Phillips Court Historic District
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The Phillips Court Historic District is a historic residential neighborhood centered on Phillips Court and the surrounding blocks of Frederica Street in Owensboro, Kentucky. The district encompasses late Victorian and early twentieth-century residences built between approximately 1860 and 1910, representing a remnant of the fine residential neighborhood that once lined Frederica Street, Owensboro's leading thoroughfare. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 as part of the Owensboro Multiple Resource Area.
Description
The Phillips Court Historic District includes all of Phillips Court and portions of Frederica Street between approximately 1524 and 1729. The district contains twenty-six contributing buildings, spanning a range of architectural styles from Italianate and Second Empire through late Queen Anne, Classical Revival, Craftsman, Spanish Eclectic, and Colonial Revival.
The oldest and most architecturally significant structure is the Triplett House at 1540 Frederica, a one-story frame Italianate residence dominated by a triple-arched front portico with pilasters, keystones above the arches, and a bracketed cornice — all crafted of wood. The symmetrical three-bay front, central cupola, and second triple-arched side portico create one of the finest Italianate residences in the city.
A notable Second Empire house at 1721 Frederica features a three-story mansard-roofed tower with polychrome slate roof and dormer window at the juncture of the front and side gables. The architectural character of the district is dominated by late Queen Anne structures, including the two similar brick houses at 1542 and 1548 Frederica, each with prominent front gables, curved corner towers with conical roof peaks, and Classical Revival front porches with Ionic columns. The district also contains examples of Classical Revival (1531 Frederica, with a massive Ionic-columned front portico of yellow pressed brick), Spanish Eclectic (the Bishop's Residence at 1535 Frederica, with tiled roof, stucco finish, and massive-arched front porch), and Craftsman (1620 Frederica and several Phillips Court residences).
History
Frederica Street was once lined with majestic homes from Fourth Street northward to Griffith Avenue, representing the residential addresses of Owensboro's wealthiest citizens including distillers, manufacturers, and prominent professionals. Encroaching commercial development gradually replaced most of these homes, but the Phillips Court area retains a concentrated three-block remnant of the original residential neighborhood. Phillips Court itself is a dead-end street off Frederica that developed as an enclave of early twentieth-century residences.
Significance
The Phillips Court Historic District is significant under Criterion C in the area of architecture as an important collection of historically and architecturally significant late Victorian and early twentieth-century residences. The district is a remnant of the residential neighborhood that once lined Frederica Street and retains the design, materials, workmanship, feeling, and associations of the original neighborhood. The district contains two structures of outstanding architectural significance — the Italianate Triplett House and the Second Empire residence at 1721 Frederica — as well as a notable concentration of transitional late Queen Anne structures and interesting examples of early twentieth-century styles.
References
- Kentucky Heritage Council. National Register of Historic Places Nomination: Owensboro Multiple Resource Area. Frankfort: Kentucky Heritage Council, 1985.