640 Main St - Blue Parrot Sign History

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For a Louisville Times article dated April 4, 1984, the Louisville Historical Commission (which had responsibility for historic preservation in Louisville before the creation of the Historic Preservation Commission) gave information about the significance of the original Blue Parrot building (which would later be destroyed by fire in 1988) and the neon sign: The Blue Parrot building, 640 Main Street, is significant because it housed the first full- fledged Italian restaurant in town. Mike Colacci, now deceased, was deeded the property in 1920 from Joe Huber who had previously used the building as a drugstore and bowling alley during the early I900's. Mike's son, Joe, and his family now own and operate the Blue Parrot and still own the building. The Blue Parrot building's hipped gambrel roof with false front represents a commercial design typical of small towns. The blue color of the building and the neon sign are part of Louisville's community character. In April 1988, a fire destroyed much of the building. Newspaper reports from the time stated that the cause was related to work being done on the roof. The following photo shows the fire in progress with the sign still intact: 6