A home in Louisville’s Portland neighborhood has been chosen as the first for a restoration project aimed at preserving the city’s iconic shotgun houses.
Shotguns, characterized by a long, rectangular floor plan, are a common sight in Louisville’s older neighborhoods, but many have fallen into disrepair.
Preservation Louisville, Habitat for Humanity and New Directions Housing Corporation are teaming up for a restoration project called Save Our Shotguns.
Preservation Louisville Executive Director Marianne Zickuhr says work will begin soon on the project’s first home in the 2700 block of West Main Street.
"We had a great opportunity to work with a husband and a wife who have been in the home for over four decades," Zickuhr said. "The wife actually grew up in the house right next door. That was, I think, really touching to us that you had someone who had such a longstanding relationship with the area."
"This particular block of Main Street is also one where you’re seeing some positive movement and I think we wanted definitely to make sure that the project we chose would be a place where there was going to help spur more positive movement."
Zickuhr says the three agencies will each handle different elements of the restoration, which will also get some federal funding from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.
