Located at 116 Lincon Avenue, this home — the oldest in the neighborhood — is among the eight homes to be featured on this year’s Kenwick Bunaglow Tour. Photo furnished
The Kenwick Neighborhood Association has announced details for its 2019 Bungalow tour, which will take place on Sunday, June 2. Eight homes and gardens in the neighborhood will be featured on the self-guided tour.
According to event organizers Sara Constantine and Leann Murphy, not every house featured on the tour is a bungalow, but each one will showcase a different aspect of the neighborhood’s unique personality. Established in the early 1900s, the diverse and eclectic neighborhood is known for its blend of 1920s Craftsman bungalow and later, post-Depression Era-built houses. Many homes built in the neighborhood in recent years were designed to fit in with the neighborhood’s overall aesthetic.
Among the most storied homes featured on this year’s tour is 116 Lincoln Avenue, the oldest home in the neighborhood. Built in the 1800s, the distinct Carpenter Gothic home sits on three full neighborhood lots. The property once belonged to Charlotte and Waldemere Mentelle, the family for whom the adjacent Mentelle Park Neighborhood was named. After fleeing France for Lexington during the French Revolution, the Mentelles were granted the property by their friend Mary “Polly” Todd Russell, wife of Robert “Old Duke” Wickliffe (the plot was part of an 800-acre tract owned by the Wickliffes).
It is believed that Charlotte Mentelle opened a girl’s day and boarding school on the Lincoln Avenue property in 1820. Among the notable students at Mentelle’s for Young Ladies was Mary Todd, the future wife of Abraham Lincoln, who attended for several years as a teenager in the 1830s.
While some of the history of the property in the years that followed is a bit muddy, it is thought that the Mentelles’ original home burned down in 1840s and was replaced on the same site – possibly even the same original charred log foundation – by the home that stands today at 116 Lincoln Ave. In 1973, homeowners Pat and Chris Donahoe purchased the home, which was in a significant state of disrepair. The couple has meticulously restored the home over the years, taking special care to maintain much of the original details and historic character.
Two other Lincoln Avenue homes are also featured on the tour, as is the fully renovated Richmond Avenue home owned by Counter Culture Plus owner G.J. Gerard and his wife Jena and four additional other homes.
Proceeds for the event will benefit various efforts of theKenwick Neighborhood Association, including the Kenwick Victory Chrisitian Church Community Garden, neighborhood tree plantings and events at the Kenwick Community Center. Tickets will be available on the day of the tour in the parking lot of Victory Christian Church, located on the corner of Cramer and Owsley Avenues. Advance tickets will also be available at www.kenwick.org.
2019 Kenwick Bungalow Tour
Sunday, June 2 • 1-5 p.m.
Victory Christian Church will be starting point of the tour. Participants can purchase tickets and pick up booklets outlining all the participating addresses in the parking lot of the church, located on the corner of Cramer and Owsley Avenues.
Ashland Neighborhood Association Porch & Garden Tour planned for June 9
The Ashland Neighborhood Association will host a tour of the neighborhood's lovely, private, porches and gardens on June 9 from 1-4 p.m.. Tickets, maps and water for the self-guided tour will be available at the median on Slashes Road at the intersection with McDowell Road.
Food and refreshments from Rise Up Pizza and Kona Ice will be available from 2-6 p.m. in the Slashes Road median as well. Advance tickets for the tour are available for purchase at this link.
Mentelle Park Home and Garden Tour planned for September
The Mentelle Neighborhood Association is also planning a Home and Garden Tour fundraiser for Sunday, Sept. 15. The first tour took place in September 2014 and was a successful fundraiser, attracting around 400 attendees and raising more than $3,000 for neighborhood activities and projects. Organizers
Anyone who lives within the neighborhood boundaries and is interested in having their home and/or garden included on the tour can contact Shelby Reynolds at reybart88@yahoo.com by May 31. We would like to have six-to-eight properties for the tour. We also want a wide variety of homes and gardens — large to small, simple to elaborate — showing the diversity of our neighborhood.