Louisville Commercial Historic District

The Louisville Commercial Historic District, in Louisville, Georgia, is a historic district which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.[1]

Louisville Commercial Historic District
LocationArea surrounding Broad St. between Peachtree and Screven Sts., including parts of Walnut, Mulberry and Green Sts., Louisville, Georgia
Coordinates32°59′58″N 82°24′35″W
Area18 acres (7.3 ha)
Built1794
ArchitectWillis F. Denny, Louis A. Simon, others
Architectural styleRomanesque, Early Commercial, Beaux Arts
NRHP reference No.93001469[1]
Added to NRHPJanuary 13, 1994

It includes 41 contributing buildings and a contributing structure in an 18 acres (7.3 ha) area surrounding Broad St. between Peachtree and Screven Sts., including parts of Walnut, Mulberry and Green Streets.[2]

It includes the Jefferson County Courthouse (Georgia) and the Old Market (Louisville, Georgia), which are separately listed on the National Register.[2]

The town was laid out in 1794. It was named Louisville pursuant to 1786 plans of the Georgia Legislature for a new state capital. Louisville served as capital of the state of Georgia for 11 years, from 1796 to 1806; the capital then moved to Milledgeville.[2] Only one structure from that period is known to have survived. A statehouse building which was the capitol, was built; its site is now occupied by the Jefferson County Courthouse.[2]

Architect Willis F. Denny designed the Beaux Arts courthouse which was completed in 1904. Denny also designed two adjacent two-story brick commercial structures on the southwest side of Broad Street between Mulberry and Green Streets. These have Victorian-era commercial detailing (see photo #11).[2]

The commercial area declined during the 1920s and 1930s from the economic effects of the boll weevil and the Great Depression. A New Deal program, the Federal Works Administration, however, built a new post office designed by Louis A. Simon. The post office gained, in 1941, a New Deal mural titled ""Plantation, Education, Transportation" painted by Hungary-born Abraham Harrison; by 1993 the mural had been removed to storage.[2]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  2. Kenneth H. Thomas, Jr.; John A. Kissane (October 17, 1993). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Louisville Commercial Historic District". National Park Service. Retrieved November 7, 2019. Includes map. With accompanying 19 photos from 1992.
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