Crescent Hill · Louisville 40206
Home remodeling in Crescent Hill
Our home neighborhood. Craftsman bungalows, foursquares and Queen Annes, rebuilt inside with their character intact.
- Type
- Louisville neighborhoodAnnexed 1895–1922
- Built
- 1890–1920sCraftsman, Victorian, Foursquare
- ZIP code
- 40206About 4 miles east of downtown
- Permits
- Louisville MetroNo local historic review
Keystone in Crescent Hill
Our office is on N Ewing Ave
Keystone Remodeling is based at 184 N Ewing Ave, on the western edge of Crescent Hill. We walk past these houses every day: wide front porches, tapered columns, stained-glass transoms, and plaster walls hiding a century of wiring and plumbing decisions.
Crescent Hill homes are some of the most rewarding in Louisville to remodel. They're built of old-growth lumber with millwork you can't buy anymore, but they were laid out for a different way of living: small kitchens at the back, one bath upstairs, a basement for the coal furnace. We redesign them for how families live now, while keeping the trim, floors and proportions that make them worth owning.
Know the place
Fairgrounds, streetcars and summer houses
Crescent Hill began as a retreat from the city. A 38-acre fairground opened here in 1853 (the site became St. Joseph's Orphanage in 1883), and wealthy Louisville families built summer houses such as the Italianate Peterson-Dumesnil House; S. Peterson Avenue was originally its driveway.
The area incorporated as a town in 1884. When streetcars arrived in the 1880s, denser middle-class building followed, and most of today's houses went up between 1890 and 1920. Developers such as Clarence Gardiner (Eastover Park), Charles Philip (Pennsylvania Avenue) and the Cherokee Heights Land Company (Hillcrest, Wentworth and Aubert) laid out the grid. Louisville annexed the town in stages between 1895 and 1922.
The Louisville Water Company's Crescent Hill Reservoir, with its High Victorian Gothic gatehouse and walking promenade, has been on the National Register since 1979.
A Craftsman stronghold
The National Register nomination for the Crescent Hill Historic District, listed in 1982, describes the neighborhood as having the largest concentration of Craftsman-style houses in the city. Alongside them stand Queen Annes with turrets and fish-scale shingles, American Foursquares, Colonial and Classical Revival houses, Shingle Style and Tudor Revival homes, and brick, stucco and frame bungalows from the 1910s and 1920s.
Many of the houses on streets such as Peterson, Hillcrest and Pennsylvania are 2½-story frame homes built around 1906–1910, while Aubert and Wentworth are lined with 1½-story frame cottages, which have attics that are ideal for dormered suites.
The houses
What Crescent Hill houses need
Beautiful houses with predictable problems. We plan for them from the first visit.
Hidden systems
Knob-and-tube wiring, galvanized supply lines, cast-iron drains and little or no insulation are common. A kitchen or whole-home remodel is the right time to replace them while walls are open.
Original character
Craftsman casings, built-ins, pocket doors, heart-pine and oak floors. We protect them, repair them and recreate missing pieces to match.
Tight lots, upward potential
Narrow grid lots favor rear additions and attic conversions. Bungalow and cottage attics can become primary suites with dormers and a new bath.
Our services
Remodeling services in Crescent Hill
Our full range of services, shaped by Crescent Hill's century-old houses.
Kitchen Remodeling in Crescent Hill
Small back-of-house kitchens rebuilt with new wiring, plumbing and matched trim.
Kitchen details
Bathroom Remodeling in Crescent Hill
Period-sympathetic baths, with old drains and supply lines replaced.
Bathroom details
Basement Finishing in Crescent Hill
Low, older basements assessed for water and headroom before finishing.
Basement details
Home Additions in Crescent Hill
Rear additions and dormered attic suites on narrow grid lots.
Home details
Whole-Home Remodeling in Crescent Hill
Whole-house renovations of Craftsman and Victorian homes.
Whole-Home details
Garages & Conversions in Crescent Hill
Detached rear and alley-access garages under Metro's code.
Garages detailsPermits & approvals
Straightforward permits, one exception
Crescent Hill is inside Louisville Metro, so permitting is simpler here than in the small cities. The one thing to check is the Clifton boundary.
Rules change. We confirm the current requirements for your address before design is finished. How permitting works in Louisville →
Louisville Metro permits
Building, electrical and mechanical permits come from Louisville Metro Construction Review; zoning is under Metro's Land Development Code.
State plumbing permit
Moving or adding fixtures needs a plumbing permit from the Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction.
National Register, not a local district
Crescent Hill's National Register listing doesn't require design review for private work. It isn't one of Metro's eight local preservation districts.
Check the Clifton line
Neighboring Clifton is a local preservation district. Exterior changes there need a Certificate of Appropriateness, so we confirm which side of the line a house is on.
High Victorian Gothic gatehouse at the Crescent Hill Reservoir, Louisville. Photo: Bmzuckerman, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Around Crescent Hill
Frankfort Avenue to the reservoir
We work on homes all through the neighborhood, from the blocks around N Ewing Ave and Frankfort Avenue's shops and restaurants to Brownsboro Road, Lexington Road and the streets around Zorn Avenue, the Crescent Hill library and the reservoir promenade.
Working in an older, walkable neighborhood means parking and staging take thought. Lots are narrow, alleys matter, and neighbors are close. We plan deliveries, dumpsters and dust control so the street barely notices we're there.
5.0 from 17 Google reviews
★★★★★
“They found every problem the old house had been hiding and fixed it the right way. It still feels like our 1915 house, only better.”Whole-home renovation, Crescent Hill Sample text Read our Google reviews
Questions
Remodeling in Crescent Hill: questions
Is Crescent Hill a historic district? Do I need approval for exterior changes?
Crescent Hill is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, but it isn't a Louisville Metro local preservation district, so private exterior work doesn't need a Certificate of Appropriateness. Neighboring Clifton is a local district, so we check addresses near the boundary.
My house still has knob-and-tube wiring. What should I do?
Plan to replace it, ideally during a kitchen or whole-home remodel when walls are already open. Many insurers won't cover homes with active knob-and-tube.
Can my bungalow's attic become a bedroom suite?
Often, yes. We check headroom, stair location and floor framing, and design dormers that suit the house. Many Crescent Hill cottages and bungalows gain a primary suite this way.
Can you match my original trim?
Yes. We protect existing millwork and have new casings, baseboards and built-ins milled to match the original profiles.
Where is your office?
At 184 N Ewing Ave, Louisville, KY 40206, on the west side of Crescent Hill between Frankfort Avenue and Brownsboro Road.
