Historic Preservation Commission Minutes 2009 07 20

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Historic Preservation Commission Meeting Minutes July 20, 2009 Page 2 of 9 The Acme Place Subdivision was originally platted in 1888. John Connel, the original developer of Acme Place Subdivision, was an agent for the United Pacific Railroad Company, and was also believed to be involved in the establishment of the Acme Mine. There were numerous owners of the home between 1894 and 1940; most of these residents held jobs typical to small towns at the time including working at local mercantile stores, a miner, and a railroad worker. Christopher Hutchinson, the first owner, was a miner and immigrant from England. The families of Steve Melick and William Scrano owned the home from 1902 to 1918. They were both immigrants to this area (Melick was from Eastern Europe and Scrano was from Italy). The families of Wintle and Koeppler owned the home from 1918 to 1940. From 1940 to 1971, the Rossman family owned the house. McCartney stated, to the best of his knowledge, the original structure is still intact in its original location, the home has cultural significance as it is a style particularly associated with Louisville and represents the built environment of the coal miners, and the windows appear to be in their original location. Because of this, staff recommends the HPC place a stay on the permit. Staff also recommends that the HPC try to work with the applicant to maintain the façade of the home and build an addition on the rear thus maintaining the historic character of the street facing façade. McCartney did recommend the permit on the garage be released as there is no information on the age or history of the building. Whiteman asked for the applicant presentation. Andy Johnson, the architect for the property owners, gave a presentation regarding the structure. Johnson stated there was a complete site review, where holes were made into the siding to determine where the original structure might be located. It was determined that the original structure was 14.5 feet by 28 feet. Johnson also stated it did not appear the existing structure retained the historical windows or doors. Johnson continued to explain how he and the owners would design the new residential structure:  Preserve the historical structure, remove the non-historic additions, reuse the historic structure on site as a studio or carriage house (most likely in the rear)  Deconstruct the garage, recycle as many of the building materials as possible  New structure will be low energy  Maintain existing trees Whiteman asked if there were any public comments. David King, 601 Lincoln Avenue, commented that he was happy the garage was going to be removed because it is an eyesore and cuts off his southern exposure