Lexington, KY - When it comes to historic homes and properties, many centuries-old structures in Lexington are clustered throughout downtown and in the adjacent neighborhoods; however, south Lexington, noted for its newer subdivisions and developments, also has its share of distinguished buildings worth preserving and recognizing. One
such building is the Bell Residence, located on the venerable Jonabell Farm in southwest Lexington on bucolic Bowman Mill Road.
The structure takes its name from the last resident of the home and the person who brought the property to prominence, legendary Thoroughbred breeder John A. Bell III -
who founded Jonabell Farm in Fayette County in 1954 - even though the residence was built more than a century before Bell was born.
Built circa 1812 - 1815, the colonial style residence is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In its original incarnation, the home was a two-story, rectangular structure, with a detached kitchen. At the time of its construction, it was fairly common for a home's kitchen to be separate from the main living quarters, for a variety of reasons -
from practical, such as alleviating some fire concerns, to racial, since servants and slaves were treated as a separate class of people. In 1850, an infill joined the home and the kitchen. Over a century later in 1972, an addition was constructed adjacent to the 1850 infill.
In 2001, Darley, a prestigious international Thoroughbred breeding operation, purchased the Jonabell Farm, including the main residence, whose fate was ultimately uncertain. By 2008, that structure had sat vacant for over three years, suffering all of the natural corrosion and decline when a structure sits dormant for that length of time. Then the farm owners decided that they needed to return the home to its original luster, respecting its historical integrity where possible, while also making the building functional for 21st century operations. The first question was how the building would be utilized.
There had been speculation of using the home as the Darley offices when the farm was first purchased, but by 2008, according to Larry Schwering with Lucas/Schwering Architects -
the architectural design firm that worked with the restoration project along with contractor Broadview Buildings, Inc. - it was determined that the structure should be used how it was intended to be used:
as a home.
"Its intended purpose, 185 years ago, was that of a residence. And it just made sense to do that," Schwering said.
The first order of business, before any preservation work could commence, was to clear away all the invasive plant life that was corroding the house and to bolster the structural stability. The rotted front porch was removed, along with the deteriorated front exterior wall. Floors had to be reinforced or completely rebuilt. The original kitchen had to be demolished. The most recent addition, built in 1972, was removed.
Once the building was stabilized, the crew began to identify and retain, and emulate when applicable, the features that originally made the house unique. But Schwering said the new design, which included a new kitchen, new bedrooms and bathrooms, and a long galleria on the first and second floor -
all installed behind the original structure -
were meant to embellish the historic sensibilities, not mimic them. It was crucial that the new design would allow people, especially people who weren't involved in construction trades, to tell where the old stopped and the new began.
"We didn't try to make the old look like the new, and we didn't try to make the new look like the old," Schwering said.
But while it was important that the new design made it easy to differentiate the old from the new, it was paramount that the design also respected the original structure, and complemented it -
especially the original proportions, which were very different in houses in the early 19th century. Ceilings were higher and rooms were more rectangular, Schwering said, and the fenestrations were proportionate to the volume of the room.
"Over the years our ceilings have gotten lower, our rooms have gotten more rectangular, and the whole sense of proportion has changed," he said. "Had we taken 21st century proportions and applied it to a 19th century house, it would not have worked. Ö When (proportions) are right, you don't notice. When they're wrong, you can't forget them."
Along with the new additions, an impressive dry stone patio, designed by William Esarey of Wee Landscape Architecture, Inc. and installed by Richard McAlister of McAlister Stone, was placed outside the galleria. It affords a stunning view of the rest of the farm.
Now the home functions as a venue for social gatherings and entertaining business visitors. It stands in contrast to the new, modern Darley office only a few yards away. But it still stands, and that's what is most important.
"These opportunities don't come along very often, and when they do, it transcends your typical project," Schwering said. "You begin to feel the respect for those that came before you, for those that did what they did with what they had at their disposal. And now it is our time to be the stewards of this property, so 100 years from now, when there's a couple of young architects and a couple of young contractors and another farm owner ready to go through the same thing, they will recognize that, just like we did."