McEldowney History
McEldowney Building: History and Restoration
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Historic McEldowney Building
Winchester's downtown historic district is known for its high architectural style and use of materials that are reflective of its business growth from the late 18th century to early 20th century. The downtown district represents the cultural and architectural style of Winchester during the 19th century which was a main exporter of goods to nearby Kentucky regions. The McEldowney building, at 5 Cleveland Avenue, is the tallest structure in downtown Winchester. It is the first downtown building in Winchester to employ a reinforced concrete frame (Hennebique system). It was initially built to house upper floor commercial offices and a Kress 5 & 10 cent store on the ground floor.
A towering structure, located adjacent to the Clark County Courthouse. This 5 story building is detailed in the Beaux-Arts classical manner, taking inspiration from Italian Renaissance palaces. The McEldowney Building is noted for its keystones, cornices, and low relief tables at the main entrance.
The first major alteration that we know of is estimated in 1960's, due to age of exterior conduit and apparatus supplying electricity to baseboard heaters. Second alteration estimated 1970's, when the Commercial Depository Bank Building was conjoined to the McEldowney Building. This is believed due to appearance of expanded metal in plaster walls where the buildings were conjoined, and the matching floor tiles in the two buildings. Clark County Planning and Zoning has no records, no information could be obtained from property ownership and transfer records. None of the Clark County historians that we spoke with had any knowledge that the Commercial Deposit Bank and McEldowney building had been conjoined. If anyone has additional information about the history of these buildings, please contact us!
Morgan Thomas McEldowney
Morgan Thomas McEldowney (1865-1934) began working at the S. P. Kerr Flour Mill in 1883 and was so useful that Kerr brought him into the business. According to Kerr's obituary, M.T. McEldowney ran Kerr's mills throughout Mr. Kerr's long illness. A quote from Kerr about McEldowney's early employment states, "[McEldowney] has been an efficient employee of the house for the past six years, and we now take great pleasure in making the announcement as we know Mr. McEldowney to be a worthy young man." After Kerr's passing, subsequently he, together with William Woolcott and D. T. Matlack, founded the Winchester Rolling Mills in the Kerr Building. He sold his interest in that firm in 1919.
In 1909, McEldowney built his eponymous building at 5 Cleveland Avenue. Up until that time, essentially, all of Winchester’s businesses were home grown. S.H. Kress & Company was an exception. M.T. McEldowney negotiated their move into his building after it's construction. This 5-10-25 cent store, which opened its first store in Memphis in 1896, was a precursor of the chain stores that now dominate commerce in every part of the country.
As he grew in business, M.T. McEldowney also became involved in banking and real estate. In 1923, he built and established the Commercial Depository Bank at 2 South Main Street where he served as president until his death in 1934 at 68 years of age.
Condition when we purchased the building in August 2019
Exterior metal conduit installed in the ~1960's has stained the exterior brick as well as the once stunning white glazed brick façade. Missing and deteriorated mortar in many areas of the exterior masonry. Exterior wooden window frames are dilapidated with peeling paint and warping wood in some areas. Awning is in poor condition with discoloration and some tearing and deformation. The exterior is littered with hanging networking cables run through the corners of window frames and messy electrical conduit that has been drilled through the wooden window frames. Many windows are broken or missing panes.
Interior rooms and common areas have peeling paint and cracked plaster throughout the building. Lobby floor is covered with vinyl tile; marble clad steps and a brass banister lead up past original ceramic tile landings to the second floor. The stairwell after the second floor is composed of concrete steps with a painted steel banister. All rooms and common areas have layers of flooring (vinyl tile and/or carpet) covering the original hardwood floors. Building utilizes a mix of old and modern electrical, as some updated have been applied in the past. Modern exit signage and smoke detectors are present using exposed MX cable. Most of the other electric in the building (hall & office lighting and electrical receptacles) is reliant on the old wiring within the concrete beams and interior terra cotta block walls, though some is hidden in surface molding. Each room contains a more modern electrical sub panel, entering from the exterior conduit through the window frame to power the baseboard heaters and window AC units for the space. Bathrooms utilize decades old fixtures with a hodgepodge of PVC plumbing tied into old cast iron sewer stack and lead toilet drains. Deteriorated flooring and ceiling plaster indicates leaks around these bathrooms. Water supply lines are entirely reliant on an old galvanized system of pipes with hot water heaters located periodically throughout the building at the points where hot water is used. Top floor ceiling shows signs of water leaks from rooftop with stained ceiling tiles and falling plaster. Elevator is functional and carries a current inspection/certification but does not open evenly on each floor. Basement is an open concrete parking garage with some deterioration of perimeter columns present due to rusting of the interior steel reinforcements.
Undergoing Historical Renovations
Updates and photos to come as we continue to restore the McEldowney Building to some of it's former glory.