100 Block West Ormsby Association

100 Block West Ormsby Association

Once described...

... as a "sylvan glade" in a 19th-century promotional brochure,
West Ormsby Avenue was developed from woodland belonging to the Duponts and the Morats. The 100 Block of West Ormsby Avenue once contained extensive glass-roofed greenhouses belonging to the Morat family and covering much of the land north of Ormsby along the alley way, east of Second Street and running to the midpoint of the block where the great farmhouse of the Morats once stood and where now stands the Arts & Crafts Manse of 119 W. Ormsby Ave built in 1912. Many of the structures on the south side of the block are the oldest extant residences on Ormsby dating into the late 1880s.

The 100 Block of West Ormsby Avenue was chronicled in the 1974 National Register of Historic Places nomination documents as "one of the most cohesive blocks in the Old Louisville area" in terms of its architectural style; the residents of the block would extend this description to the community of neighbors found there.

The wide, roomy lots and front yards of this block look outward on an open, spacious street cooled and protected by trees, and busy enough with the east-west throughfare of traffic to be dynamic, public, an urban. It is blessed by lacking both the enclosed, inward look of the various Old Louisville courts and the tidal rip & roar of the north/south trafficways like Second and First Streets. The 100 Block of West Ormsby Avenue is something distinct. Just walk the block and you will sense this quality.

Email us
ctwhite@indiana.edu

About our association

November streetscape

on the 100 West Block of Ormsby Avenue with its Maple and Stewartia trees in amber glow.

West Ormsby Avenue

was once described as a "silvan glade" at the time of its original development by the Morat family in the late 19th-century. More recently it has been described, in terms of its architectural style, as "one of the most cohesive blocks in the Old Louisville" historic district. Its wide, roomy lots and front yards look outward on an open, generous and spacious street cooled and protected by many trees and busy enough with east-west traffic to be a dynamic and public thoroughfare as well as a comfortable residential enclave. We have neither the enclosed and inward look of the various Old Louisville courts nor the tidal rip and roar of the North/South traffic-bearing streets like First or Second. We have something very distinct and, for this writer, preferable. The fortunes of our block of west Ormsby Avenue have over time risen, fallen and risen again. We all have a stake in its stability and promise and in the part it plays in the life of the greater historic preservation district of Old Louisville.

Our (once and future) Association...

of neighbors is only in its beginning stage. Such an association did exist in the 1970s but largely disappeared until the year 2002. Resident homeowners were the first to organize. Certainly, tenants who rent on our block share many of the same concerns as homeowners and are welcome to join in the effort. There is yet no formal organization nor board of directors; no dues and no particular idea about the most useful shape and function for the association.

It has taken on a life as primarily a "block watch" group interested in property improvement issues as well as crime & safety concerns, but it also enjoys an energetic and high-spirited social life with neighbors gathering frequently for parties and get-togethers, progressive dinners and such, and, most notoriously, as the "porch peeps of Ormsby Avenue"
when the weather turns warm. Come and be a part of this remarkable historical community of neighbors.

Email us
ctwhite@indiana.edu