Mid-century modern building is worth saving

In late October, the Blue Grass Trust for Historic Preservation took the unusual step of asking the Fayette Circuit Court to overturn what we believe is an incorrect and precedent-setting decision to allow demolition of a functional and contributing building in a local historic district.

The BGT, founded in 1955, is a non-profit advocate for historic preservation that strives to protect, revitalize and promote the special historic places in our community to enhance the quality of life for future generations. The BGT supports urban infill and adaptive reuse. We support rules and regulations that are well established and designed to guide a decision process that steps back from the emotions that often accompany an attack on a historic structure.

The Commonwealth Building at 120 West High in Lexington, located at the corner of West High and South Upper streets, lies within the South Hill local historic district, or H-1, which gives buildings certain protections against inappropriate changes and against demolition, which may “only be an action of last resort.” It was a state office building, designed by architect Thomas Page Edwards and built in 1956, and is now a commercial structure in the increasingly threatened mid-century modern style.

Mid-century modern as a style is a product of the cultural shift in design that has its roots in the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, was spread in Europe and the United States through the Bauhaus design movement, and climaxed following World War II. It is part of our history.

Many are less than enchanted with mid-century modern architecture, viewing it as “ugly.” But as the BGT’s attorney has pointed out “Within the inevitable cycles of taste, (the public) tend(s) to view the architecture of the recent past with disdain, while admiring that of the distant past.”

The H-1 restrictions for South Hill had been in place for decades when, last year, Central Dealers, LLC purchased the two-story Commonwealth Building. At their request, on Aug. 22, 2018, the Board of Architectural Review (BOAR) voted to allow the building to be torn down and replaced by a four-story apartment building. On Oct. 25, the Urban County Planning Commission voted to support the demolition.

Specific and long-established rules and procedures must be met for building demolitions in the 17 areas of Lexington covered by H-1 historic overlays. The BGT feels strongly that the decisions made by the BOAR and the Planning Commission are in error, and thus have appealed to the Fayette Circuit Court, for the sake of the Commonwealth Building and, just as importantly, for the future of properties in all of our local historic districts.

Both the BOAR and the Planning Commission must consider whether the building is significant, or “contributing,” to the rest of the historic district or whether not approving the demolition would constitute a taking. To the latter point, it isn’t a taking because the building was already part of an H-1 district zoning when it was purchased.

Is it “contributing” to the H-1? The staff of the city’s Historic Preservation Office clearly believes it is, as does the State Historic Preservation Office and the BGT. In a letter to the BOAR and the Planning Commission, the city’s preservation staff said, “Its mid-century simplicity, scale and mass is compatible with other historic buildings and the streetscape in the South Hill Historic District.”

South Hill also is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Kentucky Heritage Council and its State Historic Preservation Office oversee the National Register of Historic Places program in Kentucky. It determined that 120 West High Street is eligible for inclusion on the National Register as a contributing resource of the historic district.

We were surprised when the applicant, another entity affiliated with the property owner, requested permission to demolish a protected property. Further, not once during the hearings was an attempt made by the applicant to present a plan to adapt this structure for residential or commercial use.

If these decisions stand, the next time a developer sees a building for sale in a historic district — be it a plain vernacular cottage, a highly detailed but perhaps dilapidated Queen Anne or, yes, even a mid-century modern — there will be a precedent to follow on how to get around the rules to get rid of it.