Camden Riley House
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| Camden Riley House | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Address | 112 E. Fourth Street |
| City | Owensboro |
| State | Kentucky |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1891 |
| Style | Italianate |
| Owner | Lucy Taylor (at time of listing) |
| Current use | Commercial |
| National Register of Historic Places | |
| Reference # | 86001427 |
| Listed | 1986 |
| Criteria | Criteria A (commerce) and C (architecture) |
| Period | 1891 |
The Camden Riley House is a two-story brick Italianate residence located at 112 East Fourth Street in Owensboro, Kentucky. Built in 1891 by prominent attorney and distiller Camden Riley, Jr., it is a handsome survivor of the row of Victorian houses that once lined Third and Fourth Streets. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 as part of the Owensboro Multiple Resource Area.
Description
The Camden Riley House is a two-story brick Italianate home with front and side gables. An original one-story partial-width Italianate entrance porch is decorated with arches and double column supports. Beneath the eaves of the roof is an original Italianate-style bracket cornice running around the house. The first-floor windows are topped by triangular pedimented cornices, while the second-floor windows are topped with segmental pedimented cornices. Alterations made in the early 1900s include a one-story addition near the side entrance, with the side porch decorated with Italianate brackets and arches. A one-story addition was added at the rear in 1962, and a covered walkway with Italianate features was added in 1984. The front door and side door are four-panel doors with half-circle windows, not original to the building.
A notable detail: the front and side doors are each one half of the double doors that originally hung on the Beaux-Arts facade of the Central Bank and Trust building constructed around 1900.
History
Camden Riley, Jr. was the nephew of Camden Riley, Sr., both prominent attorneys in nineteenth-century Owensboro. The younger Riley built the house at the peak of his career, having made his fortune as a distiller in Yelvington, in eastern Daviess County. He was influential in the establishment of Owensboro's public school system, serving on the first board of directors. At his death the house was sold to another distiller. It has been owned by the Glenn Funeral Home family since the 1940s.
Significance
The Camden Riley House is nominated under Criteria A and C: for its association with the commercial and distilling history of Owensboro, and as a surviving example of Italianate residential architecture in a part of the city where most comparable Victorian structures have been demolished or altered beyond recognition.
References
- Kentucky Heritage Council. National Register of Historic Places Nomination: Owensboro Multiple Resource Area. Frankfort: Kentucky Heritage Council, 1985.