Historic Preservation Commission Agenda and Packet 2024 09 16

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SUMMARY: The applicant requests a finding of probable cause for landmark designation to allow for funding of a historic structure assessment for 921 Main Street. Under Resolution No. 17, Series 2019, a property may be eligible for reimbursement for a historic structure assessment (HSA) from the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) if the Historic Preservation Commission finds "probable cause to believe the building may be eligible for landmarking under the criteria in section 15.36.050 of the Louisville Municipal Code." Further, "a finding of probable cause under this Section is solely for the purposes of action on the pre-landmarking building assessment grant request, and such finding shall not be binding upon the HPC, City Council or other party to a landmarking hearing." HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: Information from Bridget Bacon, Louisville Historical Museum and the PaleoWest "Stories in Places" residential context The history of 921 Main Street includes notable ownership by the Doeffler/Helburg Family and the Lippis Family during the early 1900s through the mid-1960s. The property was historically residential but has been commercial since the 1980s. Lewis Nawatny sold the property in 1879, just one year after he platted the town. The house is believed to have been constructed no later than 1893, as the house appears on the 1893 Sanborn map for Louisville. Multiple coal miners owned the property prior to 1902, each of whom only resided in the home for a couple of years. In 1902, Joseph Doeffler, a miner from Austria, purchased the house for his family. Doefller's son, Frank, became the proprietor of a Front Street saloon. Doeffler's daughter, Mary Doeffler, married Victor Helburg, the town marshal who was killed in 1915. The house was eventually sold to the Lippis family in 1944, and the house remained in the family until its eventual sale in 1962. Photographs donated to the Louisville Historical Museum by the Loraine Lippis Stengel family capture the house through nearly two decades, with notable features including a WWII star in the front window of one photo and a front yard tree that remains on the property today. Please see the attached Social History Report for a more detailed history.