Near the interchange of Interstate 64 and Interstate 71 — only a few blocks south of the Ohio River — is the bizarre sight of a façade of a house in the middle of the street in Louisville, which is that of the historic Heigold house.
Façade of a House in the Middle of the Street in Louisville.
Situated on a roundabout in the middle of the entrance of historic Frankfort Avenue in Louisville near River Road is the façade itself, which was moved to its present location in June of 2007. Personalized yellow bricks were purchased to help fund the project.
The rear of the façade is mostly brick — but to me, just as interesting — when viewing the structure from its southern side towards the north. In the background are newer apartment buildings, which are part of the gentrification of the area.
A German immigrant and stonecutter named Christian Heigold arrived in Louisville sometime prior to 1850; and in 1857, he built his home at 264 Marion Street in an area which was once known in the nineteenth century as the Point.
This was a period of unrest and attacks on immigrants from Germany and Ireland, not long after the infamous Bloody Monday incident which occurred in 1855.
In order to prove his patriotism and loyalty to America, he carved inscriptions and busts of notable people of the history of the United States into the facade of the house. Among the incised mottos is one reading, “Hail to the City of Louisville.”
Heigold died shortly after the façade was completed in 1865. His son Charles lived in the house until his death in 1925.
The Heigold house was one of only a few structures on the Point to survive the Great Flood of 1937; and it was the only structure that was still inhabitable. The house survived until 1953, when the city purchased the property in order to expand the city dump.
Charles Farnsley — who served as mayor of Louisville from 1948 to 1953 — saved the facade of the house from demolition by moving it to Thruston Park on River Road between Adams Street and Ohio Street.
The façade of the Heigold house is one of only two historic structures that remain in the area — the other being the historic Paget house, whose fate remains uncertain at the time this article was written.
Final Boarding Call
Give yourself a minimum of 15 minutes to look over and explore the site of the façade of the Heigold house.
The façade of the Heigold house is open to the public 24 hours per day, seven days per week. No admission is charged.
Free parking is available nearby — but toilet facilities are not available.
All photographs ©2023 by Brian Cohen.
