Manuscript Database
Creator/Title
D. X. Murphy & Bro., Architects (Louisville, Ky.) Records, 1854-1949. 58.5 cu. ft., 20 ovsz. folders
Call No.
Mss. BB M978 490-492
Content
Collection contains three separate architectural project rolls for the hotel. The hotel was originally designed by architect Hugh Roland in 1832. Following a fire in 1853, Louisville architects Imiah Rogers and Henry Whitestone were commissioned to redesign the two upper floors, The rolls (490-492) include their 1855 drawings, as well as later additions and alterations. In 1873 Henry Whitestone again designed alterations to the hotel. A passenger elevator was added at this time by the N.Y. Metropolitan Passenger Elevator, and Otis Bros. in NYC. The 1873 additions include very early examples of segregated architecture; there were "Negro" and "White" servants bedrooms and dining rooms. These 1873 additions predate legal Jim Crow sanctions by nearly 20 years, and provide some of the earliest examples of clearly defined segregated space beyond that of de facto practice. The types of architectural drawings in the collection include plans; details; elevations; and sections. See the project index for more information.