swamp cooler on the roof are also not original. Overall, the house lacks significant architectural details and does not represent a distinctive style. The City Council may exempt a landmark from the age standard if it is found to be exceptionally important in other significance criteria. The property's long association with the Guenzi family lends it some social significance, considering their Italian heritage, association with coal mining, Josephine's status as an early small businesswoman, and their long ownership. However, no one in the family was integral to the early development of Louisville or otherwise particularly significant. Approving this structure as a local landmark would make it eligible for the $1,000 signing incentive, $900 Building Assessment grant, a $5,000 Preservation and Restoration incentive, and future restoration grants of up to $15,000 available in the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF). All grant requests must be reviewed by the Historical Preservation Commission (HPC) and approved by the City Council. The HPC held public hearings on the application on September 17 and October 15, 2012 and voted 4-1 to recommend approval of the landmark application to City Council. The HPC determined the application represented a built environment of a group of people in an era of history culturally significant to Louisville because it was built by immigrant miners. The HPC also determined the property had social significance because of its association of more than 100 years with the Guenzi family. Staff recommended denial of Resolution No. 76, Series 2012, because additions and remodels no longer represent the built environment of early immigrant miners and no one in the family was integral to the early development of Louisville. APPLICANT PRESENTATION