628 LaFarge Ave Historic Survey - Laserfiche WebLink

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Resource Number: 5BL920 Temporary Resource Number: 157508436002 American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. In 1993 the property was sold and its use was changed to a Dance School and Preschool. It was sold again in 2000, with its tenant being the Louisville Preschool, which occupies the facility today. The building's exterior has been modified over the years but its basic structural form remains intact. Two original brick chimneys visible in historic photographs no longer exist. Many window and door openings are no longer in their historic locations, but they were in their historic locations as recently as 1981. The handicap ramp and door were added in 1999. In 2000, the current masonite siding was installed over wood lap siding, which may not have been original. Also in 2000, the porch was added to the south side, and 8 windows and jambs were replaced. The siding is currently painted light gray -green, with simple wood trim painted dark green. The roof, originally shake shingles, has been replaced at least twice and is currently covered with light gray asphalt shingles. Historic soffits of painted wood bead board still exist. The west elevation now contains three single leaf, glass -in -wood frame doors. The north side of the building has no openings. The east elevation now has a glass -in -wood frame door to a wooden accessibility ramp at the north end, and one glass -in -wood door and two single -hung windows at the south end. The interior of the building does not retain its historic integrity. Presumably there were interior modifications to accommodate the fraternal and educational organizations, but there is little documentation of when each occurred. The City of Louisville Building Permit files contain a 1981 permit for repair to damage following a fire, accompanied a hand sketch of a floor plan from Fischer Construction Inc. Exterior openings shown on the 1981 existing floor plan seem to correspond with historic photographs of the depot building when it was in its historic location. Landscape or special setting description: Jefferson Place Subdivision is a historic residential neighborhood adjacent to downtown Louisville. The subdivision is laid out on a standard urban grid of narrow, deep lots with rear alleys. Houses are built to a fairly consistent setback line along the streets with small front lawns, deep rear yards and mature landscaping. Small, carefully maintained single-family residences predominate. Most of the houses are wood framed, one or one and one-half stories in height, featuring white or light-colored horizontal wood or steel siding, gabled or hipped asphalt shingled roofs and front porches. While many of the houses have been modified over the years, many character -defining features have been preserved. 628 LaFarge differs from other development in the subdivision due to its commercial use, its long street frontage, parking lot and outside play areas. The entire area around the school is fenced with a combination of 36" tall wood fencing and chain link fencing with wooden posts. The east half of the property contains an asphalt parking lot. A large play area with playground equipment and shade structures is located along the east side of the building. A gambrel -roofed storage shed is set southeast of the playground. There is a small outdoor play area within the fenced area along LaFarge. Outside the fence along the LaFarge Avenue frontage, there are numerous round concrete pavers inset with brightly colored marble insets and marked with children's handprints. These are signed and dated 2006 and were made by children at the preschool. More of these pavers were seen in front of other houses on this block. 9. Changes in Condition: None. 10. Changes to Location or Size Information: None. 11. Changes in Ownership: Same ownership as 2000 inventory form (628 La Farge Avenue LLC), but owner address is now 2390 Vassar Drive, Boulder, CO 80305. 12. Other Changes, Additions, or Observations: Further research has yielded new information about the history of 628 La Farge. Ownership and Use: Site The Commercial Hotel (no longer extant) was located immediately east of the subject property, on land now used as a parking lot. Commercial Hotel proprietor Ada Humphrey owned both the subject property and the hotel property. In 1909 she sold the subject property to the Pythian Castle Hall Association. In 1946, members of the Knights of Pythias fraternal organization poured the foundation that currently supports the existing relocated building. It appears that nothing further was done with the foundation until the 1960s, when the Knights of Pythias sold the property to the Louisville Lions Club and they moved the existing building onto the site. 2