Inside the Block
We're shining a spotlight on the vibrant businesses and and unique history of the Warehouse Block in Lexington, Kentucky! Every first and third Sunday of the month we're serving up a fun blend of inspiring, behind-the-scenes stories of the Bluegrass region's most dynamic district!
Inside the Block
Episode 7: The History of the Warehouse Block!
Join "The Lexington Podcast" duo as we explore the remarkable transformation of Lexington, Kentucky's Warehouse Block. From its humble beginnings as an overlooked industrial area to today's vibrant community hub, we trace this district's fascinating evolution through personal stories and historic records.
We journey from the land's earliest inhabitants through European settlement, examining how key figures like General William Preston shaped the area. Discover how the discovery of clay deposits sparked the Lexington Brick Company's rise in the late 1800s, and how institutions like Perry Lumber Company established the district's industrial foundation.
Today's Warehouse Block tells a story of revival, where former factories and warehouses now house artisanal businesses, breweries, and unique establishments like macaron shops and sake bars. Local favorites like Blue Door Smokehouse share space with hidden gems, including a former undercover police headquarters. Looking ahead, we explore exciting developments like the upcoming farmer's market and green spaces, while previewing our next episode featuring the historic Epping's Bottling Works.
On this episode of Inside the Block, we are diving into the history of the Warehouse Block, a district that quite literally built Lexington, Kentucky, from the ground up, From the ice age to current day. You don't want to miss this compelling journey through time. We'll explore how this industrial heart of the city transformed from brickyards that supplied the foundations of Lexington's historic buildings to a thriving hub of manufacturing and warehouses, and finally, to today's vibrant neighborhood of artisans, brewers and entrepreneurs. Welcome on the show, Jonathan.
Speaker 2:Hey, thanks, Erica.
Speaker 1:So I guess we should probably preface this or introduce you and I because you're not our typical inside the block guest.
Speaker 2:Well, why is that the case?
Speaker 1:So an inside the block guest. Obviously you know our podcast is focused on the warehouse block. Each and every episode we go around to a different business in the warehouse block. That makes the area really unique and you, sir, are not a business owner in the warehouse block.
Speaker 2:That's very true, so I see why I'm outside the block. Got it.
Speaker 1:You're outside. Thanks for clearing that up for me.
Speaker 2:So happy to be here, though I like I like that new up and coming district.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no for sure, and I'm really glad you and I got a chance to go because you hadn't been in a while.
Speaker 1:So, first of all, welcome, jonathan. This is Jonathan O'Hare. This is my little brother. We actually have a podcast called the Lexington podcast, where we focus on true crime, weird history of Kentucky, local recommendations, etc. So I really wanted to bring you on this particular episode because we are focusing on the history of the area, the history of the warehouse block, and since you're a history buff and you love Lexington Kentucky history too, it just made natural sense.
Speaker 2:Not to mention I've been here longer than you, that is true by a couple of years. Yeah, yes, yeah, yeah, yes, yeah.
Speaker 1:So what I thought was really interesting is that the other day I was like well, there's no way we can do a history of the Warehouse Block episode unless you go to the Warehouse Block and you're like I actually haven't been in a really long time. I had no reason to, I didn't think how much it's grown in the past 10, 15 years right. What were your original impressions of the warehouse block?
Speaker 2:Sure. So, like 15 years ago, I had friends on Loudon right, so I would have to always go down Midland. I'd pass all the stuff. So I would constantly see this crummy little district that didn't serve any purpose for me, right Like I didn't work there. I had no reason to go down there, so I would always pass it. Eventually, cosmic charlie's kicks a bucket from their spot on woodland. Woodland moves to right to the corner of where I drive by. I'm like holy, holy, smokes, there's cosmic charlie's. Actually, funny story is uh, me and honest, your husband went there one time to see a band called dad. It's a disneyland after dark at that. New cosmic charlie's ended up being a bagpipe band.
Speaker 2:It wasn't the band we thought it was, you know oh, I didn't know that so, yeah so, but long story short, cosmic charlie's petered out there quite soon too, yeah, so I never really had any. Like you can't quite see what's down there, unless it's you've been told or else you, like you intentionally, are driving there yeah, unless you have a reason to go down someone showed it to you.
Speaker 2:She saw on the internet it's very kind of hidden off them. The main path. Yeah, it's. Uh, there was no reason to get to do that. For the longest time it seemed like kind of a seedy strange place, oh for sure.
Speaker 2:That didn't require anyone's attention besides maybe a storage unit that you needed to get to, or maybe a factory job or a warehouse job. Absolutely Going down it now was a real treat. And how holy crap, it's almost posh now. There's all sorts of cool things to enjoy. Yeah, go to that macaroon shop and go to that sake place.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know it was funny to me to see it through your eyes, because you're like there's a bakery, there's a barbecue spot, there's beer, there's like places that I mean it's really been revitalized, and so you and I have very different perspectives on it, because I've only ever known it as what it is now, which is this really fun district that has a little something for everybody, and so it was neat, like you and I went to Blue Door Smokehouse so I only had you for two or three hours, so we kind of did like a very quick crawl. If I'd had you longer, then we would have done a little bit more. Actually, you've been there before with me and Honest, because we did.
Speaker 2:Breakout rooms.
Speaker 1:The breakout rooms, which was super fun.
Speaker 2:God, we were terrible at that.
Speaker 1:We were really bad and did not break out.
Speaker 2:We think we're so smart, we're so pretentious and dumb. Really, we didn't break out. We did not break out. I was like don't worry. And required many hints. I was like yeah. They kept on the intercom.
Speaker 1:I was like y'all need help On the intercom.
Speaker 2:They're like do, was it a six or a nine?
Speaker 1:So I took you to Blue Door Smokehouse for lunch. You liked that.
Speaker 2:Not too shabby, huh.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's delicious, it's like a mainstay. The best part about Blue Door and whenever I do the episode with the Blue Door guys is that most of the time when I'm in the warehouse block like working or doing this or that, I'll stop in there for lunch. And when I walk in, I am literally often the only woman customer and and all the guys behind the counter that are working.
Speaker 2:There are all dudes as well, so I'm the only girl in the entire.
Speaker 1:I'm like hey I'll take a sausage sandwich.
Speaker 2:Will you now? So funny, but I love that sushi place. In fact, when you walk in Sushi oh sorry, not sushi Sake Sake yeah, easy mistake, yeah yeah. But that sake place is cool because you walk in and if you're a true nerd, you see the Triforce from Zelda on the wall. Yeah, I was so Many of you non-nerd listeners might be like what are you talking about, man? It's like this main symbol of the game Zelda.
Speaker 1:So you can't help but say hey, buddy, is that? Zelda yeah, of course it is man. Of course it is man. Welcome to heaven, buddy. What did he say? The bartender? Because we have the place to ourselves. It was like in the middle of the day, it was before they kind I'd had sake.
Speaker 1:It was so good and we had the one that was. It was like an orange creamsicle and I was like this is mellow and smooth. I was like I can see myself here way more and it's such a nice. Your you know Mirror Twin has a massive following. Like Mirror Twin is wildly popular with like dog owners, young families, like people driving forever for me and void. What I really like about void sake is that it's sort of it complements mirror twin really well, but it's sort of the anti-mirror twin because it's a bar, it's doing its own thing. It's very more like niche nerd related and void does a lot. I cannot wait to actually interview the void people because it does. They do a lot of really cool festivals.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:They do like really like a niche, like coworking things, where you, you know, on Wednesday nights they have like community night. So you, if you're a part of like some sort of a group that wants to be able to meet, they really adhere to. You know your needs for that.
Speaker 2:Nerds the wrong word. It was a really cool place, place.
Speaker 1:It's a self-prophecy thing, because even the bartender was like we like to say that we're a bar built by nerds for nerds. Yeah, yeah, I'm like, oh, I love that you're like embracing that.
Speaker 2:One thing I love too that you showed me I didn't actually recognize it until way later on was each one of those places has a warehouse door. Oh yeah, how cool is that. So, on those nice days in the summer it's one big kind of block party type thing. You walk around with your drink. It's an entertainment district correct it is.
Speaker 1:It's an entertainment district. I didn't know that distinction.
Speaker 2:You have to have that. You can't, because every bar I've ever been to, the balance is always like hey, get back in here with your drink bud.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Don't go out there and smoke a cigarette.
Speaker 1:Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Oh, drink from void sake and you could put it in generally. They ask you to put it like a specialized cup. If you're gonna be walking around, I think it needs to have like maybe a top to it or something, but you are legally allowed to walk that down to like eppings on east side that is totally.
Speaker 2:I mean it's really cool. That's unfamiliar to me, for real well.
Speaker 1:It lends itself very well to what's going to be coming back in may and september of this year, which is a big announcement, which is the block parties are back. So pre COVID, the warehouse block would have block parties and that essentially meant national Avenue, the main drag. There would be like tents and booths on each side. You know all the vendors from the area would come out. It's just like one big party.
Speaker 1:And what's nice is that we don't have to have any sort of special permitting for that, because the area is an entertainment district, so you can serve whatever you want and walk around with whatever you want, like neither here nor there, but like what's the qualifications for an entertainment district.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean. Why wouldn't everyone try to weasel their way into that? It's so it's so advantageous for customers it's a great question.
Speaker 1:I think that there's a lot of legality to that. Some red tape I'm sure yep, and I'm sure lexington's really particular about which sections get to be entertainment district and whatnot? But chad walker, him and his wife jill, who owned the warehouse block area. They own those buildings and those are their tenants. They worked hard to make sure that it was an entertainment district back in the day yep, yeah.
Speaker 1:So let me tell you about chad walker and the really the walkers. So chad and his wife jill, who owned the warehouse block, and they're the ones that own the buildings. But they have all those tenants and they're super great to their tenants. They redo buildings in a way that is conducive to whatever the business is.
Speaker 2:That's going into it.
Speaker 1:They're just cool as hell and what? I give him crap for Chad, because he's the one who wanted to start this podcast and he's like well, you go around. I really want to have a living history of the warehouse block.
Speaker 2:Cheers to him. He seems so truly into it rather than just a money-grubbing thing.
Speaker 1:I give him crap all the time, because it's funny, because I was like, did you make me do this podcast? Just because every time I go to a different owner of a different business, they have nothing but the nicest things to say about Chad and it's not put on.
Speaker 2:I was like, is this just a way for everybody to like brag on how great you are? You know, like hiding behind you with a baseball bat.
Speaker 1:you know it's like you better say nice things, no, but he's the greatest.
Speaker 2:He seems like a class act.
Speaker 1:He is and his dad. Originally, his parents owned the area starting in the early 2000s and they can be, as a family, really credited for turning it into what we talked about, it being pretty seedy at one point.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure, and I'm about to get into that here in a second with the history, what caused that, etc. But they're really to credit for seeing the potential of that area and knowing that it could be revitalized, doing really great historic preservation work when it comes to adaptive reuse of all of these buildings, and that's why they've held tight to the architecture that already existed, which is warehouses. That's why you have those really cool garage doors is because they were all warehouses. So instead of tearing those things down and rebuilding them up, they have allowed that architecture and that sense of history to continue.
Speaker 2:I just love that. That's so cool.
Speaker 1:I know.
Speaker 2:To turn that into anything is remarkable, let alone a really cool new entertainment district for Lexington. Yeah, especially that part of the city. Definitely Truly Kudos to anyone with a gumption, and then wherewithal to figure that out.
Speaker 1:Definitely yeah. It's been really fun working with the walkers. They're just like good people, cheers.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, tell me more about the actual district itself. Okay.
Speaker 1:So I was going to tell you about the history of that area. The more I go down the rabbit hole of the history of this particular area, the more what's the word Um? Kind of fired up I get that it has been forgotten in the overall Lexington history. So if you live in Lexington or you love Lexington in any way, then you're, I believe you have to be kind of required to have the utmost respect for the area known as the warehouse block, because that area quite literally built Lexington as we know it from the ground up, especially in the late 1800s and early 1900s. That's where industry was concrete, brick, building supplies, lumber material.
Speaker 1:that built lexington as we know it literally literally like the structures that we know of lexington and it hasn't gotten the love. In my opinion, it certainly hasn't gotten the attention it deserves because its history is rooted in industry and industrial heritage which often doesn't get the love in history books or in what people want to pay attention to, and it's not as sexy, let's say, as like the bourbon history or like the horse industry which tends to get like all the fanfare and attention in Kentucky, but this district is really important to Lexington history and it's just as interesting and I'm going to prove that to you right now.
Speaker 2:We'll see.
Speaker 1:Okay, so the early years. Now, as you know, I'm in historic preservation and it's not fair to start a true history of someplace with like colonization. Let's talk about the first white people that were in an area. Let's go all the way back to kentucky as we know it, a very quick, like sort of pre-colonization, early year history. So just so you know, the first human inhabitants of the bluegrass region in general were first peoples or native american tribes migrated to the area following the retreat of glaciers at the end of the ice age we're going that far.
Speaker 2:Hell, yeah, 12 000 years ago, jesus. Okay, 12 000 years ago. Lay it on me, man how far I'm going back.
Speaker 1:We're talking hunter gatherers. They lived in small nomadic bands, moved with the seasons to take advantage of our region's abundant natural resources 3 000 years ago.
Speaker 2:I'm jumping ahead for you I could have, I could have done.
Speaker 1:Wait me up when we get to jesus the adena people were the first to build large earthen mounds in the bluegrass, which served as burial warehouses always warehouses. Uh, the hopewell culture came around, flourished between 200 BC. They were known for extensive trade networks stretched across from the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast. And then, when European explorers and settlers arrived, you're more comfortable with me starting about right here.
Speaker 2:I'm feeling safer now Okay.
Speaker 1:They arrived in the region in the 17th and 18th centuries. The bluegrass was home to various Native American tribes, including do you know which ones in this area.
Speaker 2:I should, I don't, you really should. I know, and every Lexingtonian, should I know. I know Algonquin.
Speaker 1:No, Good guess though.
Speaker 2:Shawnee.
Speaker 1:Shawnee Very good. That's number one Very good.
Speaker 2:Yes. You got it Iroquois yeah.
Speaker 1:So if you know anything about your Lexington history, then you know that 1775 is probably the most important year in Lexington history. We're actually celebrating this year the 250th anniversary of Lexington. There's a huge celebration. It's a year long celebration. Have you heard about it?
Speaker 2:1775? One year before the Declaration of Independence.
Speaker 1:Lexington technically predates.
Speaker 2:United States of America.
Speaker 1:Yeah, a lot of people don't realize that, but for sure, A group of frontiersmen led by William McConnell established a small settlement along town branch of the Elkhorn Creek, decided to name it Lexington after the battle in Massachusetts, and the rest is history. So Lexington, of course, quickly grew into a thriving frontier town from humble beginnings, attracting settlers from Virginia, Pennsylvania, other parts of the United States. And of course that's really because the town's location is at the crossroads of several major trails and its proximity to the navigable waters of the Kentucky and Ohio rivers made it a very important center of commerce and transportation in its early years, which the warehouse block will continue that tradition because of how important its central location was to transportation as well.
Speaker 2:Okay, gotcha In its own way.
Speaker 1:So really, who kind of owned quote unquote owned the warehouse block? First was this guy named General William Preston. So much of the land, and, mind you, if you're somebody who's never been to the warehouse block, first was this guy named General William Preston. So much of the land. And, mind you, if you're somebody who's never been to the warehouse block and somehow you don't know the area that we're talking about. The warehouse block is east, a bit northeast of downtown proper, and at the time he was one of the state's most distinguished early statesmen.
Speaker 1:He was born in 1816 to a very prominent Kentucky family. His grandfather, captain William Preston, served in the Revolutionary War, while his father, major William Preston, was a veteran of the War of 1812, later represented Kentucky in the US Congress. A lot of military ties, a lot of political ties. He studied law at yale and harvard before being admitted to the kentucky bar in 1838. He had a very notable political military career. He was a outspoken supporter of slavery, vocal opponent of abolition, and then, when hostilities erupted between the north and the south in 1861, he pledged his allegiance with the confederacy, served in various leadership roles for the Confederate military throughout the war years, but he also was big about, like I'm going to own a lot of land in Lexington. So he started buying up lots of different tracts of land, including a giant chunk outside the city limits of Lexington which is now known as the Warehouse Block. Which fun fact the Warehouse Block, that area, even though we think of it as being wildly close to downtown, that was considered like outside the city limits.
Speaker 2:I was just about to say that, yeah, it's nowhere near the city limits.
Speaker 1:No, it was considered outside the city limits all the way up until like almost the 1900s, like it was very much like well, that's out of town, you know which is wild because it's so, so close. So the his that is wild Because it's so so close. So his holdings in the warehouse block area, which came to be known as the Preston Estate and the Ashland Stock Farm, super rich in natural resources, particularly clay deposits. Now what does clay deposits make?
Speaker 1:All sorts of stuff. Yeah, but what do you think would be most important in the building of Lexington?
Speaker 2:Gosh, I don't know. Limestone Brick, oh, just straight brick Just straight up brick.
Speaker 1:So what was interesting was his land did what often things do, which is his descendants were selling it off, bits and pieces at a time.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah.
Speaker 1:And so about late 1800s the Lexington Brick Company came on the scene and really wanted that particular piece of land.
Speaker 2:It was highly coveted because of how great the soil is to create brick I would think the warehouse district was quite big enough for it to be parceled out for resources right like so there was. There's a piece of the warehouse district that was more in tune with making bricks with more with um, like, uh, I don't know what you'd called like, with, with like the clay was in the warehouse district correct.
Speaker 1:Huh, yeah, so sorry as lexington grew. No, no, it's, it's. I thought the same too, it's like huh, I don't.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was like at, at some point there has to be some sort of like a proximity to, uh, you know, a railroad track, which that comes up later and I'll definitely talk about that and so they must be getting these materials from somewhere else. No, they were using that land, the clay that was in that actual, that's what you do with a brick making yard you claim a piece of land, you create a giant factory around that, you have drying racks, you have like molds, you have the kiln, you have all these like different parts of it, and the heart of the warehouse block was the Lexington Brick Company and the land that it sits on was the- A giant natural deposit of clay.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly that was then used to create bricks that built so many important structures in Lexington.
Speaker 2:Well, okay, I see what you mean by warehouse station built Lexington. Yeah, no, for sure, that's where all the clay was.
Speaker 1:Quite literally. So. Lexington Brick Company came around in 1885 by an enterprising local group of citizens that were really important. It had some modest beginnings and it actually started out on Tate's Creek Pike, but then, whenever it realized that the Preston estate was about to sell things, it realized like, oh, this is a perfect spot for us to set up operations. Factor in the lexington brick company's early success is that it embraced innovative technologies for the time and processes that allowed for year-round brick production, so this was sort of like a state-of-the-art situation for this. This time, which was in the late 1800s, traditionally brick making was seen only viable during like warm summer months, but lexington brick company actually challenged this status quo and invested heavily in advanced facilities and equipment that enabled efficient brick production even during the winter. Yeah, which was really neat, right.
Speaker 1:And what really set it apart was its production of common brick and high quality pressed brick suitable for exterior walls of upscale homes and buildings, some of which include the lexington leader newspaper headquarters building hailed as the finest newspaper building in kentucky outside louisville, the bible college, the women's dormitory at state college, the hagerman campbell college for women on second street, which is connected to the january house, which is a personal like love of mine. I love the january house on second street Street. Lexington Brewery was created from Lexington Brick Company bricks, the expanded facilities at the Eastern Kentucky Lunatic Asylum, as well as factories and warehouses.
Speaker 2:Is that what you're supposed to call it?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was like can you believe it?
Speaker 2:It's called the Lunatic Asylum, yeah it was at one point, absolutely. Eastern.
Speaker 1:State, as well as factories and warehouses for continental tobacco, other enterprises along bolivar street, as well as so many industries in the warehouse block district itself. And then countless, countless houses, especially some of the nicest houses that we have. At that time one called green hills, which was this beautiful, magnificent house right outside of town. So lexington brick company was super important, and you know what A fun fact about that too is that someone told me well, you know Kenwick, which is a very up and coming neighborhood, which is just adjacent to the warehouse block. If you go into people's backyards in Kenwick you can still dig up bricks. And so my friend Daniela actually lives in Kenwick and I'd asked her to come over to her house and she was like sure, you're gonna dig for bricks again.
Speaker 1:Yes, please so I went back there and I look for brick and you can find bricks and sometimes I don't know if they're like from that time period or not like the ultimate goal to me. By the way, if you're a listener out there, this is the nerdiest thing ever. If you're a listener out there that happens to live in kenwick and you have a brick that you have found in your backyard, especially if it says lexington brick company on it, I would be so happy to buy that off of you, just so nerdy.
Speaker 2:Well, they actually meant their bricks sometimes. Yeah, you'd have to get really lucky for that obviously most of them are not yeah stamped with their name on it. Er and the Erica will reward you financially Handsomely. We're talking $10, $12. You name your price.
Speaker 1:But another really important thing to remember about the warehouse block was its proximity to the railway. So the railway is really what made it such a desirable place for industries to come and be a part of that area, because obviously you are moving in.
Speaker 2:Cutting costs and shipping.
Speaker 1:Absolutely so. All of this, this materials coming in and out, imports and exports the chesapeake and ohio railroad at the cno. For sure it played a really significant role in shaping the development of lexington as a whole and particularly in the warehouse block. So if you ever go to the warehouse block like you're next to blue door smokehouse, you're next to the back of mirror twin, you'll see that railroad that still exists. That's the cno line and right next to it kind of behind, uh, the domestic, and behind if you keep going down the railroads a little bit more. That's where netherland yard was, and netherland yard was a really important railroad stop for multiple reasons in lexington when did the railroad become obsolete?
Speaker 2:when was it, when was it not? You're skipping ahead.
Speaker 1:Obviously we're starting at the beginning, so sorry so 1907 is actually when the cno opened a major rail yard called netherland yard and that, like I said, situated just east of downtown on winchester pike sprawling complex and included an engine house with a turntable and other facilities and it greatly expanded the C&O's freight handling capacity in the region. So it's heyday, just like it was for a lot. You know railroads were really. You know the heyday was late 1800s and early industrial revolution.
Speaker 1:Yes, early 1900s, but Netherland Yard took approximately 18 months to complete and during that time crews laid over five miles of track and carried out immense amount of grading work to create a level site for such an expansive yard. And the scale of the project is interesting because it really underscores the importance and hints at how the warehouse block knew it was going to grow. Based on this, it was like a sweet spot to be if you're an industry, because you want to be close to the railroad, yeah.
Speaker 2:Obviously for sure.
Speaker 1:So with the opening of the yard, the warehouse block became, yeah, an even more attractive location for businesses. The area's proximity to Netherland Yard meant that raw materials could be easily brought in and finished products could be quickly shipped out with minimal delay and expense. And then there was even passenger service. So people don't realize that there was passenger trains as well. And what a lot of people don't realize is that lexington had railroads that went all the way down downtown lexington, and I just listened to a really fascinating podcast on the public library.
Speaker 1:Tales from the Kentucky Room has a fantastic. If you're interested in Lexington history it's a great podcast for somebody who's interested in that. And they had talked about in the 1950s the day that they had took up all of the rail railings road tracks from downtown lexington to be able to make things easier for automobiles. But it was like a giant celebration and anybody who was alive in the 1950s like really remembers it was like a multi-day celebration of taking up these railroad tracks. And what people don't realize too, there was a beautiful building that was a passenger, like a railway station. That's now I believe it's the corner of maine and martin luther king, which what's now like one of our city government buildings and it was, I don't know. It's just so sad. Like they were, like well, trains aren't a thing anymore. Let's raise the building and pop in something uglier.
Speaker 2:As usual, as it goes I mean, if I was in, I'd be the same way, though trains are loud and smoky and, like you, I wouldn't want to walk around each day hearing all that noise too. I mean, I'm sure it was a huge celebration for them.
Speaker 1:It really was. So back to your question. Multiple sources confirm that passenger trains operated on this route until 1969, with some recalling service until the day before Amtrak took over in 1971. In 1971. So the C&O's passenger train, such as the very famous George Washington that's what the passenger train was called used the Lexington subdivision around the warehouse block until the end of passenger service. Everything was abandoned by 1980 1980.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. So that is the railway you know, obviously very important to an industrial place like the warehouse block. Another super interesting industry that came about and was like the warehouse block. Another super interesting industry that came about and was in the warehouse block for a solid 70 years was the Perry Lumber Company. So there was a guy named JT Perry. He goes on to really found it in 1917. The Perry Lumber Company quickly established itself as a leading home builder in the region. So we're talking quality, craftsmanship, innovative design, commitment to customer satisfaction. What's fun is if you go and look at all of the old Lexington directories like city directories from back in the day they're really talking up like you really want a Perry built home a.
Speaker 1:JT Perry built home because it's custom and, mind you, these were the days where, like it was almost your God given right to build your own house Right Right. Right. So we're talking 40s, 50s, 60s, post World War II, the American dream. Everybody gets to have their three bedroom, two and a half bath or whatever, and so it was, and it was cheap. Like he did, he built a ton of houses. There's actually still one of his little model homes that still exists on aurora avenue, which chad walker actually owns and they operate it as a b&b.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's really neat, so I definitely want to like. Just as a nerdy person who loves like history, I want to stay in it so bad oh, I remember that.
Speaker 2:I remember seeing that one. Yeah, it's kind of set way back on the property way back on the property.
Speaker 1:It's kind of in the back of willis klein it's very, very cool.
Speaker 2:It looks like a little model home.
Speaker 1:Yeah yeah, I love it a lot. So what's cool about perry lumber is that not only did they have their own sort of like lumber yard, they started to take over certain buildings in the area for their different endeavors having to do with building homes, building these custom homes, and one of the buildings that they have, or they did have, is now currently a bridal shop, which is kind of cool because it was once, you know, very industrial, very like dude bro. I'm sure they're like all in there, you know, we lumber and building things and all that, and now it's like this, like super cute little macaroon shop next door.
Speaker 1:Exactly, and if you listen to our white dress bridal episode, which is our second episode on the inside the block podcast, then you'll know that I mean chad chad's actually on that episode and he goes into the history of that building because there's a lot of like nooks and crannies that were really interesting. For example, there's like a second or third story bathroom that while you're sitting on the toilet there's like a little window that can open so JT Perry himself could like look down and watch his workers do whatever.
Speaker 2:It was like his own form of surveillance.
Speaker 1:Billy, get back to work Exactly. And what's funny, too, is you'll really like this. Guess who told me our friends at the murder police podcast that that building was actually used as undercover operations for the city of lexington? No, no, david lyons oh, yeah, yeah yeah, so that was the undercover headquarters for the police how cool is that in the 1980s and 90s, when the area was starting to become more neglected and more crime ridden, yeah, so if you drive by the building you'll notice it looks very different than the rest of the warehouse block because it has these huge windows.
Speaker 1:It's actually like one of my favorite buildings in the warehouse block huge windows and at one point those were two-way, so that way the police could see out and then you couldn't be able to see in, so it was like a way to surveil the area.
Speaker 1:Really cool, yeah, by 1925, the company had constructed more than 600 homes in the city, including many of the area's most attractive and well-built residents. These perry built homes, as they were known, were characterized by their distinctive architectural styles practical layouts, meticulous attention to detail and we're talking like bungalows, think about, like your classic bungalow is often what he was building at that time gotcha, it was a fine art that required a deep understanding of each client's unique needs and desires.
Speaker 1:I got that straight from some uh perry propaganda in the newspaper perry likes talking about perry sure does.
Speaker 1:Uh, there's some really really cool ads though that he would have. They would take pictures of what they had done, um, and I can try and like post that somewhere because they're really, really cool. Okay, lexington dairy company and the earlier now you'll like this, because this is about milk production. I don't know why I said you would like this. I don't even think you really like milk, but lexington dairy was a big deal at the time as well.
Speaker 1:Most milk production and distribution had been like a small scale, localized affair, with many families actually keeping their own cows or producing milk from nearby farms or purchasing milk from nearby farms. But as cities like Lexington grew more densely populated, the demand for safe, reliable and efficiently produced milk rose dramatically. So think of the days where it was like you had a milkman. Well, all those milkmen of Lexington would meet at Lexington Dairy, which was just on the backside of Epping's. So it was almost like Epping's shared a building with Lexington Dairy and Lexington Dairy is where they would produce milk.
Speaker 1:And it was a big deal at the time because obviously you're getting into is this sanitary? Because milk can obviously spoil, and so it was a big deal. Like they recognize the importance of marketing and consumer education when you're building a successful dairy business. At that time and so even in 1928, this is pretty great the dairy emphasized the quote pure, rich, healthfulness of its milk and modern, up-to-date method of caring for it that ensured a pure, sweet, clean and healthy product for customers. Because what they were going against was there was definitely a backlash in consumers being like I don't want your weird milk, like I don't trust your milk. Milk is supposed to come directly from the cow from my neighbor. So it took people people a while to come to terms with. Okay, yeah, I guess we do want a milkman. I guess I do trust the fact that you're producing it in a sterile, clean environment.
Speaker 2:Pasteurization. Is that what we're talking about right now? Yeah, I guess, yes, one of the most important contributions in history as far as making people not be sick, you know, definitely. I can't believe there'd be backlash for that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, there was.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean I guess, what we don't understand is always scary or whatnot. But holy cow that's saved so many lives over the course of its creation.
Speaker 1:Totally so. Lots of other industries started popping up, by the way, related to construction, industries like roofing supplies, concrete manufacturing, lumber, automobile parts and repair wood workings, and, of course, eppings automobile parts and repair woodworkings and, of course, epping's. So you cannot talk about the warehouse block without talking about John G Epping's bottling factory, or bottling works as it was called. Epping's was and is continues to be so important to that area. That building is incredibly historic and important to the. I mean it's wrapped in everything from prohibition and how it dealt with like beer consumption, as well as like bottling things, like seven up, which was wildly popular at the time. So we're going to be actually dedicating an entire episode to eppings next episode cool. So just for the purposes of this I'm going to skip eppings, but just know, obviously very important industry as well.
Speaker 1:So from the 1950s to 2000s, warehouse block and the surrounding industrial neighborhoods of Lexington began to experience a gradual decline mirroring the broader shifts, basically what was happening in the American economy and urban landscape at that time, and one of the factors driving this change was the diminishing importance of like rail transportation. Of course highways and trucking expanded in the postishing importance of like rail transportation. Of course highways and trucking expanded in the post-war era. The closing of netherland yard happened and also the very nature of manufacturing itself was undergoing a profound transformation. Automization, globalization, shift towards a more like service oriented economy all kind of contributed to like a steady decline in industrial jobs, and also they were wanting to move a lot of operations outside of Lexington. So as Lexington grew, this was now becoming more of like okay, well, this is a city center, we can't grow too much in this area. So let's take our you know manufacturing operations down Frankfurt Pike or way more down Winchester Pike.
Speaker 1:Our lease is going to be much smaller exactly, and we get more bang for our buck out there, definitely so. Like I had mentioned, you know steel fabrication still happening, though concrete lumber, tire retreading, auto repair, stone cutting all of those continue to kind of like ebb and flow throughout the district. Until you know about the 2000s, 2015 definitely experienced a period of decline and neglect. Once bustling warehouses began like, the buildings themselves began to fall into disrepair and especially the area's economic landscape shifted. Drug use and trafficking became increasingly common. I've noticed in crime reports that area was kind of like a hotspot for that.
Speaker 1:Most likely that's why there was undercover operations that were there for a while but, like I had mentioned, early 2000s, walker Properties takes over and really starts to breathe new life into the area, and so today, the warehouse block really is this like shining example of successful adaptive reuse, urban renewal. What I think is really cool, too, is that there's such a variety of different businesses, and I know that that's a really intentional choice it's super clever, it really is diversify, baby absolutely.
Speaker 1:And I think the coolest part of one of the coolest parts about the warehouse block too, is that at one point it was so industrial. It was so industrial. It was so male dominated. We're talking male dominated industries and now it's more female dominated. So Chad told me the other day that he actually has more female entrepreneurs. Like, if you were to look at all the leases that are signed, there's more, it's more female dominated than it is male. And we're giving a lot of love to like Mirror, twin, void, sake, blue Door Smokehouse, but there's a lot of really cool businesses in that area that have to do more with like lifestyle. So, like you've got the Salt Cape, you've got Pilates Studios, you have yoga.
Speaker 1:You have bridal, you also have like Macaroons, yep macaroons.
Speaker 2:macarons is more fun to say, it is more fun to say, but that is inaccurate as to what those pastries are.
Speaker 1:So sorry, the macarons.
Speaker 2:Macarons, my friend, you're right it's very much a um more finer things in life, some spots of that of that district, yeah, but it's also lifestyle, like you said it's also yeah, I mean hair lofts and, like place stylist places.
Speaker 1:it's just neat because there really is something for everyone, not only, if you like, live in that area, which makes Kenwick very desirable to live in, cause you're just walking over to all of these great options that you have, but also like it is a drivable destination. Like I don't live in Kenwick and I drive to go and frequent some of these establishments.
Speaker 2:For someone that doesn't remember what it looked like, or someone that doesn't remember like what it looked like 15 years ago. I forgot how big it is. Oh yeah, it's a condensed, it's a dense little spot, honestly. It is, and I didn't realize how much fit in there.
Speaker 1:Yeah for sure, and it's continuing to grow. What's really cool, too, is that the walkers have decided to put in. There's this giant sort of parking lot of sorts in between where Void Sake is and where Mirror Twin is, and that is now going to be paved and there's a lot of really cool things happening like it's going to be have more, uh, dedicated parking. It's still going to continue to have its farmer's market that comes in the spring and summer. It's going to have a green space, a pavilion, a space for maybe kids to play.
Speaker 2:So there's a lot of really cool like it only gets better and better yeah, it's an up-and-coming yeah, yeah, yeah we haven't seen the last of its expansion yeah, exactly, and I really like that about.
Speaker 1:And on top of that too, it still keeps its industrial charm, because there's absolutely still businesses there that aren't these like oh it's a pilates studio, like there's a glass cutting place, there is a wood worker, still there's auto repair and mechanics that are still in the area. So it's kept a nice balance of what it's always been, as opposed to kind of like where it's headed in the future too.
Speaker 2:Oh, I love that yeah, I do too it takes, it takes vision it does anyway.
Speaker 1:So, brother, thank you so much for being on this episode loved it. Thanks for having me, yeah, for sure, and then next episode we're going to be talking about eppings. I want to pull in some really great quotes and some different interviews from the people that work at Eppings.
Speaker 2:Looking forward to that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure, and we're actually going to talk about how I am trying to get Eppings on the National Register of Historic Places because it deserves its spot on the register and kind of the behind the scenes of historic preservation in general.
Speaker 2:So I'm excited. Cheers man.