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The Portland Anchor - September 2018

The Portland Anchor newspaper is the property of Anchor Publications, Inc and is reproduced with permission of Anchor Publications, Inc.

 

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The Portland Anchor - August 2018

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The Portland Anchor - July 2018

The Portland Anchor newspaper is the property of Anchor Publications, Inc and is reproduced with permission of Anchor Publications, Inc.

 

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Love City Opens new Incubator and Porkland restaurant

It has been a busy spring for Love City Inc. Love City renovated the gym in the Mackin building, hosting a grand opening ceremony for the neighborhood in March, then in May the Social Impact Incubator opened giving neighbors access to free high speed internet and a host of upcoming business, technology and entrepreneurship classes. Also in March Love City opened Porkland BBQ. Originally open only Wednesday through Saturday, on June 4 Porkland opened 6 days a week from Monday - Saturday. All proceeds from the restaurant go back into programs for the community. Come join us for some BBQ or fish and share some love!

https://www.porklandbbq.com/

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Portland Festival Pics

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The Portland Anchor - June 2018

The Portland Anchor newspaper is the property of Anchor Publications, Inc and is reproduced with permission of Anchor Publications, Inc.

 

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The Portland Anchor - May 2018

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The Portland Anchor - April 2018

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The Portland Anchor - March 2018

The Portland Anchor newspaper is the property of Anchor Publications, Inc and is reproduced with permission of Anchor Publications, Inc.

 

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Rezoning application submitted for 3200 Rudd Avenue

Bruce Cohen, of BC Plumbing (http://www.bcplumbing.net/) has recently purchased the vacant property @ 3200 Rudd Ave from the Louisville Landbank to rehab.  

Built in 1886, the property’s original use was commercial on 1st floor and residential on the 2nd. By rezoning the property, the applicant would like to return it to that use. He is also nominating the property to the National Register of Historic Places.

 To view all documents submitted, please visit http://portal.louisvilleky.gov/codesandregs/permit/detail?type=ZONE&id=18ZONE1005. If you have questions about the plan itself, the applicant's contact information is with the documents submitted. If you have questions about the plan review process, please contact Planning & Design case manager Laura Mattingly at laura.mattingly@louisvilleky.gov or 574-8695

A community meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 13, 2018 at 6:30pm at the Portland Community Center, 640 N 27th St, Louisville, KY 40212.

Letter submitted by Bruce below:

January 25, 2018

To the Adjoining Property Owners, neighborhood group representatives expressing interest in
this area, and the Metro Councilperson for District 5, Cheri Hamilton:
Bruce Cohen plans to request a zoning change for 3200 Rudd Avenue, Louisville KY 40212.

------------------------------
In accordance with the procedures of Louisville Metro Planning and Design Services, I have
been directed to invite you to discuss this proposal before a formal application can be filed.

This will be an informal meeting to give you the opportunity to review the proposed change and discuss it with Bruce Cohen. The meeting will be held in addition to the public meeting
procedures of the Planning Commission and/or the Board of Zoning Adjustment.
The meeting to discuss this proposed change will be held:

Tuesday, February 13, 2018 at 6:30pm
Portland Community Center
640 N 27th St, Louisville, KY 40212
We encourage you to attend and share your thoughts.

Thank you,
Bruce Cohen

 

3200 Rudd.png

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The Portland Anchor - February 2018

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The Portland Anchor - January 2018

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The Portland Anchor - December 2017

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Portland's connection to America's Civil Rights history

Did you know that the corner of 37th and Pflanz marks an important Supreme Court case and a turning point for civil rights in America? Louisville (along with many other cities) had ordinances that forbade blacks from living and owning property in areas which were majority white, and vice versa. The 1917 Supreme Court case, "Buchanan v. Warley" struck those ordinances down across the nation. A historical marker will be dedicated on 11/29 @ 1pm at the corner of 37th and Pflanz Ave to mark an important piece of Portland's and America's history.

 

https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/245/60/case.html

 

https://www.citylab.com/equity/2017/11/breaking-the-backbone-of-segregation/544913/

 

http://www.scotusblog.com/2010/02/the-neglected-case-of-buchanan-v-warley/

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The Portland Anchor - November 2017

The Portland Anchor newspaper is the property of Anchor Publications, Inc and is reproduced with permission of Anchor Publications, Inc.

 

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The Portland Anchor - October 2017

The Portland Anchor newspaper is the property of Anchor Publications, Inc and is reproduced with permission of Anchor Publications, Inc.

 

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Titus Andronicus @ Louisville Visual Art Association

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Titus Andronicus @ Louisville Visual Art Association

The month of Halloween, Kentucky Shakespeare presents Shakespeare's bloodiest thriller, a gripping tale of horror in Louisville Visual Art's studio warehouse. Violent and experimental, TITUS was the smash hit of Shakespeare's early career and is written with a ghoulish energy he was never to repeat elsewhere. Join us for this sordid tale of revenge and political turmoil. 

October 4-31, 2017

at Louisville Visual Art
1538 Lytle Street, Louisville, KY 40203

Limited seating. 

Running time: 2 hours, including intermission.

House and Bar open 30 minutes before performance.

Recommended for mature audiences. (Due to subject matter, we recommend no one under 13. Teenagers please talk with parents regarding subject matter before attending. Contact us for content info at info@kyshakespeare.com.)

Purchase tickets @ http://titus2017.brownpapertickets.com/


Directed by Matt Wallace
Costumes by Donna Lawrence-Downs
Sound and Lights by Jason Weber
Fight Choreography by Eric Frantz
Edited by Dramaturg Gregory Maupin

Jon Becraft: Saturninus
Dathan Hooper: Aaron
Jon Huffman: Titus Andronicus
Tom Luce: Marcus Andronicus
Marc McHone: Quintus, Publius
Tony Milder: Lucius, Alarbus
Mollie Murk: Lavinia
Gracie Taylor: Martius, Nurse, Emillius
Jennifer Pennington: Tamora
Stephen Peterson: Demetrius
Daniel Price: Chiron
Kyle Ware: Bassianus, Goth
Maxwell Williams: Mutius, a Goth

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US Marine Hospital

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US Marine Hospital

This is a 7-part Instagram series on the US Marine Hospital, authored by Danny Seim. Enjoy!


Even though the US Marine hospital has already been featured multiple times in this feed, it still deserves more attention. The following is a seven-part miniseries devoted to this historic architectural cornerstone of our community. We'll start things off with some background info from the very informative www.marinehospital.org:

In 1837, Congress authorized the construction of the U.S. Marine Hospital in Louisville

“for the benefit of sick seamen, boatmen, and other navigators on the western rivers and lakes.”

By the 1840s, steamboats dominated river traffic and were the major factor in the growth and development of industry.

The hospital’s site, midway between the Louisville and Portland wharves, was selected for the

“beneficial effect of a view of the water, and the impressions and associations it would naturally awake in the minds of men whose occupation were so intimately connected with it.”

The boatmen served by the hospital worked difficult and dangerous jobs. Injuries due to engine or boiler explosions, wrecks, collisions with river snags and freight handling were common dangers. Exposure to extremes of temperature, from the sub-tropic heat of the Mississippi delta to frigid Great Lakes, claimed victims.

Diseases affecting the boatmen included yellow fever, cholera, smallpox and malaria. While docked in the rough port towns of the time, violence, alcoholism and social diseases sent many boatmen to the marine hospitals.

In the early days, 20 cents a month was withheld from their salaries to pay the boatmen’s share of their healthcare in marine hospitals, with the federal government also providing support. This was the first example of pre-paid health insurance in American history.

All classifications of river workers were eligible for treatment. Every mariner, including pilots, captains, cooks, pursers, engineers, stevedores, roustabouts and deckhands, were eligible for treatment and care. It is estimated that one-third of the patients were African Americans.

The Marine Hospital Service was the genesis of America’s modern health care system and is responsible for major improvements in research, hygiene and science-based medical treatment.


The building was designed by architectRobert Mills - a protégé of Thomas Jefferson - who designed the Washington Monument and several other prominent structures. It was a cutting-edge facility in the day, with indoor plumbing and an air circulation system that helped prevent infections.

Fresh air was as an important factor in the patient's recovery as the view of the Ohio River was. Large sleeping porches flank each floor of the hospital on both the front and back of the building. Many old photos exist of bedridden patients being attended to by the medical staff on these outdoor decks.

Nowadays, the view of river has been replaced by the view of I-64 cutting across the landscape. It's an unfortunate sign of the times, but it gives the hospital the distinction of being one of the first things motorists see when traveling into Louisville. Here's a view of modern traffic through yesteryear's ornate wrought-iron railing.


"The feature of the hospital which more than anything else reminds me of a ship is the cupola, which greatly resembles the pilothouse of a steamboat. It is made nearly entirely out of glass, and commands a magnificent view of the river and the city.

When an old boatman becomes convalescent after a long illness, he takes great pleasure in climbing the steps to this tower and watching the movements of the boats on the river. Some of them have been known to sit there for days, dreaming, smoking and thinking..."

- Louisville Times, October 1903

As with the outdoor decks and porches, the river scenery is obscured by the interstate these days. Still, it's a spectacular panoramic view nonetheless. The cupola and the hardwood spiral staircase leading up to it were completely restored a decade ago. Light pours in through the antique windows, and it's easy to imagine feeling rehabilitated up there.


The medical term "resident" originally referred to young physicians who completed their studies while living in America's early hospitals. From 1953 until 1974, the Marine Hospital was a home for local medical students who received room, board and small stipends to work with patients in the same building.

The old resident bedrooms make up much of the hospital's second floor. Here is the current state of one of the many small bathrooms.


Recognizing the need for a more modern facility and as an economic stimulus to provide jobs during the Great Depression, a new 100-bed facility was built behind the original Marine Hospital in 1933. The old hospital was converted into quarters for nurses, medical officers and pharmacists. When constructing the new facility - now known as Portland Family Health Center - a new boiler system serving both old and new hospitals was installed in the basement of the Marine Hospital. This decision helped preserve the original building by extending its usefulness.

This is the boiler room. Heavy sliding doors on two of the walls helped insulate the passages to the morgue, which was stocked weekly with bricks of ice to keep the corpses from decomposing.


Century-old embalming table

The basement morgue is the stuff horror film sets are made of. The stale air is thick with the weight of not only the decaying 25,000 square foot structure above, but also the weight of knowing what this specific area was once used for. The ceiling feels much lower than it actually is. All the light bulbs have long been either broken or burned out, and the only dim illumination comes from small windows high along the perimeter walls. The vast majority of the morgue is kept in perpetual darkness. Dust particles flicker wildly when a flashlight is turned on, and archaic medical equipment appears out of nowhere in the beam.

Regardless of this stereotypical haunted house setting, the atmosphere is more solemn than scary. Most of the patients who wound up down here came to the hospital hoping to eventually walk out the front doors on their own accord. Despite the expert care provided above, they somehow ended up below.


In 1997, the Marine Hospital was granted status as a National Historic Landmark, and in 2003, it was awarded "Save America's Treasures" status by the National Parks Service. The extensive exterior renovations began in 2004, returning the weathered, crumbling brick to its original painted grey, and reattaching the massive window shutters with their original antique hinges. A new roof was installed by the same workers who renovated the nearby McAlpine Locks, in 2009.

Here is one of the ground floor rooms that was restored and decorated to look like it did over a century ago, complete with a display case of antique whiskey bottles that were used as an anesthetic back in the day.

In closing, here's an excerpt from a recent piece on WDRB.com:

Because the outside is restored, Family Health Centers Executive Director Bill Wagner says many people believe the inside is in good shape, too.

"Little do they know, it's empty," said Wagner.

Though several proposals have been submitted to the general assembly, Wagner says attempts to make the inside look as good as the outside have failed.

"Up until now we just haven't been fortunate enough to raise the five to six million dollars we need to refinish the interior," said Wagner.

The latest proposal calls for a collaboration between Family Health Centers, JCTC and U of L to create a Center for Health Education and Training. However, Wagner says many private donors want to see public support first. "We're disappointed. We thought the building would be restored to use by now."

He says they are more than willing to consider other proposals if interest is shown.

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Then and Now:  Cedar Grove Court and Rudd Avenue

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Then and Now: Cedar Grove Court and Rudd Avenue

By Kate Leitner


Good Shepherd Catholic Parish http://goodshepherdchurch.us/  currently occupies the church on Rudd Avenue between 35th and 36th Streets.  This church was originally Notre Dame du Port, the Church of Our Lady.  This small Portland parish has overcome multiple instances of flood damage, as in the 1939 flood shown in the photo.  In June 2009, Good Shepherd was formed from the merger of Our Lady, St. Cecilia, and St. Anthony Parishes.

In 1971 the consolidated Community Catholic School was formed by combining Our Lady, St. Cecilia, and St. Anthony schools, and was in operation until 2003.  After the school closed, the Community Catholic Center http://communitycatholiccenter.org/ was formed to raise funds to provide Catholic education for the children in Portland.

Read more: https://www.archlou.org/parishes/good-shepherd-louisville/

The second photo shows Rudd Avenue in 1930, just north of Western Parkway (which is now called Northwestern Parkway).  A trolley on street car tracks can be seen in the middle of the road, and Our Lady Church can be seen to the left.

Photography Sources:

Our Lady Flooded 1939

ULPA CS 164420, Caufield & Shook Collection, Photographic Archives, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky.
http://digital.library.louisville.edu/cdm/ref/collection/cs/id/760">Flooded church, Louisville, Kentucky, 1939.

Current Photo by Danny Seim

Rudd Avenue 1930

ULPA MSD.045.009, Metropolitan Sewer Collection, 1981.03, Photographic Archives, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky.

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Then and Now: 20th and Portland Avenue

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Then and Now: 20th and Portland Avenue

by Kate Leitner


Investor Gil Holland, with the Portland Investment Initiative, has acquired the property at 20th and Portland Avenue.  The long-term plan includes a retail shop on the first floor, and there are great residential tenants currently using the space above.  In 1940, this building was the Louis Ellis Café, which served “Fortuna Whiskey and Hot Soup Day and Night.”

Photography Sources:

ULPA 2009.027.075,  Louisville Storefronts & Saloons Album, Photographic Archives, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky. http://digital.library.louisville.edu/cdm/ref/collection/storefronts/id/174

Current photo by Danny Seim

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