1952 View of the Marcus Lindsay Church
All photos courtesy Christine Romesburg, Pip Pullen, and Susan Swope.
“The Church,” a new condominium development located in Butchertown at 801 East Main Street, is an eclectic union of gothic restoration and sleek contemporary living space. Designed with converted loft/warehouse-style architecture in mind, Pip Pullen and Susan Swope describe their daring project as “old beauty meets new beauty,” and as the “perfect embodiment of the spirit of Butchertown.” Indeed it is.
1910 Postcard of the Marcus Lindsay Church
The hallmark of Pullen and Swope’s project is a fusion of old and new elements, of original stained glass windows with new glass walls, of varied ceiling heights and exposed beams that overlook sleek cabinetry and original popular planks repurposed as a vanity, desk, and dining room table. This dynamic blending of the sacred and the secular—the first structure of its kind in Louisville ’s history—was quite a leap of faith in our turbulent economy.
Pip and Susan
The 12,000 square foot $2M project began innocently enough. Susan was looking to relocate to the area from La Grange and was interested in developing her own loft-style living space. Pip saw a “for sale” sign in front of the historic church and dialed the broker, with fond childhood memories of converted church homes in London in mind. In the humble original wing of the old church, their two visions came together and the couple found just what they were looking for.
Unique windows
It wasn’t just the building’s beauty and seemingly infinite potential that attracted them to the project. The couple was also drawn to Butchertown because of its vitality, continued growth, proximity to Slugger Field, and easy link between downtown and the East End. Their project is a perfect fit for the edgy and cool repurposed and historic mixed-use feel that is unique to Butchertown.
Among the many original updates is the addition of a five-car garage in the basement, a fitness center, and an interior Koi pond.
Koi
Kitchen
Presently, The Church has three units, with the sanctuary available in all its original grandeur for commercial/or residential construction of one or more units.
The property is scheduled to be ready for occupancy in March or early April. To find out more check out their site www.801emain.com.
This post was a special contribution by Christine Romesburg.
For more coverage of The Church development, check out Broken Sidewalk
Tags: butchertown, church, renovation
