Downtown Paris Historic District

About this property

The Downtown Paris Historic District, in Paris, Kentucky, in Bourbon County, Kentucky, is a historic district which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. It was deemed significant as:the largest, richest, most varied and best-preserved concentration of historic architecture in Bourbon County from the period c. 1788 to 1940. Included within the district are a commercial area, an adjacent cluster of warehouse buildings, and a surrounding residential neighborhood. All of these discrete areas manifest a high degree of integrity with comparatively few intrusions, over one-and-a-half centuries of the city's architectural evolution are depicted by the district, which includes excellent representations of a remarkable variety of historic styles. Included are many fine examples of the Italianate, Queen Anne and Romanesque Revival modes in both residential and commercial buildings. The Federal, Gothic Revival, and Greek Revival styles are represented as well, as are the Stick, Beaux Arts, Colonial Revival, Craftsman, and Moderne modes. Also featured throughout the district are many noteworthy examples of vernacular designs in residential and commercial structures. A number of landmark religious, governmental and institutional buildings add interest to the district's streetscapes. The district features the works of several local builder/architects as well as those of some noted designers from outside the area. The Downtown Paris Historic District manifests a high degree of integrity with comparatively few intrusions. It is centered on High, Main, and Pleasant Streets, and runs from 2nd St. on the north to 14th St. on the south. The 96 acres (39 ha) district included 222 contributing buildings, 77 non-contributing buildings, and 15 contributing structures. Contributing ones date from 1788 to 1939. Bourbon County Courthouse (1902), "a monumental example of the Beaux-Arts style", designed by architect Frank Milburn (1868–1926). NRHP-listed in 1973 Duncan Tavern, "a former hostelry of stone construction and Georgian/Federal design, separately NRHP-listed in 1973. Elks/Masonic Lodge Building (1901-05), Bank Row and Main Street: "The Elks/Masonic Lodge Building, one o£ the pivotal structures of the Courthouse Square, is prominently sited at the corner of Bank Row and Main Streets. One of the tallest buildings in Paris, it stands four stories high, and the narrowness of its primary facade lends it a sense of verticality. The building is faced with dark-red pressed brick and is trimmed with a profusion of pressed-metal and smooth-faced sandstone. Its eclectic design, largely Neo-classical in inspiration, nonetheless includes some suggestions of the Romanesque Revival. The main facade is dominated by a slightly projecting pavilion, four stories high, that contains the entrance to former lodge rooms on the upper levels. This feature is balanced by a three-story semi-circular turret supported by an iron column. Beneath the turret is the building's main entrance, contained in a chamfered corner. The Elks/Masonic Lodge Building, designed by architect Herman Rowe of Lexington, was constructed in the early 1900's. Intended to accommodate a variety of uses, it was built as the headquarters for the local Elks lodge, with commercial space occupying the first floor. The building was later occupied by the local Masonic chapter, and in the 1940's became home to the Bourbon Hotel, a hostelry formerly located across the street. After years of neglect, the building was recently restored by the local Community Redevelopment Agency as apartments for the elderly."

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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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