Gallery of Historic Louisville, Georgia Buildings

Downtown's most famous buildings are the old Market House, at the city's center, and the Jefferson County Courthouse, designed by noted Georgia architect Willis Denny and located at the east end of Broad Street. These and other remarkable Downtown buildings -- the old Abbot and Stone Department Store, the old Louisville Fire Station, and the old Jefferson Hotel are featured in this gallery.

We invite you to submit more photos, postcards, and other images for inclusion on this site to images@ourlouisville.com. Help us make this an exciting and complete gallery of Downtown's important historic buildings.

THE MARKET HOUSE

Chosen by Friends of Historic Downtown Louisville as its symbol, the old Market House at the intersection of Broad and Mulberry Streets is the oldest standing and most widely recognized structure in Downtown Louisville. Once it was reputed to have been built in 1758 -- decades before the city was founded -- at the intersection of ancient Indian trails, but more current research suggests it was actually built during the 1790s after Louisville's founding. Lovingly restored during the 1990s, the current structure still includes original timbers. The old Market House building is not without controversy. Widely believed for generations to have functioned as a slave market before the emancipation, the old Market House -- commonly known as the "Old Slave Market," -- has long stood as a symbol of the institution of slavery. Recent research, however, casts doubt on this understanding and suggests that the old Market House may have a much more benign history as an ordinary commercial market.

This 1934 photograph of the Old Market House, borrowed from the Library of Congress's "Built in America" Historic American Building Survey Collection, also includes a rare shot of the east side of the Abbot and Stone Mercantile Building before the back of the building was subdivided and altered for use by the City of Louisville as the city's offices, fire station, and jail in 1937! Also, notice on the left edge of the photograph the spire of the old First Baptist Church, which was later demolished. For more information, including measured drawings, check the old Market House's HABS file online.

This historic marker honoring the Old Market was placed under the market by the Work Progress Administration and the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1936. Note the assertion that the structure had served as a slave market.

This image is from a popular postcard of the Old Market, also depicting the Abbot and Stone building and the spire of the Old First Baptist in the background. Notice, as well, residences standing along Broad Street where today shops and the Post Office are located.

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JEFFERSON COUNTY COURTHOUSE

Designed by famous Georgia architect and Louisville native son Willis Franklin Denny, the Jefferson County Courthouse is the center of the life of Downtown and of the county. Completed in 1904, shortly before Mr. Denny's untimely death, the Courthouse celebrated its centennial in October 2004 with a fascinating presentation in the Courthouse by architectural historian Tommy H. Jones of the National Park Service.

This depiction of the Courthouse from the Jefferson County Historical files was distributed to those who attended the October 2004 Centennial Celebration of completion of the Courthouse.

This old postcard nicely captures the dignity of the Jefferson County Courthouse.

THE ABBOT AND STONE MERCANTILE BUILDING

Built in 1890, this delightful building has been an important architectural and commercial touchstone Downtown for over a century. Originally owned by a partnership of members of Louisville's Abbot and Stone families, the building has changed hands over the generations, passing through many prominent Louisville families. It has been know at various times as the Stone & Murphy Building, the Murphy Brothers and Beall Building, the Louisville Furniture Company, and the Harris Furniture Company. In 1937, the rear portion of the building was partitioned and sold to the City of Louisville to house the city's offices, a fire station, and jail. (See information concerning the Old Louisville Fire Station below.) The 1934 HABS photograph of the Old Market House shown above, depicts the Abbot and Stone Building prior to partitioning and before it was later painted a variety of colors. During the past decade, the building was acquired and lovingly restored by Jonathan Barnhart of Louisville and is once again a jewel in Downtown's crown! Today it is home to Southern Home Interiors at 101 West Broad Street. (Thanks to Louise Abbot and Mr. Barnhart for information included in this entry.)

THE OLD LOUISVILLE FIRE STATION

In 1937, the City of Louisville acquired the rear portion of the Abbot and Stone Building, partitioned it, and converted it into city offices, upstairs, and the city fire station and jail, downstairs. To post-Depression generations of Downtowners, this structure, newly decorated with pilasters and fit with bay-style garage doors, came to be known simply as "the Fire Station." But in 1977, after 40 years of productive use, the city moved its offices, fire station, and jail to new quarters and sold the building. It remained vacant and largely untended until the turn of the next century.

Then, in 2002, the Old Fire Station's fortunes began looking up! That year, Louisville native Mary Beall Beverly, whose family had once been an owner of the entire building, bought the Old Fire Station and donated it to the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, in the hope that the Trust would be able to find new preservation-minded owners for the fine old building. In April 2004, a partnership of investors from Atlanta and Washington, D.C., purchased the Old Fire Station from the Trust and commenced restoration and research to determine the best community-enhancing use for the building. Only a year later, on April 29, 2005, the old fire station opened its doors again as The Fire House Gallery, the flagship program of Friends of Historic Downtown Louisville.

THE JEFFERSON HOTEL BUILDING

Conceived by the local Kiwannis Club as a way to capitalize on tourist traffic on Old Highway 1, the Jefferson Hotel was built and opened in 1923. Under the ownership of T.B. Kelly, from 1932 to 1983, the hotel hosted countless visitors and special events and experienced many changes. Over time the graceful porch of the building was enclosed and replaced with the very popular Hotel Coffee Shop. By 1985, traffic along Old Highway 1 had significantly decreased as the Interstate System grew, and First National Bank & Trust, predecessor to the new Queensborough National Bank and Trust Company, took possession of the Hotel.

Renamed the Queensborough Building, the old Jefferson Hotel was transformed by its new owners. The upstairs space was reconfigured into Bank offices, and the Coffee Shop was updated and expanded to include restaurant and banquet facilities. Under the new proprietorship of Pansy Agerton, the restaurant came to be known, as it is today, simply as Pansy's! The tradition of great dining is carried on Downtown to this day by owners Ann and David McNeely, whose famous and delicious fare make Pansy's a favorite spot Downtown for locals and travelers!

In 2004, First National undertook a major makeover for the exterior of the building. Newly painted, and with brick accents cleverly restored, the Queensborough Building does justice to the Downtowners' memories of the Jefferson Hotel!