This route ran around the Ashland Park neighborhood and Woodland Park area, mostly covering Main and Central. The streets here were surprisingly wide for an area that predates car dominance. In some instances, streets had wide parkway areas, a common theme here and in nearby areas (see Mentelle Park, for example). It’s hard to tell whether these areas are generally significant from a public space perspective though the area enclosed by Desha and Fincastle streets has a tire swing and a bench.
Tag Archives: Ashland
Day 17
I really wasn’t sure what to expect from
today’s route, through the Kenwick neighborhood, but it turned out to have a little bit of everything. I still compare things to Denver, and this neighborhood went quickly between warehouse district to streetcar suburb. I started out on Aurora, headed northwest toward Walton and found a neighborhood that felt like home to a significant creative population. These things are evidenced by things like the landscaped vegetable garden on Aurora, or the book exchange “birdhouse” on Richmond. This blended naturally into the commercial districts along Walton, National and Ashland, with it’s high concentration of home design shops and local shops—places like Kentucky Mudworks. As I walked back down National, the mix became more industrial and eventually turned to utter ruins at White Street. This is a neighborhood that seems comfortable with the industrial presence.
One street that dead-ends into the back of an industrial block has turned that end into an outdoor plaza, making it an idyllic setting despite the industrial whine and occasional sawing noise. And they also seem at home with their neighbors. I spotted no fewer than three front yard hammocks, and one yard had an entire backyard’s worth of kid toys, complete with sandpit. One gentleman I passed was working on his crossword puzzle while sitting on a collapsible lawn chair in the front yard. All of this was refreshing…this neighborhood very much answers my question about what to do about worthless grass front lawns in suburbia, alas generally in ways that aren’t covenant friendly.
Despite the comfort and overall amiability, there feels like some tension. Some homes clash, with for example, loud threats of physical violence to trespassers. These places were amazingly jarring to me, especially among very little other evidence at the time that the neighborhood was dangerous (which is borne out by crime statistics, I might add)
What works: This is a live/work dream, for those who could pull it off. Front yards are focal points.
What doesn’t: There is tension. Why?
Day 13
Today took me to the Ashland area, behind the Shriner’s Hospital on Richmond Road. Again, I walk through a neighborhood where my impression has to be that the home are above the median price for Lexington. The neighborhood is nice, but not ostentatious. Even here, the ends of cul-de-sacs tend to look more worn then the rest of the neighborhood. The street corners have very large radii, and sure enough, cars zip through the area. There seem to be a relatively high number of homes for sale, perhaps the market is bullish, or perhaps it is just slow. There were a number of places undergoing facelifts, internally or externally, and several more having their lawns maintained, so overall, this area was a cacophony of saws, hammering, weed trimmers and lawn mowers. My favorite place in the area (which happens to be for sale) has a wrought-iron fence surrounding a dense backyard garden. Much like the sidewalks in Andover, I felt this really created a sense of intrigue. Oddly enough, a lipsticked cigarette butt appeared in a sidewalk crack just down the street to provide a film noir feel.