While on a road trip to Louisville, I took a short detour through Cynthiana, Kentucky. It was afternoon of Halloween. Most of the houses were decorated for Halloween, but not this one. They skipped directly to Christmas decorations. I was amused that the owners of this 1950s bungalow had already adorned their home with wreaths, manger, and a gingerbread house.
The Ouerbacker-Clement House, located at 1633 West Jefferson Street in Louisville’s Russell neighborhood, is a historic mansion built in 1860 in the Richardsonian-Romanesque style. Originally owned by George Moore and later by steamboat captain Alexander Gilmore, the home was expanded in the 1890s by renowned architects Arthur Loomis and Charles Clarke.
Over the years, it housed local figures such as Samuel Ouerbacker, a coffee merchant, and Reverend George Clement and his son Rufus Clement, who later became the president of Atlanta University, now known as Clark Atlanta University.
Eventually the mansion served as a tax service office for 70 years until the city seized the property for unpaid taxes. The property languished until the city sold it for $1 in 2014. The company that purchased it restored and converted into six apartments.
In 1816, local developer and industrialist John Armstrong constructed the homes known as Mechanic’s Row, which are now celebrated as some of Kentucky’s finest examples of New Orleans-inspired architecture. The name “Mechanic’s Row” reflects the trades of the early residents, skilled craftsmen and merchants, who once lived there.
Tax records indicate the home was built in 1822. I cannot locate additional information on the house at the moment.
